As part of its 'Thought Exchange' lecture series, The Toronto Reference Library will be hosting historian Richard White, who will discuss his recently published book Planning Postwar Toronto: the Planners, the Plans, Their Legacies, 1940-1980. White, a history professor at the University of Toronto's Mississauga campus, has compiled a thorough study of the planning policies that shaped Toronto during the city's formative mid-century decades.

White's comprehensive overview of plans and documents—and a wealth of interviews and secondary sources—is combined with a critical analysis of planning policy and its impacts. The book has been hailed as a nuanced and intelligent analysis of Toronto's planning history, with an in-depth exploration of the relationship between evolving post-war planning and Toronto's emergence as a metropolitan centre. 

The cover of Planning Toronto, image courtesy of UBC Press

The lecture and discussion will be held at the Reference Library's Hinton Learning Theatre on Thursday, April 14th, 1 - 3 PM, with copies of the book available for sale. The Toronto Reference Library is located at 789 Yonge Street, and the event is free.