1K 
Some years ago, on Christie Street south of St. Clair, a mural was painted onto the low brick wall beside the sidewalk. It features a small portrait and a big quote, and, to the right of Jane Jacobs' face, the legendary urbanist's words look out onto the street: "Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody." In 21st century Toronto, it is deceptively easy to forget this simple fact; that a city's DNA is found in its people.
With urban densification and growth continuing at an unprecedented pace, we celebrate the rise of an increasingly vibrant and cosmopolitan Toronto as it asserts its presence on the world stage, with every new skyscraper a monument to our city's prosperity and success. However, as in every large city, residents and communities can feel alienated from the metropolis that—while they always inhabit— they don't always fully feel a part of. Amidst the myriad of competing interests and bureaucratic complexities of modern cities, the perspectives and priorities of ordinary residents can sometimes seem estranged from the dominant urban discourses around them. Often, a silent majority remains silent.
If residents are the lifeblood of a city, why is it that their viewpoints and ideas so rarely find a strong voice? And how can community initiatives gain traction and come to fruition? For the founders of Projexity, these questions dominated much of their thinking about urbanism, bringing to light a disconnect between community concerns and the realities of urban development.
A community-oriented urbanism site, Projexity was founded with the goal of bridging this gap, providing a platform for grassroots, community-based projects to gain exposure and support. The website first launched in 2012, allowing users in Toronto and Philadelphia to post projects and ideas—anything from a new public park, to a community centre, farmers market, coffee shop, community sports team, or a mural—which could be seen and supported by viewers of the site, prompting dialogue and debate, all while fostering community engagement. Design proposals, ideas, and projects, use the site to gain exposure, connecting members of the community and providing community voices a place to be heard.
*
Ahead of the site's upcoming re-launch, UrbanToronto interviewed two of Projexity's founders, Nicolas Koff and Marisa Bernstein, to get an understanding of what the site is about and how it can help grassroots projects get off the ground.
UrbanToronto: So, tell us about Projexity. How did it get started, and what is it all about?
Nicolas Koff: Projexity is a platform for organizations—whether individuals, community groups, aspiring designers, developers, or even local politicians—to showcase their social impact projects and gather engagement for them. When we first started the site three years ago, we had both become somewhat frustrated with how hard it was to become engaged with what's happening in your city. A lot of things seemed to be happening behind closed doors, and it was hard to know what's going on, and even harder to try to participate.
Marisa Bernstein: We wanted to increase transparency and community engagement in the urban design and development process, with every step of the process made publicly visible on the site. We developed what we call a Project Canvas, which allows an initiative to be posted on the site in its early stages and develop organically. From an initial idea—through the design stages (we initially focused on crowd-sourced design competitions), to collecting volunteers and developing a financial plan—to the completed project, every step of the process is transparent and interactive. Users of the site can see—and participate in—every step of the process.
UT: What kind of projects have been posted on the site?
MB: For example, one of the early projects featured on the site was the Scadding Court Community Centre. Members of the centre and the community knew they wanted a public patio, but they had no design or formal plan for how to build it. Once the idea for a project was posted on the site, though, various designers (including aspiring designers and professionals) put up their plans, and a winning entry was voted in. Projexity also offered a platform for volunteers to sign up and help with the project, while the exposure provided allowed for a bigger community to become aware of—and interested in—the project, which helped with funding. Then, the patio was built!
NK: More recently, we've partnered with organizations like Evergreen CityWorks, and the David Suzuki Foundation, to promote community events throughout the city. As co-founders of Projexity, we also taught a studio at the University of Toronto's Master of Landscape Architecture Program that used our project canvas tool, challenging students to create designs that connect Fort York to the contemporary city.
UT: What kind of designs emerged from that?
MB: A lot of interesting ideas came from the process, all of which were posted on the Project Canvas. One student wanted to cut right through the historical buildings, creating a radical juxtaposition of old and new.
UT: Someone call Heritage Toronto!
NK: Even though that idea was, practically speaking, somewhat unrealistic, it did raise a lot of interesting questions and helped re-think what it means for Fort York to be displayed in its 1812 state.
MB: The point of that project—as well as many of the more radical designs posted on Projexity—was to prompt people to re-think the goals of urban planning, asking "what is sacred?" Even though some projects posted on Projexity do not get completed, they raise interesting questions about what kind of city we want to live in, and potentially get members of the community to become more engaged with the city around them.
NK: Besides offering a platform for the projects themselves, community engagement is a major focus for us.
*
The Projexity site is set to re-launch on July 7th!The new site will demonstrate what the Project Canvas is and how organizations can use it to showcase their social impact projects and easily engage their audience. With the Project Canvas provided by the site, grassroots initiatives have the support to develop organically, while the discourse surrounding them promotes strong community engagement.
Toronto is changing quickly. Wherever you look, it seems like a new city is being built. The question we have to answer, though, is simple: is this city being built around its residents, or is it being built by them?
