What if, instead of spending hundreds of millions to tear down the Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT) infrastructure, we transformed it into a vibrant and iconic community space that fosters local arts and culture, promotes sustainable mobility, provides healthy recreational options and supports inclusive local economies?
On January 28, 2025 at the University of Toronto Scarborough, the Institute for Inclusive Economies & Sustainable Livelihoods (IIESL), in partnership with the Design Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC), hosted a Design Charrette to explore exactly that question. We brought together Scarborough community leaders, urban planners, and students to think boldly and brainstorm repurposing ideas. This event is part of IIESL’s commitment to fostering a broad discussion that brings together community perspectives and technical expertise in response to Councillor Jamaal Myers's motion at City Hall to evaluate the feasibility of repurposing the Scarborough RT instead of demolishing it.
Sergio Montero Munoz helped to pull everyone together. A huge thank you to Kevin Stolarick for leading the facilitation, Kumsa Baker for coordinating community engagement, and Andrea Charise and Jennifer Moles for welcoming us to the new Sam Ibrahim building (the very first event to take place here!). Shoutout to our facilitators from many design disciplines and all the community members, organizations, and students (from UTSC and Centennial College) who contributed their ideas, including 42 Voices, Jim Faught, Ian E. Brown, Sabrina S., Brendan Agnew-Iler, Kevin Rupasinghe, Riya Osti, the Geography and City Studies Student Association (GCSA), among many others.
Special thanks to our sponsors who made this event possible. Entro, BA Group, SCRO, UTSC, and SCRO.
We’ll be sharing the key insights from these initial discussions in a report coming out in April, stay tuned!
