Reclaim the Streets also known as RTS, are a collective with a shared ideal of community ownership of public spaces. Participants characterise the collective as a resistance movement opposed to the dominance of corporate forces in globalisation, and to the car as the dominant mode of transport.
Yonge–Dundas Square, or Dundas Square, is a public square at the southeast corner of the intersection of Yonge Street and Dundas Street East in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Designed by Brown and Storey Architects, the square was conceived in 1997 as part of revitalizing the intersection. Since its completion in 2002, the square has hosted many public events, performances and art displays, establishing itself as a prominent landmark in Toronto and one of the city's prime tourist attractions. Central to the Downtown Yonge entertainment and shopping district, the square is owned by the city and is the first public square in Canada to be maintained through a public-private partnership. The intersection is one of the busiest in Canada, with over 100,000 people crossing the city's first pedestrian scramble daily.
The car-free movement is a broad, informal, emergent network of individuals and organizations, including social activists, urban planners, transportation engineers, environmentalists and others, brought together by a shared belief that large and/or high-speed motorized vehicles are too dominant in most modern cities. The goal of the movement is to create places where motorized vehicle use is greatly reduced or eliminated, by converting road and parking space to other public uses and rebuilding compact urban environments where most destinations are within easy reach by other means, including walking, cycling, public transport, personal transporters, and mobility as a service.
Howard Moscoe is a former city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, representing Ward 15 in the western part of Eglinton-Lawrence. Among the most prominent and longest-serving councillors in the city, he is also known for an outspokenness which caused controversy at times. Moscoe is a member of the New Democratic Party. On August 31, 2010, after 31 years as an elected municipal politician, Moscoe announced his retirement from city council.
Jane Pitfield, née Toller is a former Toronto city councillor, representing one of the two Don Valley West wards. She ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Toronto in 2006. She is currently the warden of Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Quebec.
Anthony Perruzza is a Canadian politician who has served on Toronto City Council since 2006. He currently represents Ward 7 Humber River—Black Creek. Perruzza was a North York councillor from 1988 to 1990, and served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995 as a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Perruzza was a candidate for mayor of Toronto in the 2023 by-election, placing tenth.
A subway party is a celebration that occurs on a mass transit system. Generally, people meet at a predetermined station in their city's mass transit system, wait until their numbers have achieved critical mass, and board the train. From there, revelers may engage in many different activities, from playing music and dancing to exchanging gifts.
Spacing is a magazine published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Focusing on issues affecting the public realm in Toronto and nationally, Spacing was originally published by the Toronto Public Space Committee in house until it was spun off as a wholly independent magazine after the first issue.
Irene Jones is a former municipal councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A member of the social democratic New Democratic Party, she served on the Etobicoke and Toronto councils from 1988 until 2003, when she stood down to seek election to the provincial legislature.
David Zancai is a street entertainer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Zancai is known for his character Zanta: a modified Santa Claus who travels the streets of downtown Toronto doing pushups and shouting "yes yes yes" and "Merry Christmess". His costume consists of nothing but shorts, boots, and a red-and-white Santa hat, even during Toronto's winters. He claims to perform this routine every day of the year except Christmas Day, and estimates he does 2,000 to 3,000 pushups per day. In 2000, Zancai fell 25 feet onto a staircase while working as a painter. He entered treatment for schizophrenia at St. Joseph's hospital, having been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder earlier in 2003. Zancai has received mixed responses to his Zanta character, and has been banned from several public areas around Toronto, including the Toronto Transit Commission.
David Raymond Miller is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 63rd mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010.
Michael Lawrence Marrow, known as PHASE 2 and Lonny Wood, was an American aerosol paint artist based in New York City. Mostly active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is generally credited with originating the "bubble letter" style of aerosol writing, also known as "softies".
C-Squat is a former squat house located at 155 Avenue C in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that has been home to musicians, artists, and activists, among others. After a fire, it was taken into city ownership in 1978 and squatters moved in in 1989. The building was restored in 2002 and since then it has been legally owned by the occupants. Its ground-floor storefront now houses the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space.
The TASK parties are a series of improvisational events in cities throughout the world organized by New York-based artist Oliver Herring.
Improv in Toronto (IT) is an urban pranking group that resides in Toronto. Formed in 2008, Improv Toronto is a group inspired by New York City's Improv Everywhere, and is a member of the Urban Prankster Network.
The Pillow Fight League (PFL) was a Toronto-based semi-professional sports league centred on public pillow fights. The tongue-in-cheek women's sport was hosted in a fighting arena, much like a boxing or wrestling match.
Olivia Chow is a Canadian politician who has been the 66th mayor of Toronto since July 12, 2023. Previously, Chow served as the New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) for Trinity—Spadina from 2006 to 2014 and as city councillor in Metro Toronto from 1992 to the 1998 amalgamation and in Toronto from 1998 to 2005.
The 2010 Toronto mayoral election was held on October 25, 2010, to elect a mayor of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The mayor's seat was open for the first time since the 2003 Toronto election due to the announcement by incumbent mayor David Miller that he would not seek a third term in office. The nomination period for the 2010 municipal election opened on January 4, 2010, and closed on September 10, 2010. The result of the election was a victory for former city councillor Rob Ford. He received 47% of the vote.
Time's Up! Environmental Organization was founded in 1987 to help educate New Yorkers about environmental awareness. One of its main focuses is to promote non-polluting transportation, by advocating bicycling.
Steve Munro is a Canadian blogger and transit advocate from Toronto, Ontario. Munro has been credited in playing a lead role in the grass-roots efforts to convince the Toronto City Council to reverse plans to abandon Toronto's remaining streetcars.