EJQ3 - Winter 2025 - Journal - Page 58
the dramatic before-and-afters that brown昀椀elders put out there of oiltank farms turned to mixed-use neighbourhoods, vacant gas stations
to pocket parks, or crumbling post-industrial harbours to vibrant
waterfront neighbourhoods that provide a gateway to our cities.
Over the past 25 years, we have come a long way in putting forward more
and better reuses. We have gone from praising simple cleanups for practical uses to celebrating projects involving housing, mixed-use, green space,
sustainability, a昀昀ordability, equity, Indigenous hunting grounds, and so
much more. Every year, new Brownie Award nominations provide evidence
of the endless possibilities for properties once considered undevelopable.
munity too big? Are people getting bored? How can this be when redeveloped brown昀椀elds have resulted in hundreds of thousands of housing units,
disbursed billions in tax bene昀椀ts, and wholly revitalized urban districts and
other environments? Don’t people have eyes and memories of what these
places used to be? Shouldn’t brown昀椀elders be continuously supported and
treated as rock stars for laying the foundation and facilitating success for
all these incredible before-and-afters? Then I think of all the extraordinary
work being done and take a moment to re昀氀ect.
Events such as the Brownie Awards, conferences, webinars, and other
gatherings hosted by brown昀椀eld and brown昀椀eld-friendly organizations
help nourish and recharge the soul. They reconnect us to each other
and remind us of the why, how, and where. They give us a chance to
celebrate loud and proud and help propel us forward on our journey to
next week, next year, and towards our 50th anniversary of the Brownies.
Just this past year, some of our 昀椀nalists and winners put land昀椀lls back
into di昀昀erent forms of reuse—such as Beare Hill Park, Richmond
Industrial Center, and part of the Union Carbide property—and created
entirely new waterfronts like Sp’akw’us Feather Park in Squamish,
British Columbia. Wow!
And seriously, why have chicken soup when you can have a brownie?
However, there are times I worry that our commitment to and support for
the innovative policies, processes, and people that help clean up and redevelop brown昀椀elds is waning. Is our focus becoming too broad? Is our com-
Christoper De Sousa is a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto
Metropolitan University and the chair of the Brownie Awards jury.
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