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In Episode 31 of the Sustainable Futures Podcast, Steven Peck speaks with Shannon Baker, Director of Design at Waterfront Toronto, about the role of landscape architecture in creating healthy cities. The conversation centers the creation of Biidaasige Park, part of Toronto’s $1.4-billion Port Lands Flood Protection Project, including Indigenous collaboration, urban rewilding, ecological restoration, and the challenges of transforming former industrial lands into vibrant public spaces. They also discuss how thoughtful design can reconnect people with nature to create better, livable cities.
Guest
Shannon Baker
Shannon Baker holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph (2000) and a Master of Urban Design Studies from the University of Toronto (2013). Her practice has involved award winning work across Canada and internationally, and has always been situated at the intersection of landscape, ecology, and urbanism. She is passionate about urban rewilding, reconnecting people with nature, and regenerative design.
Through her work at Waterfront Toronto, Shannon has led some of the most complex and transformative work on the waterfront, including The Bentway Phase I and the recently opened Biidaasige Park, a part of the $1.4B Port Lands Flood Protection (PLFP) Project. As Project Director, Parks and Public Realm, she is grateful to have played a significant role in a project in which landscape architects have been a driving force from its inception through to its construction.
Throughout her work in both the private and public sectors, Shannon has always valued the opportunity to work in a truly integrated and multi-disciplinary way. In various leadership roles she has always recognized the importance of mentorship, and the value of working in a human-centred and collaborative way. Whether through guest lectures, studio reviews or field tours, she will always welcome the opportunity to share with students the multitude of gifts the profession of landscape architecture offers. She has also volunteered for the OALA as a reviewer for Intern Members, on the Ground magazine editorial board, and on the Practice Legislation Committee, in an effort to give back to the profession that has given her so much.
Host
Steven Peck, GRP, HASLA
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
Steven spearheaded the first green roof demonstration project on Toronto City Hall 20 years ago and the mandatory green roof policy in Toronto a decade ago. This innovative policy has resulted in more than 6 million additional square feet of green space across the city. Due to Steven’s work, GRHC has helped to win green roof policy victories in San Francisco, Washington, DC; Portland, Oregon; and Denver, Colorado. Steven also founded Green Infrastructure Ontario coalition to bring together organizations that share an interest in the protection and development of green infrastructure in Ontario. In 2007 he co-founded the World Green Infrastructure Network, an international organization that promotes the use of green infrastructure around the world.
