Thesis Defence: Rashan Ahmadli

Tuesday, April 11, 2023 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Exploring Toronto's Inner-Frontier

Car parked in a bush

Abstract:

Urban spaces unceasingly witness the cycle of their birth and death. Like the waves of an ocean repeatedly crashing into and withdrawing from the shoreline, the city’s sphere of production and human activity consume our environment, only to abandon it in s ubsequence, leaving behind, in a state of ruin, vestiges of civilization, waiting to be reinvigorated again by those who deem it useful and those who wish to capitalize by it. Toronto’s innercity terrain vague, i.e. its far stretching laneway system, is o n the brink of being “reinvigorated” through continual development. As laneway houses populate the backspaces of residential neighborhoods and the city’s marginal areas transform into spaces with designated functions, which in turn reestablishes them as a part of the ‘official city’ and makes them increasingly subject to the demands of commerce, innercity streets will no longer exist as terrain vague open to opportunities of potentially transgressive expression, gathering, and resistance. This thesis w ill explore, and document Toronto’s often overlooked, terrain vague residential laneways through photography, mapping and drawing. This would be done for the purpose of bringing attention to the Toronto’s innerinspire change in their perception and value.

The examining committee is as follows:
Supervisor: Rick Andrighetti
Committee member: Marie-Paule Macdonald
Internal-external reader: Val Rynnimeri
External: Kara Burman

The defence examination will take place:
Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 2:30 p.m.
This will be taking place in person in Ventin seminar room ARC 2026 at the School of Architecture.

The committee has been approved as authorized by the Graduate Studies Committee.
A copy of the thesis is available for perusal in ARC 2106A.