Food Network 9:00 - 10:30am Saturday June 16th

Angela Iarocci (Co-presented with Pierre Bélanger)
Professor, Sheridan College, School of Animation, Arts + Design
“The Cosmopolitan Infrastructure of the Ontario Food Terminal”

Mass-urbanization around the world is triggering critical concerns about the fragility of food systems for the more than 6.5 billion people that inhabit the planet. Referencing Walter P. Hedden’s 1929 milestone book “How Great Cities are Fed”, the presentation tells the story of the urbanization of the food chain in North America through the operative landscape of the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto, Canada.

Angela Iarocci is a Professor in the York/Sheridan Program in Design where she teaches undergraduate courses in information design and two and three-dimensional design. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto Master of Architecture program (2003) where she received the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Student Medal in Architecture. In addition to teaching she is engaged in a collaborative research-based design practice integrating information design, architecture, and urban design. Her current projects use objects, spatial interventions and data visualizations to create experiences and interactions fostering awareness of environmental and social issues.

Pierre Bélanger (Co-presented with Angela Iarocci)
Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design
“The Cosmopolitan Infrastructure of the Ontario Food Terminal”

Mass-urbanization around the world is triggering critical concerns about the fragility of food systems for the more than 6.5 billion people that inhabit the planet. Referencing Walter P. Hedden’s 1929 milestone book “How Great Cities are Fed”, the presentation tells the story of the urbanization of the food chain in North America through the operative landscape of the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto, Canada.

Pierre Bélanger is Co-Director of the Centre for Landscape Research at the University of Toronto. The Centre works collaboratively with public authorities and private enterprises for the redevelopment of large industrial landscapes to achieve the dual objectives of ecological durability and economic performance. Bélanger is also Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design at the University of Toronto where he teaches graduate courses on landscape, infrastructure and design.

Lorella Di Cintio
Educator, Ryerson University, Faculty of Communication and Design
“ Street Vending Culture and Practices in Toronto”

This paper aims to discuss and challenge current Street Vending culture and policy practices in Toronto by way of academic discourse, design studio challenges and a national design competition.

Lorella Di Cintio teaches at Ryerson University and Ontario College of Art and Design. She has taught at Tokyo University, Musashino Art University, University of Detroit Mercy and Cranbrook Academy of Art. As a McLuhan Fellow at the University of Toronto, she has researched Spatial Perception, Social Space, Communication and Media Design. A component of her pedagogical research and practice attempts to demonstrate that the worlds of the public, policy makers and the designers are not so far apart. Creative breakthroughs are closely related to practical ones – essentially sharing the virtues of creative-critical thinking and the search for innovation.

Katie Rabinowicz (Co-presented with Andrea Winkler)
Co-Director, Multistory Complex
“ Street food vending: Feeding street life”

This paper will examine current vending regulatory environments, including the provincial health regulations limiting Toronto’s street food to precooked meat and the City’s permitting and licensing regulations limiting vending to sidewalks in the downtown core. It will explore current vending issues in Toronto and international vending practices from which we might learn.

Katie Rabinowicz has a Master in Environmental Studies from York University. She currently works for the City of Toronto. She has worked extensively for nonprofit organizations including Frontier College, the Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies at Ryerson University , FoodShare, Greenest City and community development organizations in Manitoba, Mexico and Costa Rica. In her many travels, she has compiled street food recipes which she used to start a street food vending stand in Toronto. As Co-Director of Multistory Complex, she has entered international design competitions and continues towards a practice of planning based upon social and ecological justice.

Andrea Winkler (Co-presented with Katie Rabinowich)
Co-Director, Multistory Complex
“ Street food vending: Feeding street life”

This paper will examine current vending regulatory environments, including the provincial health regulations limiting Toronto’s street food to precooked meat and the City’s permitting and licensing regulations limiting vending to sidewalks in the downtown core. It will explore current vending issues in Toronto and international vending practices from which we might learn.

Andrea Winkler has a Master in Environmental Studies from York University. She currently works for a planning firm in Toronto. She has worked on collaborative community projects in Toronto and abroad. As Co-Director of Multistory Complex, she enjoys working collaboratively on public projects that explore urban issues that focus on everyday practices. She would like to see more fruit, samosas and places to sit on the street.