Urban Action Committee of the Toronto Society of Architects

The Urban Action Committee of the Toronto Chapter was established in 1969 to promote architects’ involvement in the debate of various issues pertaining to the rapidly urbanising city, such as the preservation of old buildings and the design of store fronts and streetscapes. In the early years the Committee was active in the fight against the Spadina Expressway and the Eaton Center Development which threatened OId City Hall. The Committee also organised neighbourhood design clinics and exhibitions to promote the work of Toronto architects. The Committee’s textural archive includes records from the earliest active period of the Committee, 1969-1975, and includes correspondence documents, reports, submissions and proposals to the Ontario Municipal Board, minutes of meetings, and meeting agendas. The records also document materials on special projects of the Committee including the Spadina Expressway, Yonge Street Mall, Eaton Center Development, Pedestrian Malls, City Hall and many more during that time period. The TSA’s Urban Action Committee has been most recently active on issues regarding the future of the Gardiner Expressway East and the urban design implications of the proposed Toronto Island Airport expansion. Urban Affairs Forums held by the TSA, along with the authorship of position papers circulated to local government and stakeholders, are the various means by which the TSA continues to be actively and meaningfully involved in urban issues.