TENT: Toronto Envisioning Neighbourhoods Together

By demystifying the urban planning and design process and sharing technical skills and strategies, TENT provides a means through which communities can express their neighbourhood visions. Using SketchUp, a free 3D modeling tool, residents are able to envision their neighbourhood and develop new directions for local community design.

Kingston-Galloway-Orton Park buildings – 3D models built by TENT participants

Urban planning is complex, and the technical terminology and complicated processes can make it difficult for new people to join the conversation. TENT develops long-term relationships with communities to deepen their understanding of local planning opportunities and challenges, connect them with city builders across the City, and enable them to envision and articulate shared visions for their local neighbourhoods.

TENT youth building their hula hoop pavilion for the Bridging Festival 2013

Together with professionals, community members explore possible futures and create 3D renderings of the community’s own visions for their streets, grounded in current urban planning and design knowledge. As a result, communities are equipped with a basis for dialogue with decision-makers in both the public and private sectors.

Read more about TENT here.