Author Archives: Trevor Heywood

Hamilton: Intersection of Metroscapes and Rural Areas

Last week, I began expanding the Metroscapes website to a third city: Hamilton. I had long had my eye on exploring Hamilton, based on a few adventures out there with a friend that used to live there, and knowing there was unique urban fabric. Hamilton sits at the west tip of Lake Ontario, providing aContinue reading “Hamilton: Intersection of Metroscapes and Rural Areas”

Parks and Pandemics: The Need for Open Space Laid Bare

I started walking around Toronto over 6 years ago, well before I started this site. As I started covering more of the city, I had a vision for what a top-tier trail system could look like, using and connecting the city’s ravines, utility corridors, shoreline and other open spaces. And I was groundtruthing how manyContinue reading “Parks and Pandemics: The Need for Open Space Laid Bare”

State of NY v. IJC and the Force of Mother Nature

Disclaimer: This piece is a data analysis and open discussion regarding Lake Ontario levels. The conclusions are not definitive and are editorial in nature. The matters before the Supreme Court of the State of New York are unproven and may be tested in court through rigorous argument, expert testimony, and applicable law. In 2017, LakeContinue reading “State of NY v. IJC and the Force of Mother Nature”

More Reflection on a Westerly Shift

It’s been half a year since I picked up from Toronto, the big city, and moved to the more affordable pastures of Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (“the Tri-Cities”). I’ve covered less than a tenth of what I walked in the T dot, but it’s given me enough time and distance to reflect on how these two regions differ,Continue reading “More Reflection on a Westerly Shift”

Public Review Update: Toronto’s Regional Trail Strategy

About a year ago, I reviewed a draft version of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) Trail Strategy for the Greater Toronto Region (Trail Strategy). I focused on the parts of it within the City of Toronto, and suggested: Four significant corridor changes; Three alternative connections; Five map corrections; and, Three remaining gaps. TheContinue reading “Public Review Update: Toronto’s Regional Trail Strategy”

The Ins and Outs of Lake Ontario

Note: This post was first published on June 1, 2019 with data available from May 30, 2019. It was updated on June 3, 2019 with the latest data available, and improved graphs. It was updated again on June 5, 2019, July 2, 2019 and February 17, 2020 to reflect new height records and revised dataContinue reading “The Ins and Outs of Lake Ontario”

Pan Am Path: An Update on our Legacy

Toronto hosted the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games in 2015. To pull off such a large sporting event, Toronto invested in several facilities where the games would happen, to be reused for community benefit afterwards. There was also one “legacy project” to pay tribute to the games. The Pan Am Path was a proposed 84-kilometreContinue reading “Pan Am Path: An Update on our Legacy”