"A campus is the mirror of a college or university's soul, reflecting its history, culture and image, its management style, and even its future. Given its importance, you would think that a college or university would treat its campus with the greatest care and respect. Sadly, the reverse is often true. Across the United States, many schools have wreaked havoc on their campuses by demolishing landscape buildings, constructing new facilities in inappropriate locations, covering historic commons in asphalt, and worse."

The recent St. George Street project raised consciousness within the University community about the importance of our surroundings. As a result of this successful project, the Vice-President of Administration, Michael Finlayson, made it a priority to have an Open Space Master Plan prepared for our University.

An international request for proposals was issued and six finalists were invited to present their ideas in an open forum held in Governing Council Chambers. The committee was unanimous in its selection of Urban Strategies Inc., in partnership with Corban and Goode, Taylor Hariri Pontarini Architects and Marshall Macklin Monaghan to prepare the plan for the University of Toronto.

In preparation of the Open Space Master Plan, workshops, forums, presentations and many one-on-one consultations were conducted. In addition, the Open Space Steering Committee and its executive members were in constant communication with Urban Strategies. The product of this enormous effort is attached hereto.

The process was a very labour intensive one for our consultants and I would like to thank them all for their patience. Many others have contributed to this work. All of the members of the Open Space Steering Committee have devoted many hours to ensuring that the final product is one we can be proud of. Likewise, members of the Physical Planning and Design Advisory Committee (PPDAC) have had continuing input into this process. The larger university community has had numerous opportunities to add to the discussions and to this final product. The City of Toronto Urban Design staff were most helpful in supporting the city-scale issues addressed in the plan.

Finally, I would like to thank the other members of the executive group of the Steering Committee who have, on almost a daily basis, been involved in every stage. They are Judy Matthews, Bob Price and Elizabeth Sisam. In addition, Larry Richards and Michael Finlayson attended many of our weekly sessions and made many useful contributions.

Like all great universities, the University of Toronto consists of an intertwining of intellectual, social, and physical environments. At the best institutions, these environments support and complement one another. Through the implementation of the Open Space Master Plan, we will pass on a remarkable legacy to future generations.

Alex Waugh, Chair, Open Space Steering Committee

Charles Lockwood wrote these lines in the Fall 1998 issue of Planning for Higher Education to introduce an initiative at Stanford University, which is using planning policies to reclaim the vision of its original 1887 master plan His description of US universities, however, applies equally well to the University of Toronto. During the post-war period, the University replaced historic buildings and neighborhoods west of St. George Street with large, monolithic facilities that do not reflect the tradition of the older fabric of the campus. The quadrangles, courtyards, open spaces and playing fields of the east and central campus are missing west of St. George Street. Surface parking has encroached upon open space throughout the campus. Connections between various parts of the campus often lack pedestrian amenity.

Despite the weaknesses of some of the University open spaces, the St. George has many strengths to build upon. The University has recently been recognizing the need for a comprehensive framework for planning its buildings and open spaces to create a functionally and aesthetically unified campus whose physical environment reflects its academic excellence.

The University of Toronto Master Plan and the City of Toronto Part II Plan for the University of Toronto Area, as well as the successful revitalization of the St. George Street corridor build upon this understanding of the relationship between the physical environment of the campus, its international image, and its quality of life for students, staff and visitors. The plan for open space is part of this continuum of policies to revitalize the University's physical character.

The University of Toronto is not alone in its desire to renew and support its open spaces. Stanford, Minnesota, Harvard, and UBC, among many others, are undertaking similar initiatives. In our urban setting, open spaces are limited and we must take care to enhance and protect them as much as we can.