In collaboration with PlacemakingX and an amazing local organizing team, Placemaking Canada co-delivered the 2nd Global Placemaking Summit on June 8-11, 2025. The event included four jam-packed days of site visits, workshops, panel discussions, walking, biking and boat tours - and took place in some of the most exciting gathering places in the city.

320 PARTICIPANTS, 20+ COUNTRIES, 8 VENUES, 130+ SESSIONS, & 100+ SPEAKERS

You can read the full conference report here. Conference partner Spacing Magazine also devoted a podcast episode to the Summit entitled "Global Ideas for Local Placemaking" - have a listen!

The 2025 Global Placemaking Summit saw several important goals and objectives realized. On a local level, delegates were exposed to a wide variety of placemaking and public space initiatives underway in Toronto. On a national level, the work of Placemaking Canada was centred as part of the four-day event, fostering a growth in awareness of the organization and a vocal interest in expanding its capacity and activities. Broader still, work on upwards of 40 separate placemaking agenda topics identified by PlacemakingX was advanced through a combination of delegate workshops, dialogues and presentations. This latter effort will help to advance the global conversation on placemaking and will provide the movement with a more refined foundation for future advocacy, programming, and organizational development.

We'll highlight two of the key outcomes from the conference here. Be sure to check out the main report for a synopsis of the full event.

Putting Toronto’s Placemaking Work on the Map

As one of North America’s largest, most diverse, and fastest growing cities, Toronto offers an array of learnings relevant to other communities. Through the course of the Summit, participants visited several key venues around the city, undertook walking and boat tours, and heard first-hand from design professionals, non-profit organizations, cultural programmers, developers, and members of local government about their work. This provided an important opportunity to showcase the wide variety of placemaking and public space projects underway in Toronto.

Participants are invited to continue following the work of the Toronto-based organizations represented in the Summit, including:

Participants may also wish to follow along with key some of the key venues that were visited during the summit – including YZD, Stackt Market, The Well, TAS, Public Work, 401 Richmond, the World Urban Pavillion, Evergreen Brick Works, and the Distillery District.

Growing the National Network

The Global Summit marked the 6th opportunity for Canadian placemakers and public space advocates to gather as part of Placemaking Canada. The co-presented nature of the Summit had the benefit of introducing a number of participants to the organization, stimulating further interest in growing the national network and building cross-country collaboration.

Building on these outcomes, the Steering Committee for Placemaking Canada is looking to advance three key activities in the near term:

Formalize the organizational structure of Placemaking Canada. Currently, Placemaking Canada is managed by a loose, volunteer-based Steering Committee. As the organization scales-up, the need to establish a clearer, more representative governance structure and decision-making process is imperative. The Steering Committee currently has a ‘call for interested participants’ to help guide the organization during this important transitional period.
Establish working groups and communities of practice. In both the Summit and earlier gatherings, participants expressed an interest in having the space to hold more detailed, sector or community-specific conversations around placemaking and public space matters. To support this, Placemaking Canada will develop and convene one or more ‘communities of practice’ in early 2026 to test the concept.
Produce a ‘winter placemaking’ field trip/mini-gathering. Canada has relatively long winters, often with prolonged periods of snow and/or rain. Winter placemaking was identified as a key topic of interest for participants. Several Canadian cities have been leading the charge with winter-related activities, and Placemaking Canada is hoping to work with one or more of them to deliver a gathering in early 2026.

In addition to these aforementioned areas of focus, Placemaking Canada will continue to work on its existing core activities, including amplifying the voices of Canadian placemakers and public space topics, convening and connecting Canadian placemakers through events and other supports (including a practitioner database), and advocating for the important role of public spaces in the life of Canadian communities.

An Amazing Collaboration!

The 2nd Global Summit came together through the collaborative effort of Placemaking X, Placemaking Canada and the incredible hard work of a local organizing committee -- along with several sponsors and supporters.

PlacemakingX

PlacemakingX is a global network of leaders who together accelerate placemaking as a way to create healthy, inclusive, and beloved communities. Our vision is to make the spaces we live into places we love. Create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable world through the convergence of values, passion, and action around our public spaces.

We are a network of placemaking thought leaders, public space activists, regional network leaders, and professionals from all over the world. We have diverse experiences and backgrounds but share a common purpose. PlacemakingX is currently formed by 100+ leaders and 1,500+ advocates from 100+ countries around the world.

Placemaking Canada

Placemaking Canada was founded in 2015 and is a cross-country collective that champions placemaking and public space as part of healthy, vibrant and equitable communities. The organization has held a number of national gatherings over the past decade. Core activities for Placemaking Canada are built around four linked themes: (1) Connecting & Convening, (2) Amplifying & Celebrating, (3) Advocating, (4) Capacity Building/Skill-Sharing/Knowledge Transfer.

Toronto Organizing Committee

The Toronto Summit would not have happened without a dedicated team of local placemakers and public space advocates. The team met weekly in the months leading up to the June event, with Committee members taking all aspects of event programming and logistics. Core Committee members (in alphabetical order): Andrew Pask, Beth Evans, Cassandra Alves, Danielle Goldfinger, Emma Petersen, Ima-Obong Esin, Jacquelyn West, Lanrick Bennett, Marcello Cabezas, Massa Almouslly, Nic de Salaberry, Rachel Bregman, Ronika Postaria, Ryan Lo, Sanjna Urval, T.J. Maguire, Wes Reibeling. Additional support for was provided by Paola Qualizza and Paty Rios.

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Supporting PlacemakingX, Placemaking Canada and the steering commmittee through in-kind support and sponsorships include the following partners: World Urban Pavilion, YZD by Northcrest, Project for Public Spaces, Urban Economy Forum, UN Habitat, Canadian Urban Institute, Evergreen, Spacing, 8 80 Cities, Jane’s Walk, STEPS Public Art, STACKT Market, Social Life Project, DESIGNwith, The Place Institute, MASSIVart, Hatch, and Vestre.

Also, thank you to all many individuals who stepped up to volunteer and support the conference!