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The Planning and Implementation of the Don Valley Brick Works' Restoration

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The Planning and Implementation of the Don Valley Brick Works' Restoration From Brown to Green? The Planning and Implementation of the Don Valley Brick Works’ Restoration By Anna Côté July 26th, 2013 A Major Paper submitted to the Faculty of Environmental Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Student Signature:____________________ Supervisor Signature: ____________________ Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................4 FOREWORD..............................................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................8 CHAPTER 2: THE CASE FOR BROWNFIELD-TO-GREENSPACE PROJECTS ......................... 11 CHAPTER 3: SITE SELECTION, METHODOLOGY, & CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION .......... 19 3.1 CHOICE OF SITE ............................................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................... 20 3.2.1 Literature review....................................................................................................................................20 3.2.2 Policy and Planning Document Review.........................................................................................20 3.2.3 Site Visits ....................................................................................................................................................21 3.2.4 On-Site Interviews ..................................................................................................................................21 3.3 EVALUATION .................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.1 Political Ecology......................................................................................................................................23 3.3.2. Higgs’ Ecological Restoration ..........................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 4: SITE HISTORY AND CURRENT SITE DESCRIPTION.......................................... 30 4.1 LOCATION AND PRE-QUARRY ERA .............................................................................................................. 30 4.2 BRICK-MAKING YEARS .................................................................................................................................. 32 4.3 CURRENT SITE DESCRIPTION & OWNERSHIP............................................................................................ 33 CHAPTER 5: QUARRY RESTORATION TIMELINE ...................................................................... 37 5.1 FAILED ATTEMPT AT PURCHASE OF LAND................................................................................................. 38 5.2 EXPROPRIATION & BEYOND ......................................................................................................................... 39 5.3 NOT A TRADITIONAL BROWNFIELD? .......................................................................................................... 41 5.4 RESTORATION WORK..................................................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER 6: FINDINGS & ANALYSIS 1 – POLITICAL FORCES................................................. 49 6.1 IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT .......................................................................................... 49 6.1.1 Bring Back the Don Movement.........................................................................................................50 6.1.2 Friends of the Valley..............................................................................................................................51 6.1.3 But Where Are the Others?.................................................................................................................55 6.2 MONEY MATTERS ........................................................................................................................................... 58 6.2.1 Expropriation Costs ...............................................................................................................................58 6.2.2 Working Budget for Restoration & Maintenance.....................................................................59 6.3 AMALGAMATION ............................................................................................................................................. 61 CHAPTER 7: FINDINGS & ANALYSIS 2 – ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION ............................... 63 7.1 GENERAL CONTEXT: PREVAILING MINDSETS INFLUENCING THE RESTORATION............................... 63 7.2 SPECIFIC APPROACHES USED IN THE RESTORATION ............................................................................... 64 7.2.1 Ecological Succession............................................................................................................................64 7.2.2 Native Species...........................................................................................................................................66 7.2.3 Combination of Habitats .....................................................................................................................68 7.2.4 Focus on Water Systems ......................................................................................................................69 7.3 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................... 72 7.3.1 Ecological Integrity ...............................................................................................................................72 7.3.2 Historical Fidelity ...................................................................................................................................74 7.3.3 Focal Practice...........................................................................................................................................76 2 7.3.4 Wild Design ...............................................................................................................................................78 7.3.5 Overall Evaluation of Ecological Restoration ............................................................................80 CHAPTER 8: FINDINGS & ANALYSIS 3 – HUMAN-NATURE INTERACTION........................ 82 8.1 GUIDING VISIONS BEHIND HUMAN-NATURE INTERACTION .................................................................. 82 8.1.1 Built to Demonstrate.............................................................................................................................83 8.1.2 “Managed Forever”................................................................................................................................84 8.2 TYPES OF INTENDED INTERACTION ON SITE ............................................................................................. 87 8.3 TYPES OF ACTUAL INTERACTION ON SITE ................................................................................................. 88 8.3.1 Negative Effects.......................................................................................................................................89 8.3.2 Positive Effects .........................................................................................................................................92 8.4 DESTROYING THAT WHICH WE SEEK ........................................................................................................ 93 CHAPTER 9: TRANSFERABLE LESSONS........................................................................................ 96 9.1 POLITICAL FACTORS & ACTORS ................................................................................................................... 96 9.2 ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS.................................................................................................................... 99 9.3 HUMAN-NATURE BALANCE ........................................................................................................................100 CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSION............................................................................................................103 REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................106 APPENDIX A – LIST OF INTERVIEW SUBJECTS ........................................................................110 3 Acknowledgements A heartfelt thank you to my friends, family, and peers in supporting me through the realization of this paper and my MES degree. A special thank you to Dr. Jennifer Foster, my academic supervisor, who shared a passion for this site and this topic. She motivated me to ask questions I had not considered, to incorporate critical concepts I had not previously explored, and helped me connect with people central to my research. I am also very grateful to the eight interviewees who participated in my research. Their obvious enthusiasm
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