Councillor Josh Matlow Urges Students to Preserve Green Spaces and Diversify Neighbourhoods

When a young Josh Matlow got into trouble, a letter of his name would be written on the board. Once his whole name appeared on the board, he was sent to the principal’s office. That ignited the politics nerve in Josh and encouraged him to write a petition to change this unjust disciplinary action, ultimately helping to change the classroom rules.

“I loved being involved in causes I cared about,” says Josh, councillor of Ward 22 (Greenwood’s ward), who spoke about city planning to Grade 12 Green Industries and World Politics students, “When I was involved in the community, I understood my purpose for being there.” Students learned about the importance of strategic planning in urban centres, namely in the City of Toronto, and developing a greener landscape while considering a number of variables that are affected by it.

Josh went on to speak about how we take good care in planning the look and feel of our own homes, but we often don’t give the same consideration to our city.

“[If] we love our homes so much, why don’t we treat our city that way?” says Josh. Ways to treat our city like our homes include: historic building preservation; infrastructure building or maintenance such as creating green spaces; and establishing diverse communities throughout the city. Taking action in these areas can make a positive impact on community and the city as a whole.

Students were full of questions for Josh. Some of the questions he answered:

A: Builders are creatively repurposing the building to keep its integrity. For example, what was once a post office is now a retail space. If builders construct buildings beside heritage structures, they design the structure to complement the existing one.

 

A: Josh envisions an extension of greenspace in Oriole Park for residences in the area.

 

A: Funds are based on the needs of the neighbourhood. The city’s goal is to create more economically balanced neighbourhoods across the city. By doing this, people are not stigmatized based on their economic or cultural background. Bringing diversity to neighbourhoods and encouraging people of all walks of life to live side by side is important.

Urban planning takes a lot of consideration for the needs of the city’s many communities. Josh believes in taking care of the public realm, building recreation facilities and quality schools and creating accessible sidewalks for pedestrians.

Making what may seem like small changes locally can cause a ripple effect in one’s community, province, nation or world. “[We must] plan for the future to have a great quality of life.” says Josh.

Thanks Josh, for sharing your passion with Greenwood!