Wanted to share a project that explores the loss of access to indoor spaces this winter in Toronto: https://maphealth.ca/indoor-public-spaces-toronto. It demonstrates that there is a severe lack of access to indoor public space, even during cold weather alerts. The City of Toronto’s “Winter Plan for People Experiencing Homelessness” does not address this lack of access.
You can find statistics, maps and background about: respite and warming centres, libraries and community centres, 24-hour coffee shops and much more. Project summary and recommendations are available here.
The project also demonstrates that there are many opportunities to open up additional space. For example, there are a range of buildings—including City-run buildings—that are currently closed to use.
As we know that ventilation and filtration are critical to reducing airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoor spaces, we also share information about how to improve ventilation and filtration in the short and long term. Finally, we have compiled some potential funding sources that could be used to improve indoor air quality.
We hope this will be useful, and it would be great to get your thoughts. Please feel free to share this information as well.
