"I would love to see a public square with a park, benches and trees; a peaceful place to gather and read books, and a great place for sight see-ers as well."
- comment from attendee at Canada Day celebration |
Market Square Press Archives
Between October 2011 and January 2014, the Stratford Gazette published a series of articles written by Marianne Brandis in which she placed the revitalization of Stratford's Market Square within the context of urban renewal practices from around the world. Here are Marianne's introductory notes to her articles listed below. "I became interested in the Market Square revitalization project when I first heard about it. At an early meeting of the Market Square Committee in about 2003, I presented some photos of a market square in the Netherlands which I had recently visited, but that was the only early meeting of the group that I attended. In the late summer of 2011, in a conversation with Marcia Matsui, I told her about an interesting book that I had just read concerning urban renewal, saying that it might be of interest to the Committee. She said that if I wrote a few hundred words about it in an e-mail she would send it to the people on the Committee’s mailing list. I did, and she did. Marcia then asked whether I’d consent to her offering it to the Stratford Gazette for possible publication. My article was published in October 2011 and it became the first in the series of articles. I set myself the goal of writing one per month; I missed a couple of months but eventually I wrote 24 of them and they ran until January 2014, at which point I had an accident which prevented me from doing any writing at all for several months. My running title for the articles, “The Market Square, the Town, and the Planet,” was chosen because I hoped that by sketching a larger context for the Stratford project I would be able to explore the interconnectedness of issues: the hoped-for revitalization of the Market Square would benefit Stratford as a whole, and the project of urban renewal would be in harmony with similar work being done in other cities around the world, with widely beneficial results. Ideas for the articles came partly from my reading but also, and very importantly, from Marcia Matsui. To develop the ideas and collect material, I did research in books and online, and I talked to Laura Dent and other local residents who had special expertise or experience. I drew on research that Laura and others had done into similar projects in other cities, and I explained – and explored the possibilities of – the “design concept” for the Square’s revitalization which was then under discussion. When the series of articles was abruptly terminated, I had begun doing “portraits” of buildings on the Market Square, assisted by the research of Carole Huband and the buildings’ owners or occupiers; I had completed two, and I was on the trail of more. In the list below, I give the title of the article as it appeared in print and the date of the issue of the Gazette in which it appeared. The serial number is there to keep the articles in their chronological order, because there was a certain sequence and continuity." Marianne Brandis, Stratford, ON Web Editor Note: From 2007 to 2017, local newspapers were immensely helpful in communicating the work of the Stratford Market Square Committee and providing a forum for public feedback about the revitalization of the square. The Stratford Gazette ceased publication on November 27, 2017 and as a result, ten articles about Market Square, provided by Gazette journalists, can no longer be accessed. Live links to articles and opinion pieces published by the Stratford Beacon Herald appear in a section below the Market Square series. November 4, 2011 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis The Market Square, the town and the planet: Ecocities December 8, 2011 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Market Square in winter January 11, 2012 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis The edges of the Market Square March 14, 2012 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis The Market Square: A gathering place May 2, 2012 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis The Biography of the Market Square June 5, 2012 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Coming attraction: Stratford's Market Square July 4, 2012 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis We shape cities, and they shape us July 24, 2012 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Market Square: From concept to design September 5, 2012 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Urban design: A quick overview October 11, 2012 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis The Market Square: vision and process December 7, 2012 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis The Market Square: Moving forward January 16, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis The Market Square: Looking over the horizon February 27, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Livable and lovable cities April 11, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis The Market Square - A Big Step Forward May 8, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis A successful public place: Campus Martius in Detroit June 5, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis From parking to people in Portland, Oregon June 26, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Why public spaces fail July 17, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Greening the Market Square September 4, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Stratford's Market Square and the Campo in Sienna September 11, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Market Place: Past meets the future October 3, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis Choosing Quality - A Proud Stratford Tradition November 20, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis The Market Square: Taking the long view December 11, 2013 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis A lively Market Square January 15, 2014 Stratford Gazette, Marianne Brandis 88 Wellington Street: a slice of Stratford history ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stratford Beacon Herald Articles re: Market Square January 15, 2010 Stratford Beacon Herald, Diana Loveless Take back the square March 19, 2010 Stratford Beacon Herald, John Kastner Recent developments could bring Market Square vision into focus July 15, 2010 Stratford Beacon Herald Movies in the Square extended May 10, 2011 Stratford Beacon Herald, Mike Beitz & Donol O'Conor Outdoor market garners approval April 13, 2012 Eleanor Kane What Would Market Square Look Like in a Smart City? May 31, 2012 Stratford Beacon Herald, Ron Dodson Let's do something about Market Square right now! March 20, 2013 Stratford Beacon Herald, Donal O'Connor Donation aimed at Market Square redevelopment March 21, 2013 Stratford Beacon Herald, Donal O'Connor Additional funding still needed on top of Walmart's $1.25 million donation, says sesquicentennial chair May 5, 2013 Stratford Beacon Herald, Mike Beitz Sunday Slow Food Market in Stratford moves outdoors again |
With the support of the Perth Community Futures and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
