The Bentway is excited to announce The Unfinished City – a new 10-week after-school program launching in Fall 2025 for students in grades 4–8.
Designed for curious and creative minds aged 9–14, The Unfinished City invites young urbanists to explore the past, present, and possible futures of Toronto. The goal of the program is to empower participants to understand and influence concepts in urban design, city building, and placemaking through neighbourhood investigations, storytelling, art, data collection, and unpacking the history of the area around The Bentway.
The program will go beyond being “hands-on” — it will also be “minds-on.” During each session, young urbanists will ask questions, gather information, compare and collaborate, draw conclusions, and develop a point of view.
Interactive activities and experiences, designed in collaboration with youth education leaders Maximum City, will challenge participants to not only explore The Bentway and surrounding area, but critically examine the neighbourhood’s history, current state, and potential future through skillbuilding in multidisciplinary fields. Guided by principles of Indigenous placekeeping, ecology, storytelling, adaptation, and youth agency, the program empowers participants to ask critical questions about citybuilding and imagine what cities can become when everyone gets a say in how they’re built.
Cities are perpetually unfinished, and every generation gets to have a kick at the can, which will mean constant changes in the urban landscape.
– Ken Greenberg
Working independently and collaboratively, participants will earn badges in a custom “City Passport,” build foundational skills across a variety of disciplines, and ultimately co-create a public experience that shares their vision for the future city.
Registration opens summer 2025 — stay tuned!
This program is generously supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
