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   Tom Davies Square has recently undergone an extensive revitalization in hopes of turning the square into a lively public space for the city of Sudbury. It is within the contexts of this recent revitalization and the squares effectiveness as a public space, fostering health and well-being(1) during the unprecedented circumstances of Covid-19 that we discuss this space(2).

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   The square is quite large, totaling 8,381sq m (not counting the Bell building concourse) and in its most open section measuring 53m x 97m.(3) The square is surrounded by an eleven story building, housing service Ontario and the parole office, four story town hall, and seven story police station. With the exception the Town hall these buildings do not promote a comfortable sense of scale in regards to the human body.(4) The facades of these buildings are also in contention with the pedestrian failing to engage, and ranging from boring to inactive as described in Close Encounters with Buildings.(5) The white paving stones and light tones of the buildings make the space especially bright when the sun is out causing an uncomfortable amount of squinting. 

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    There is a grove of mature maple trees about 1500 sq m, providing shade to the lawn at the north of the square. Landscape features resemble the Canadian  shield at the east entrance and Corten steel planters along the east of the square filled with indigenous flora, accurately represent a community proud of its northern heritage, and inspire a pride in place. (6),(7). A stage, ample secondary seating clad in white pine and Corten steel and refurbished benches add to this call to home. These are mostly located at the north end and offer many configurations based on weather and time of day, primary and secondary seating available for multiple climactic conditions.(8) The buildings and trees provide ample shade while allowing for sunlight at most parts of the day and protecting from winds except from the west, an important factor in comfort.(9) Of those who chose to linger in the space during an entire hour of study, only one used any primary of secondary seating options. Those sitting were usually doing so on the ground underneath the bell concourse in the north east.

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Overall, the space does well in its design to invite people to sit and stay, but it also fails to draw in any lasting visitors, beside some who to hide away in the concourse. They are likely attracted to the space for it’s anonymity, as despite a great many people occupying the buildings surrounding the square, there are very few eyes or ears on what goes on there. A lack of activities, shops, or views into the buildings at the first floor, with even the coffee shop window reflecting your gaze resulting in ‘boring’ facades(11) and no ‘eyes on the streets’. (12) While there are ample necessary activities present in the form of work, civic duty, and the odd necessary interaction with some level of council or the law, there exists little more. No thought, effort, or design has gone into fostering the optional and social activities we know to be the heart of any great public space. No part of the square is conducive to a game of frisbee or meeting over coffee, in part because there is no offer of both prospect and refuge. These are important factors to remember in understanding Gibson’s theory of an environment supporting people’s perception of opportunities for action. If a good public space needs 10 reasons to be there, then this one needs 9 more.

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The space is also disconnected from all others, blocked on two sides by Paris Street, practically a highway at 8 lanes, and Brady, which has been made marginally more pedestrian by the recent addition of a pedestrian activated crossing. The square is also poorly configured with adjacent spaces such as Memorial park, with no crossing to meet the entrances of two spaces which should support one-another. An inconvenient detour adds
around 150 meters to what should be an 8-meter crossing. Significant environmental costs are incurred to make your way to the park if accessed from Paris, Brady or Memorial Park. Tom Davies Square is for these reasons, not a part of a larger strategy to make the downtown more nurturing to the health and well-being of Sudburians through an enjoyment of outdoor public space.

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This all adds to an increasingly long rap sheet, showing the space as not having been designed to start with human behavior in mind. There is very little that the space does to engage with those who find themselves there. The water feature having been removed during construction, and no other activities or informal opportunities for low consequence interactions with people mean the space is one to only move through. The space truly only serves a few smokers, pedestrian circulation, and those who seek shelter or anonymity beneath the Bell concourse Lastly, we must touch on the issue of the perception of public spaces downtown, and how many, feel unsafe in heart of the city. Tom Davies Square especially earning a reputation for not being safe due in part to an adjacent homeless shelter, salvation army, and memorial park, which serves as a sort of hub of drug use and squatting. These often-skewed misperceptions of unsheltered people, the lack of action on the part of the city to shelter the unsheltered and an exasperation of these factors by Covid-19, mean that the perception of safety for the area is poor. Despite a large portion of the square being very well lit, there are enough gaps that the space, even outside these contexts would seem unnerving even to the toughest of us. During my time on the site I was even a witnessed to an altercation where a man dragged a woman towards the bell concourse in broad daylight and watch terrified as he threw things at her while I was on the phone with 911. The police station being a part of the square’s perimeter meant a swift end to the altercation however it affirms the poor design decision, of creating a dark area under cover with no visual connection to the interior of the building. I conclusion, for its lack of engagement with the community, the extremely limited activities that the space fosters, as well as the large scale and opaque buildings which make up the square, Tom Davies Square fails as a good public space. Despite the millions of dollars spent on the renovations, little has been done to transform the space into a place for the fostering of the health and wellbeing of our city.