On Monday, John Sewell kicks off the Toronto Society of Architects’ inaugural forum at the recently restored Gladstone Hotel, reported The Globe and Mail Feb. 3. He will give the first of four lectures in a series called “The Shape of the Toronto Suburbs: Why They Are Like They Are.” When York University first asked him to speak on the subject this past autumn, Sewell admits he “knew very, very little about what happened just outside the boundaries of the former Metro Toronto.” So he jumped at the chance to learn, and perhaps gather material for another book. [In November, Sewell delivered the Kitty Lundy Memorial Fund Lectures Series on “Fuelling Suburban Growth in the Toronto Area, 1950-2000”.]
On air
- York political science professor Saeed Rahnema reflected on the psychology of the new Iranian president, who has alarmed many Western countries with his push for nuclear research, and key aspects of diplomacy with Iran, on CBC’s “Canada Now: Newsworld Edition” Feb. 2. Rahnema and Angela Joya, a researcher with York’s Centre for International & Security Studies, also discussed how a lack of funding has put at risk the future of a York project to train Palestinians to govern, on “OMNI News: South Asian Edition” Feb. 2.