During the 20th and early 21st century, technological advancements and the transformation from an agrarian to industrial to information economy, the population largely shifted from rural to urban habitations. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 51% of the population lived in urban areas and 49% in rural. In 2000, those numbers shifted mightily to 79% and 21%, respectively.
An unfortunate side effect of this urban migration is the disconnect many people feel from the natural world due to living in densely populated areas. In responses, many communities are creating initiatives to improve parks and develop greenspaces that help residents spend quality time outdoors.
Although Canada is far less densely populated than the U.S., it’s undergone a similar shift. In 1921, 51% of its population lived in rural areas; in 2006, such residents only accounted for 20% of the population. Toronto, its largest city with 5.5 million metropolitan residents, enjoyed a revitalization of Queens Park, a verdant oasis in Toronto’s urban core. Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation collaborated with the Royal Ontario Museum to execute the Trees for Toronto project.
The Museum donated $100,000 to plant trees and develop environmental graphics that identify the 47 varieties of trees that grow in Queen’s Park. The organizations hired Acumen Visual Group (Markham, ON, Canada) to fabricate the signage, which comprises aluminum structures clad in Folia (Huntingdon, QC, Canada) high-pressure, laminated prints. Keith Francis, Acumen’s director of strategic planning, said, “We want our signs to complement the tree-filled park while being distinctive enough to engage visitors and involve them with the Trees for Toronto experience.”