The city's backyard

On my bike ride home from work, I pass a quirky little square, deep in a quiet and unremarkable residential neighbourhood. It's an odd mini-park, smaller than most house lots; created a result of a slight curve in the street. At some point in the past, the city added benches, set paving stones and planted a few trees. A pretty spot, but boring.

But this spring something interesting happened. A neighbour brought out chess pieces, and set them up on the square. And people stopped to join him in a game. It's a rag-tag set: broken bricks and tile pipes replaces missing pieces, and those that remain are a bit banged up. Chalk was used on the paving stones to indicate squares, soon upgraded to permanent paint after a particularly rainy week. The chess pieces have been left in place for the next player who happens by: most days when I pass, someone has paused with friends or strangers to play a bit of the game.

Along the same stretch of street there are a number of traffic circles and boulevard edges that have also been transformed by nearby residents, into half-wild garden plots overflowing with plants and blooms - more spots for local conversation and connection. I love these little bits of 'un-owned' space in the city, and how they reflect the personalities and people of the neighbourhood.