Toronto Water Atlas Launches, with a Design Research Paper Accepted to CHI 2026

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the Toronto Water Atlas. Last month we had the joy of organizing the Water Atlas exhibition at Massey College, and it was a truly special moment for everyone involved.

The Toronto Water Atlas is an imaginative, interactive, and collaborative mapping project consisting of nine maps in different mediums, narratives, and forms. Taking inspiration from the willful, divergent, and messy interactions between people and water, it attempts to see and show the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area’s rivers, creeks, and waterways differently. Going forward, the Atlas will continue to grow as a public web resource, embracing new maps and contributions as more people share their own relationships with the region’s waterways.

Thank you to all the participants who generously shared their time and enthusiasm over the past year – for showing up month after month, and for trusting that this kind of slow, collaborative work is worth doing. We also thank the Centre for Social Innovation for hosting us, and Mariko Uda and Dashiel Carrera for facilitating thoughtful and engaging workshops. Thank you to our collaborators at the School of the Environment, University of Toronto, and the Canadian Climate Challenge.

We’re also excited to announce that a design research paper documenting the Atlas, by Nils Bonfils, Amelia Lee Dogan, Siyi (Reyna) Wu, and Robert Soden, has been accepted to CHI 2026, the leading international conference in Human-Computer Interaction.

Explore the collection of maps on the Toronto Water Atlas website.