Abstract: As the market transitions towards electromobility, Canadian manufacturing cities in Southern Ontario are experiencing a period of uncertainty accompanied by significant population growth. Where many approaches provide a broad overview of regional changes and industrial capacity, this project contributes to the existing discourse by focusing on perceived conditions in the built environment. Developing a multiscalar, mixed-media approach, this study investigates spaces of physical transition surrounding large automotive plants during this critical point of transformation. Central to this inquiry are the Canadian manufacturing operations of the ‘Big Three’ (Chrysler, Ford, and GM) in Windsor, Ontario. Field observation is combined with analytical drawing techniques to provide a visual counter-perspective—of marginal spaces and workers in an industrial city—to a dominant narrative, which implies that universal prosperity is synonymous with mass production (and consumption) of the electric vehicle. This analysis will form a starting point for exploring future potentials for the reuse or integration of megafactory structures within the existing city fabric, providing alternatives for urban growth and densification.

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