The Time Is Now and the Opportunity Is Gold! Calling on Waterfront Toronto to Lead Us to a People-First, Cars-Last Urban Future
Tonight, Waterfront Toronto is hosting a public meeting to collect feedback for their recent release of a new design scheme that reflects the proposed density increase for Villiers Island. While the focus of the meeting is the density, it is another aspect of the plan that additional attention and consideration should be drawn to. Credit: […]
Incremental Urbanism in Mexico City
Written by: Misha Bereznyak I’m recently back from a visit to Mexico City, and was wondering what we in Toronto can learn from it. As the housing shortage in Toronto has reached a crisis level, the question of density and intensification has become more acute than ever. Of course, Mexico City is so much larger […]
A New Tall Neighbourhood with Old City Charm
Prepared for: Korea Land & Housing CorporationLocation: Seoul, South KoreaScale: Master Plan Size: 120 acres Transit: Metro, Bus Units: 9,500 Project Duration: 2024- High-rise, high-density neighbourhoods allow us to accommodate the density that our cities need in order to provide robust urban infrastructure, diverse services and thriving commercial centres and to support sustainable growth. Unfortunately, […]
Kissing Many Toads Before Finding the Prince: Office Conversion
A proposed plan to convert an office building to affordable housing Major cities across Canada and the US are facing 3 significant challenges: a massive housing shortage, excessive greenhouse gas emissions from new developments, and an oversupply of office spaces. Toronto, for instance, closed out 2023 with a surplus of 2.7 million square feet […]
Financial Incentives for Affordable Housing Part 2
Part 1 was one of our most popular blog posts ever! So we decided to update it with a part 2! Here is a selection of notable funds with a range of incentives, this article navigates through many options, highlighting some key financial pathways to achieve affordable housing by all 3 levels of governments. City […]
Our Urban Design Roundtables
Urban Design Roundtable Series Play Environments and Streets for Kids: Design Strategies We’ll learn about key strategies for creating child-focused streets, explore the connection between independent play, mobility, and children’s holistic development in suburban environments, and discuss research-based strategies for designing public play environments that promote health and happiness for people of all ages. June […]
More than Letter Swaps: how to shift from TODs to TOCs? By Scaling Down
Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) were initially introduced to optimize land use around transit nodes, creating a model for transportation and land use integration. These developments are situated near higher-order transit, with streets mainly lined with mid-rise and high-rise buildings. They offer a mix of uses, public spaces, and amenities, undoubtedly aiding the shift away from […]
My daughter’s ‘car allergy’: and why it matters for housing and city living
My 4.5-year-old daughter, asked if she’s allergic to anything, confidently says, “I’m allergic to cars.” Hilarious, right? She said that because she easily gets car-sick as we don’t drive very often. Yet, that innocent remark reflects a deeper truth about our cities and their reliance on cars. Why should we care about reducing this reliance? […]
Missing Middle & Affordable Housing in Kitchener
Missing Middle housing has become the type of housing communities wish to see more of. “Middle” could speak to many factors: height, size, income, and demographics. But could it be that we missed the opportunity to achieve the missing middle, and make it affordable? The burning question remains: Does it pencil? Is it feasible? Client: […]
The Story of Rental Apartments in Toronto
The ongoing discourse around rental housing, propelled by a chorus of professional experts, policymakers, and advocates, happens in response to past choices, from rent control measures to the imperative of rental replacement, the risk-averse structure construction is financed today, and of course, the recent announcement by the federal government of GST rebate for new purpose-built […]