How Other Cities in the U.S. and Canada Implement Missing Middle Policies?
Written by: Misha Bereznyak and Josh Papernick In July 2019, Mayor John Tory and Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão passed a motion that directed the planning department to consider new forms of development...
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10 reasons to choose Modular Construction: Webinar Recording + Summary
As part of our Educational Webinar Series, we hosted a special webinar led by Chris Smith, a Project Manager and Temo Cruz, Prefabrication & Modular Coordinator at ED Modular. Below is...
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Financial Incentives for Affordable Housing
Last week, the City of Toronto has released the 2020 Open Door Call for applications. What are the different programs, incentive tools and streams that exist today in order to accelerate affordable...
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12 Little Anecdotes from ‘Happy City’ by Charles Montgomery
Written by Josh Papernick 1. A Swedish study found that people who endure more than a forty-five-minute commute were 40 percent more likely to divorce 2. A person with a one-hour commute...
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Infill Development in Apartment Neighbourhoods
Infill Development in Apartment Neighbourhoods The Official Plan provides criteria for infill development within Apartment Neighbourhoods. Compatible infill development may be permitted on sites with existing apartment buildings if they improve the...
Read MoreThe Yellow Belt – Local Empowerment Gone Wild
Recently, there is finally discussion in Toronto about the Yellow Belt. This brilliant term was coined by Urban Planner Gil Meslin in 2016 to liken the severe restrictions on development in most...
Read MoreDutch Urban Design – What can Canadian cities adopt?
When it comes to urban design, the Dutch seem to get it right. Cities in the Netherlands are livable and vibrant. Single-family housing is not common and their streets are not designed...
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7 Recommended Books about Business, Architecture and the Business of Architecture
I love love love reading about business and architecture/urban design, and really enjoy it when it combines my love for both. (Though if you know me personally you know I haven’t read...
Read MoreAn Immigrant’s Thoughts on Housing
Happy Newcomer Day, Canada! Earlier this year, we received our Canadian Citizenship and I would like to offer some thoughts about Housing – by one of Canada’s newest citizens. In almost any...
Read MoreToronto’s Missing Middle: 11 answers to your most-pressing questions
Written by Naama Blonder | Edited by Josh Papernick In July 2019, Mayor Tory and Deputy Mayor Ana Bailao motioned to review a timeline to increase housing options and planning permissions in...
Read MoreCould COVID-19 be the best thing that happened to the traditional Open House?
- by Admin
- in Blog Uncategorized
- posted March 14, 2020
CreateTO and City Planning have held its first-ever online-only Open House yesterday, for the HousingNOW revised proposal for 705 Warden St. COVID-19 forced us to rethink and adjust many of our daily...
Read MoreMain & Danforth (Community Open House Summary)
Check out our concept for the Danforth GO + Main Street Subway Pedestrian Connection This summary is meant to cover the main points regarding planning and development that were raised in the...
Read MoreCreateTO | HousingNow – 50 Wilson Heights Blvd
This summary is meant to cover the main points regarding planning and development that were raised in the Open House, September 16, 2019, for the development application at 50 Wilson Heights Blvd...
Read MoreCreateTO | HousingNow – 705 Warden Ave
This summary is meant to cover the main points regarding planning and development that were raised in the Open House, September 12, 2019, for the development application at 705 Warden Ave led...
Read MorePart 4: How Not to Miss The RER Opportunity
As transformative as the RER can be, its potential is not treated accordingly by the media or the government organizations. Subway projects like the Relief Line or the potential extension of Line...
Read MorePart 3: How to Make the Most of the RER?
Because of these differences in access to the stations, the RER supports a very different type of urban structure than a subway does. The stations are far apart, but the high speed...
Read MorePart 2: How to Tie the RER Station to its Area?
How is the RER Different from a Subway? While the RER will provide frequent all-day service similar to the subway, the two are different and support different urban structures. The general principle...
Read MorePart 1: What is the GO RER
The RER Potential – and How Not to Miss it In recent years, the province has undertaken a project that has the potential to reshape the Greater Toronto Area. The Regional Express...
Read More3 Critical Urban Planning Principles Toronto Should Adopt from Tokyo ASAP
Back in 2012, as two freshly minted architects, we decided to travel around East Asia for 6 months. It was a very low budget trip, and I am still surprised we were...
Read MoreJust Who Can Afford Real Estate in Toronto and Vancouver?
By: Penelope Graham, Zoocasa It’s not a new narrative that Canada’s largest urban housing markets have been plagued by eroding affordability. However, a new set of data that pits income tax...
Read MoreHow Does Condo Density Impact the Value of Other Home Types?
By: Penelope Graham, Zoocasa The City of Toronto is often referred to as a “city of neighbourhoods”, a moniker that came about following its 1998 amalgamation, which saw a cluster of...
Read More4 of the Most Creative Community Engagement Ideas for City Planners
One of the strongest first impressions I had as a newcomer to Toronto was how passionate the residents are about their city. It was amazing to see how many people, of all...
Read MoreIf Vancouver’s architectural style is so similar to Toronto’s, why does it feel so different at grade? Review of Vancouver’s Urban Design
I constantly hear my Torontonian colleagues using Vancouver as a benchmark for a well-designed city to emulate. I went on a deep dive to investigate why some of Vancouver’s contemporary developments seem...
Read MoreWhat is the Naked House concept and how can it help solve Housing Affordability in Toronto?
In search of affordable housing, what are you be willing to give up? Location? It will probably mean a longer commute and a less livable neighbourhood. Land? Smaller or no backyard. (And...
Read MoreBalconies that People will Actually Use
It’s incredibly difficult to sell a unit without a balcony — an outdoor space to enjoy with friends and family is at the top of many buyers’ wish lists. But too often...
Read MoreReview: Growing Up- Planning for Children in New Vertical Communities
I am often asked about the City’s new study: Growing Up – Planning for Children in New Vertical Communities; what does it mean for development and what is going to change. It...
Read MoreKing Street, Toronto / Jaffa Street, Jerusalem
Today Toronto started the King Street Transit Pilot, eliminating through-traffic on a section of King Street to allow the streetcars move more quickly. Although the project was scaled down from the ambitious...
Read MorePart 01: Mid-rise Buildings That Work – The Guidelines
Introduction A few years ago, the city of Toronto came up with a new initiative that became a city policy: the Avenues & Mid-Rise Buildings Study. The study identified arterial streets outside...
Read MorePart 02: Mid-rise Buildings That Work – The Problems
Lack of Development Let’s start with the amount of development. In the 4.5 year period between July 2010 and December 2014 (the last date for which the city published data), about 5,323...
Read MorePart 03: Mid-rise Buildings That Work – The Solutions
Until now, we discussed some problems with mid-rise development – now it’s time to propose some possible solutions. Some of the issues cannot be resolved in a simple manner, such as the...
Read MorePart 04: Mid-rise Buildings That Work – Design Alternatives
Building Shape So far, we covered issues and solutions related to general policy, and now can move to share. We’ll start with a more detailed review of some of the rules in...
Read MorePart 05: Mid-rise Buildings That Work –Solve The Deep Units
Possible Approaches to solve the deep units How to deal with the excessive depth and of units and the lack of balconies? One approach is to say that since there are willing...
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