Urban Planning Blog

Dutch Urban Design – What can Canadian cities adopt? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORvgxcLZodw&feature=emb_logo 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 for the car.

An 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 large city, families who live in central areas

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 areas of Toronto’s Official Plan (OP) designated as Neighbourhoods. The original date to

Could COVID-19 be the best thing that happened to the traditional Open House? 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

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 Open House, October 7, 2019, for the Area Study at Main Street and

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 led by City Staff and CreateTO. It is not meant to provide an

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 by City Staff and CreateTO. It is not meant to provide an exhaustive

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 1 to Richmond Hill, and even the Eglinton Crosstown project, which is an

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 of travel means it is easy to travel between stations across a large

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 of a subway/metro is that the stations are within walking distance for most

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 Rail (RER) will convert GO Rail from a network that has limited use

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 able to pull it off. But we did. Japan was one of the

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 filings against home prices reveals just how financially steep homeownership can be; even

Not Just Simple Supply and Demand: Five Other Places to Look at to Understand What Prevents Us from Achieving Housing Affordability in the GTA Not Just Simple Supply and Demand: Five Other Places to Look at to Understand What Prevents Us from Achieving Housing Affordability

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 boroughs transform into the existing Mega City. The result is a patchwork of