2023 Spring Issue - 58

The LEED-certified Nexus
South condominiums, part
of Downtown Markham's
first phase of development,
are situated close to the
parklands of the region's
Rouge River valley.
For any airline passenger making the final descent
into Toronto, the view offers a riddle: can you spot
the downtown? The skyline is almost certain to
trip you up, and it is not because the city core is
too small to find. It is because the Toronto region
appears to have at least a half dozen downtowns.
The cityscape is spiky, with high-rise clusters breaking
the horizon in every direction. Many spring up
in the midst of low-lying bedroom communities,
with little in the way of mid-rise transition. It is as
if someone decided to renovate small clusters of
detached houses by adding an extra 40 or
50 stories.
Toronto's true downtown is the one on the shore
of Lake Ontario, capped by the iconic CN Tower. Just
25 years ago, that location was the region's lone
urban destination, an unmistakable and fast-growing
hub. Today, it has some fresh local competition: with
towers sprouting in formerly sleepy bedroom suburbs
like Vaughan, Markham, and Brampton, the region's
center of gravity is noticeably shifting. " Downtown
Toronto won't lose its place in the local hierarchy, but
it definitely won't have the hegemony it had before, "
says Toronto-based architect and consultant Ken
Greenberg. " Many of these places are going to be
very attractive once they are fully built out. "
58
URBAN LAND SPRING 2023
The change is no accident. It is being sparked by
a massive C$62 billion (US$45 billion) transit investment
by Ontario's provincial government from 2020
to 2030, one that will radically redraw the regional
mobility map. By the time all the pieces are in place,
Toronto's radial hub-and-spoke system of subway
and commuter rail lines will be transformed into
an expansive, networked rapid-transit grid covering
more than 4,000 square miles (10,400 sq km).
All the region's commuter rail lines, some of which
once offered only six trains a day (three each during
the morning and afternoon rush hours), will move to
15-minute all-day service. Toronto's Union Station,
which serves more than 200,000 passengers a day,
will still be the region's highest-traffic commuter hub,
but travelers will no longer have to pass through it to
reach their destinations.
That, in turn, is turning more places into destinations
in their own right. " Transit-oriented development
will change the way the Toronto region looks
and the way it works, " says John Allen, executive
director of the Toronto-based Future of Infrastructure
Group. " When the transit expansion is complete,
people will be able to commute to the suburbs or
across suburbs for work, not just in and out of downtown. "
Allen does not mince words about what is at
COURTESY OF BDP QUADRANGLE/THE REMINGTON GROUP

2023 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Spring Issue

2023 Spring Issue - Cover1
2023 Spring Issue - Cover2
2023 Spring Issue - 1
2023 Spring Issue - 2
2023 Spring Issue - 3
2023 Spring Issue - 4
2023 Spring Issue - 5
2023 Spring Issue - 6
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2023 Spring Issue - Cover3
2023 Spring Issue - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/2024-spring-issue-of-urban-land
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/2024-winter-issue-of-urban-land
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/2023-fall-issue-of-urban-land
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/2023-summer-issue-of-urban-land
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/2023-spring-issue
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/2022-winter-issue
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/2022FallIssue
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/2022-summer-issue
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/2022-spring-issue
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/ulm-winter-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/summer-issue-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/uli-spring-2021-issue
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/ULIWinter2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/URBANLANDFALL2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/URBANLANDSUMMER2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/urbanlandinstitute/UrbanLand/URBANLANDSPRING2020
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