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Building Toronto’s Green Future

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When: May 24, 7:30-9:30 pm
Where: St. Lawrence Centre Forum, 27 Front Street East (2 blocks east of Union Station)

New development standards are in the works that would require all new commercial and residential buildings in Toronto to meet rigorous environmental standards. The question of what Toronto will look like in another twenty years is therefore at the forefront of public debate and discussion.

On Thursday, May 24, you are invited to join Doug Webber, David Sisam, Lorraine Gauthier, and Danny Harvey at a free public forum as they present their views on the future of Toronto as a green city.

The St. Lawrence Centre Forum is being presented as part of Doors Open Toronto — Culture Division of the City of Toronto, Toronto Society of Architects, Festival of Architecture and Design (fAd), The Toronto Star and the CBC.

photo by Sookie

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4 comments

  1. sounds good. for those who have time to attend, please demand rules on bike parking facilities. i know that rules exist for new construction of a certain size. i’m thinking mainly about rules on allowing owners to retrofit existing properties, especially those with no parking facilities of any kind (which is common in downtown). i think this would be a fast, cheap and easy way to enhance sustainable transportation in the city, and promote the use of the city’s existing bike-related infrastructure.

    right now, bike parking is a big hole in the building code and zoning by-laws. if you build a structure in which to safely store bikes, it might be considered a garden shed or a garage, but i think different considerations should apply to housing your lawnmower, your car, and your bike. i think that property owners need special rules that permit them to build structures of an appropriate size to store bikes safely. i recently discovered the absence of rules on bike parking to my great cost and detriment. it is clear that the committee of adjustment is not open-minded on the issue. we need rules.

    the amalgamated city has already spent more than a year on public consultations concerning the appropriate size of parking spaces for cars — surely they can come up with rules on structures to store bikes and empower property owners.

  2. this sounds similar to a concern up near Dupont and Bathurst, maybe the same, that a structure for safe bike storage was quite a hassle. It doesn’t really relate to heritage structures, apart from the overall re-use of our built environment. I betcha that the speakers won’t really mention the urban oil spills of three demolitions sanctioned by the current regimes: 590 Jarvis, 48 Abell and the Riverdale hospital bldg.
    We’re rather behind, though the new heritage act is a help.

  3. There should be a regulation requiring developers of residential and commercial space to incorporate greenery into the design of buildings.

    For instance, a certain percentage of space around the perimeter of the building should be devoted to shrubs and plants, entrance ways should have planters as part of the design, rooftops should have shrubs/gardens as part of the design. Builders should be required to design these elements and implement the design as part of the building project, and the owners would then be responsible for the upkeep.

    Our city is such a gray, concrete jungle. This would make Toronto a lot more environmentally friendly and beautiful.

    I cannot attend the meeting, but hope that someone will address this issue.

    Thanks!