Two powerful new reports from Toronto’s Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal set out practical strategies for building a healthier and more equitable Toronto. Toward Healthy Apartment Neighbourhoods: A Healthy Toronto by Design Report focuses on Toronto’s tower neighbourhoods – high-rise and high-density communities scattered throughout the city (and the Greater Toronto Area) – and offers a range of pragmatic options to help these neighbourhoods emerge as vibrant and healthy places. Not only would the physical infrastructure of the neighbourhood be improved, but the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of Torontonians who call these areas home. In addition, new commercial and community focal points would add jobs, services and economic activity. Strong Neighbourhoods and Complete Communities: A New Approach to Zoning for Apartment Neighbourhoods begins by documenting the policy and process barriers that that prevent neighbourhood investment, local economic development, and community initiatives. It then offers a framework for a new approach to zoning in apartment neighbourhoods that will enable positive neighbourhood change.
The National Film Board’s 1,000th Tower / High Rise interactive site offers a powerful set of insights into tower neighbourhoods in Toronto and around the world.