THE TORONTO PATTERN Planning + Unplanning The City CanU6 : Cities At The Edge John van Nostrand - Architect + Planner 18 September 2014
Preface gradually from the first small clearings, but it was not, as some may suppose, a haphazard growth, depending on the enterprise and choice of the individual settler. From the first, the government exercised a fairly rigid control over settlement and was, on the whole, successful in preventing random squatting. Verschoyle Benson Blake / Ralph Greenhill, in Rural Ontario, UofT Press, 1969 Press, 1969
Preface they citizens must as be a legible able to read one, it as at least one, but preferably several, superimposed and easily recognizable patterns. Joseph Rykwert in The Idea of a Town, The MIT Press, 1995 Joseph Rykwert in The Idea of a Town, The MIT Press, 1995
THE PATTERNS SO FAR THE PATTERNS SO FAR
Pre-Contact up to 1840 Colonial 1790-1875 Unplanned 1875-1945 Fully Planned 1945-2005 Unplanned + Planned 2006 - Unplanned + Planned 2006 -
PRE-CONTACT PATTERNS up to 1840 PRE-CONTACT PATTERNS up to 1840
Source: Ontario s History in Maps, UofT Press, 1984
THE COLONIAL PATTERN 1790-1875
Source: Instructions to Surveyors, Quebec, 1789
Source: Instructions to Surveyors, Quebec, 1790
Central Upper Canada, Tremaine s Map, 1862
Settlement, 1793
Early Farm in Upper Canada
The Farm Landscape, 1795-1900
Crop Rotation, circa 1875 Source: Historical Atlas of York County, 1874
Landscape Legacy of The Colonial Pattern Source: Verschoyle Benson Blake / Ralph Greenhill, in Rural Ontario, UofT Press, 1969
Landscape Legacy of The Colonial Pattern
Landscape Legacy of The Colonial Pattern
York Town, 1790
Whitevale, Pickering, 1874
Plan for Town of York (Toronto), 1788
Views of York Harbour and Don Valley, circa 1793
Plan for Town of York (Toronto), 1793
York Waterfront, 1804
THE UNPLANNED PATTERN 1876-1945
Philpot's Plan, Toronto, 1818
Typical 19 th Century Housing + Street
Evolution of North Jarvis Community, Toronto, 1978
Evolution of North Jarvis Community, Toronto, 1978
Yorkville + Vicinity and Jarvis Residence on Park Lot Six
Toronto, 1858
The Park Lots, Town of York (Toronto), 1978
Spring Thaw, Earlscourt, Lawren Harris, circa 1915
Spring Thaw, Earlscourt, Lawren Harris, circa 1915
Earlscourt, Toronto, circa 1915 Source: Richard Harris; Unplanned Suburbs, John Hopkins Press, 1996
Informal Subdivision Source: Richard Harris; Unplanned Suburbs, John Hopkins Press, 1996
Coxwell Avenue Source: Richard Harris; Unplanned Suburbs, John Hopkins Press, 1996
Coxwell Avenue Source: Richard Harris; Unplanned Suburbs, John Hopkins Press, 1996
Earlscourt Housing as a process Source: Toronto Archives
Earlscourt Today
The Geography of Building Regulation Source: Richard Harris; Unplanned Suburbs, John Hopkins Press, 1996
Goodyear Tire Plant and Employee Residences Source: Richard Harris; Unplanned Suburbs, John Hopkins Press; 1996
Summerhill Gardens, Toronto Net density: 30 units per acre 75 persons/hectare
THE FULLY PLANNED PATTERN 1945-2005
Plan for Metropolitan Toronto, 1943
Toronto Metropolitan Area, 1945
Plan for Metropolitan Toronto, 1943
Thorncrest Village, Toronto, 1945
Central Etobicoke, 1960
Don Mills, Toronto, 1954
North-Eastern Metropolitan Toronto, 1975
Toronto-Centered Region Plan, 1971
Toronto-Centered Region Plan (Pre-Studies), Ontario Department of Municipal Affairs; 1966
THE ENERGING TORONTO PATTERN: PLANNED + UNPLANNED 2006 -
Key Elements of Regional Structure (Source: Neptis Foundation; ; The Evolving Physical Condition of the Greater Toronto Area: Space, Form and Change; Robert M. Wright; February, 2000)
Urban Expansion, 1967-1999 (Source: Neptis Foundation; ; The Evolving Physical Condition of the Greater Toronto Area: Space, Form and Change; Robert M. Wright; February, 2000)
Priority Neighbourhoods Priority + High-Rise Neighbourhoods
The Growth Plan, 2007 Priority Neighbourhoods Priority + High-Rise Neighbourhoods
Growth Plan Terminology: 1. Urban Growth Centres - for medium and large urban centres 2. Major Transit Hubs - around GO Stations 3. Intensification Corridors - along main streets, arterial roads 4. Other Intensification Areas - brownfields, greyfields 5. Elsewhere in the Built-Up Areas - strip malls, big-box conversions, employment areas 6. Greenfield Developments - new residential neighbourhoods
Planned Urban Structure Malone Given Parsons; July 19, 2010!
Markham City Vaughan Richmond Hill / Langstaff North York Scarborough Yonge-Eglinton Centre Downtown Toronto Mississauga Etobicoke Toronto Within The Growth Plan!
Hypothetical Streetscapes: 50P+J/Ha!
INTENSIFICATION AREAS: The remaining 40% of all new development will take place within existing built-up areas 150 r+j/ha 200 r+j/ha 400 r+j/ha 400 r+j/ha
Intensification Along an Arterial Road!!
Conversion of a Strip Mall to Mid-rise Mixed-Use!!
Higher Density, Mixed-Use Redevelopment Around a Major Transit Station!!
Railway Lands, Toronto
Langstaff, Markham 407 / Transitway + Yonge Subway 1,000 persons + jobs / hectare
PUBLIC CONTROL PRIMARY DEVELOPER OWNER BUILDING RELATION WITH NATURE ATTITUDE TO HISTORY PHYSICAL FORM MOVEMENT COLONIAL 1790-1875 High Government Moderate Subversive Rejected Grid Pedestrian Horse-drawn UNPLANNED 1875-1945 Low Individual Landowners/ Small Builders High Ignored Incorporated Grid Pedestrian Public transit FULLY PLANNED 1945-2005 High Corporate Developers Not permitted Begins to integrate Eliminated Curvilinear or Grid Mostly Vehicular Segregated Pedestrian PLANNED + UNPLANNED 2006 - Moderate / High Combined Public / Corporate Low Fully Integrated Underlay Curvilinear and Grid Combined Pedestrian, Vehicular, Transit Comparative Analysis of Urban Patterns
Where is Planning at in Toronto Today? John van Nostrand The Toronto Plan Group April 2008
Current Situation in Toronto Toronto continues to Grow and will increase from 2.5 to 3.0 million by 2030 Greater Golden Horseshoe (from Cobourg to Niagara Falls) will increase from 7.7 to 11.5 million City of Toronto to grow from 2.5 to 3.0 million Second fastest growing region in North America John van Nostrand...growth not going to Slow Down The Toronto Plan Group April 2008
Toronto Official Plan, 2007
Toronto Official Plan Downsview Area, 2007
Typical Secondary Plan, Downsview KEELE ST
Secondary Plans Completed To 2007 KEELE ST
Neighbourhood Change Studies, UofT Centre for Urban and Community Studies
Neighbourhood Change Studies, UofT Centre for Urban and Community Studies
Neighbourhood Change Studies, UofT Centre for Urban and Community Studies
Plan for Metropolitan Toronto, 1943
Distribution of Ford Vote in 2010 Municipal Election Globe & Mail; 28 October 2010
Shaping The Toronto Region: Past, Present + Future Zack Taylor with John van Nostrand; Neptis Foundation,2008 1. Involved mapping and quantifying land use components for similar selected urban areas 2. Net density of residential component has increased over time, leading to opportunities for intensification 3. Results will form part of a basis for a critique of Places to Grow and its implications for future growth
Research Approach In the context of the Growth Plan 1 Analyze 16 GTA districts 2 Test 24 development scenarios 3 Relate to academic & profession al literature 4 Interpret and draw conclusion s density land use housing stock provision of parks and schools street network configuration residents travel behaviour
Metrolinx The Big Move, 2008 Priority Neighbourhoods Priority + High-Rise Neighbourhoods
from Shaping The Toronto Region: Past, Present and Future, Zack Taylor with John van Nostrand; Neptis Foundation,2008
Density and Period of Development
Density and Housing Stock
Street Networks
Unmixing Newer Districts Have Fewer Jobs
Car, Motorcycle, and Taxi Trips to Work
Car, Motorcycle, and Taxi Trips for Shopping
Implications for Policy Density Is Not The Only Issue For Policy To Consider Other Issues Include: housing mix household size natural heritage protection Setting Minimum Densities Over Large Planning Areas and Mixing Employment and Residential Densities Is Complicated May Need To Set Minimum Densities For Individual Plans of Subdivision (As In UK)
Implications for Planning Need to consider Growth Over Time Plan for Evolution Plan new Greenfields areas for future Intensification Problem of the middle ring - between the mixed prewar City and the new urban frontier which separated uses and froze development as these will decline and are difficult to retrofit
Implications for Planning Need To Develop New Relationships With Natural Areas Which are becoming A Focus As Opposed To A Backdrop Need To Plan Rural And Urban Simultaneously With Emphasis On Near-urban Agriculture Genuine New Urbanism Should Mean Less Planning Not More Less Planning = Infrastructure + Basic Rules Planning in Both 2D + 3D Simultaneously