MAY 20

“Walkable urbanism” is a catch-all phrase that means many things. It means building developments, towns and cities that put pedestrians first, rather than cars. It means putting retail and office space within walking distance of residential space. It means developing mixed use land, something that has traditionally been avoided by real estate developers. It means replacing suburban sprawl with… real communities. It’s a good thing.

So it’s exciting to hear that the City of Toronto has big, walkable plans for the hundreds of dreary high rise towers that house many of its residents. Right now, these buildings are energy inefficient, and exist in empty plots of land with little transportation and few businesses.

All that is about to change, though because the City plans on retrofitting the buildings with a slew of energy saving measures – improved insulation, better heating and cooling, solar panels, solar hot water… you name it. It’s estimated that these retrofits will cost a fraction of what it would cost to actually tear down the buildings and build new ones.

But besides the fact that the buildings are going to be new and sparkling green, the City is planning on making dynamic use of the previously bare, empty land around the high rises. They are bringing in businesses and farmer’s markets, putting in community gardens and open space, and even setting aside office space in some of the buildings themselves. And they plan on expanding their light rail also, to make these areas more connected.

When we think of the people most likely to bring about necessary green changes, we often think of energy companies or car companies. But let’s not forget that developers – and everyone else who plans how we use our space – can make an extraordinary amount of difference.

Via Inhabitat

Comments (9)

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MR.
written by Joram Wilson, May 21, 2009

Those high rise buildings ought to be torn down and relegated to history as an apparition and enormous mistake and failed dream.

To paraphrase cat stevens, human beings will still be there tommorow, but their mistakes may not.

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Open Spaces
written by John Martinez, May 21, 2009

Wait - they are replaces all that bare empty land with, among other things, "open spaces" ? What kind of space did they have on all that empty land?

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Using What We Have
written by Francis, May 21, 2009

I think it's very important to use what we already have to help communities. This doesn't mean I'm against building new buildings, to the contray, building is often vital to communities, and if the environment is kept in mind, can be a positive change. However, I don't like seeing communities eliminated by giant mega marts that use slave labor in other countries to make so-called "competing" with local companies easier. Local businesses selling local products benifits communities far more than mega marts importing goods from China. There are many buildings in my city that are being reused as campus offices, which I think is a brilliant idea. Many buildings can be restored or renovated to provide spaces for the community. Keeping the environment in mind is vital.

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5 minute living
written by Chris, May 21, 2009

A great example of where this already exists is out in Rohnert Park, CA at a place called Sonoma Mountain Village, or "SOMO"

They took an ugly tech campus and are turning it into what they call a "5 minute lifestyle community"

They use the building they have instead of tearing them down, and give them a facelift to blend with a more eclectic style that they are creating. They are building with local recycled materials in a plant on site that is 100% solar powered.

True sustainability must be a huge part of everything we do now, and places like SOMO are making that possible for many people who may not think about it. On a human level, it is about community. Focusing on pedestrians will build stronger healthier communities. I'm glad to see other places doing this as well.

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written by Aimee, May 23, 2009

This is fantastic: conservation, community concentration, opportunities for positive interaction with neighbors (gardens, farmer's markets, shops). Such a development enormously reduces individuals' "footprint" on the environment from heat, water, sewer, etc. It also reuses existing structures - always more efficient than tearing down and rebuilding - and provides a sufficient market to support local commerce.

The original high-rises may have been uninviting and sterile, but this is inspired re-use (or rather continuing use). Many people prefer to live in high-rises. There are many advantages: utilities as noted above, vastly lower time need for maintenance such as lawn mowing, snow shoveling, exterior painting, etc. If you add in a transit stop at the complex, this could be fabulous.

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Old buildings.
written by max, May 27, 2009

How about turning them into vertical Gardens?or are they just too draby?
cheers!

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high rise parking
written by mynalee johnstone, May 27, 2009

They will still be using their automobiles.
Only carfree cities with excellent public transit will bring the sustainability we need. And a peaceful life.

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written by seamus, June 19, 2009

Louis Mumford had any interesting observation(among many) that the university campuses really are a true reflection of what a new urbanism could entail. Ironically the land sold around the University at Berkeley for housing development to fund the building of the Berkeley campus didnot follow the model.

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written by Fred, June 26, 2009

This is helpful, almost like like living in a college dorm. Everything is right there.

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