MW11: The History, Planning and Development of Toronto’s Railway Lands

October 03, 2019

10:30AM - 1:30PM

What we call “CityPlace” today was originally part of the natural area of Toronto’s harbour, which was filled in with landfill and debris after the mid 19th century to build a rail corridor south of the downtown related to an extended harbour. The first significant plans to revitalize these lands came in the 1960s, when the Metro Centre was proposed and the CN Tower shortly thereafter. More development followed with the construction of the Skydome the late 1980s and the completion of the Air Canada Centre/Scotiabank Arena in the late 1990s. In response to these developments, the Railway Lands Urban Design Guidelines were published in 1999 and the development boom in this part of the downtown core took off. Today, these lands (commonly referred to as “The Railway Lands”) are home to the soon-to-be largest mixed-use development ever built in Toronto. In this mobile workshop, join Bousfields’ partner Robert Glover for a presentation on the history of these lands following by a guided walking tour of this dynamic area to understand the history of the planning and development of these lands, development constraints and the relationship between the plans and built results.

Speakers