Toronto’s West Don Lands makes the case for modern urbanism

Christopher Hume –

While most Toronto commu­nities cling, limpet-like, to the past, the West Don Lands strides boldly into its citified fu­ture. Although the new mixed-use district, also known as the Canary District, remains a work in progress, it has already estab­lished itself as Toronto’s first contemporary neighbourhood to make a convincing argument for 21st-century urbanism.

Located south of King Street between the Don River and Parliament Street, it is one of a series of precincts planned and developed by Waterfront Toron­to, the tripartite agency formed in 2001 by all three levels of government. Back then those in charge were Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Ontario Premier Mike Harris and Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman. Hardly a stellar line-up, but that trio managed nevertheless to seize the mo­ment and opt for a more enlight­ened approach to city building than anything Toronto had seen in generations.

By removing 2,000 acres along the shore of Lake Ontar­io from the hands of municipal planners and politicians — hap­less guardians of civic medioc­rity — the new corporation was able to set about revitalizing the waterfront without the pressure of political ideology, institu­tional stupidity and corporate greed. It brought unprecedented patience, intelligence and com­mitment to its work.

The West Don Lands are a perfect example. Before any­thing was built, the site, then situated in the flood plain of the Don River, had to be trans­formed with a massive berm, a process that took fully three years. For then city council­lor Doug Ford, that occasioned much outraged huffing and puff­ing about the “boondoggle” on the waterfront. Thankfully, the man who would be premier was ignored. Without that berm, the real estate Ford said should be handed over to the private sec­tor would have been worthless.

At the same time, Waterfront Toronto was also busy over­seeing a series of international competitions to plan each pre­cinct under its control. Again, the exercise required a slow, methodical, approach. It took time, but the results were fully formed schemes. That meant the developers so beloved by Ford knew exactly what was on offer. Better still, not having to go through the usual approval procedure saved them two or three years.

Wandering down Front Street, the main drag of the neigh­bourhood, it’s easy to see what makes the process and the place so appealing. Most obvious­ly, sidewalks are four, maybe five times wider than usual. Lined with three rows of trees and punctuated with artworks, benches, planters and even a fountain, they are reminiscent of Barcelona, a city whose inhab­itants famously love to see and be seen on daily strolls. These sidewalks function not just as pedestrian thoroughfares but as an impromptu linear park, a place where kids play and peo­ple walk their dogs, shop and enjoy outdoor cafes.

Traffic, though restricted to two lanes, moves well because of lay-by parking. The hierarchy is clear; here’s one part of the city where pedestrian priorities are built into the very fabric of the neighbourhood.

The mostly mid-rise buildings on both sides of the street are retail at grade and residential and/or commercial above. Fully connected to the sidewalk, they are occupied by restaurants and shops mercifully free of the usu­al corporate suspects that blight the city. There’s not a Tim Hor­tons, Shoppers Drug Mart or Loblaws to be seen. Bounded by townhouses, the narrow resi­dential side streets off Front are safe and quiet.

But nothing is perfect. The Dominion Foundry complex is a painful case. In 2021 Ford illegally sent in a crew to tear down the heritage site after having quietly sold it to the De Gasperis development family. Their proposals for the property look uninspired to put it mildly. Sadly, this sort of heavy-hand­edness undoes decades of work by Waterfront Toronto.

The unique brilliance of the agency was to grasp that its mandate went beyond the bot­tom line. It saw that creating authentic neighbourhoods en­tailed more than simply con­structing condos. It approached spending public funds as a long-term investment in community building, not just enabling quick profits.

The beauty of Waterfront To­ronto’s strategy is that the for­mer leads to the latter. In other words, as long as the agency can continue to overcome obstacles, the best is yet to come.