Tomorrow’s town draws inspiration from the past
Complete communities served by transit and stores is Growth Plan’s ideal future
Adam Rodricks, 28, and his fiancée live in Ajax, but work in downtown Toronto. So it was essential that the home they recently bought be close to the local GO station. “Proximity to public transit was critical,” Rodricks says. “It was a make-or-break factor in our decision.”
They also wanted to live in an area where they could access shops and services, schools and parks with ease.
“It was key that we were located in a well-developed community, close to the places we like to frequent,” Rodricks says.
In seeking a vibrant, transit-oriented place to live and play, he and his fiancé reflect the evolving needs and desires of residents across the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH), from millennials like them, to young families and senior citizens.
“There’s a growing propensity toward people wanting to live in places where there are stores and services, close to good jobs and served by transit, so it’s easier to get around,” says Cherise Burda, director of the Ryerson City Building Institute.
“That’s not to say we won’t keep building homes on the suburban periphery. But there’s a limit to how long you can continue to do that.”
Ontario’s Growth Plan helped to spur a smarter way of developing our cities. And in many ways, the ideal communities it envisions for the future are a throwback to the past: places that are more village-like and compact, with a variety of housing types, from detached homes and stacked townhouses to mid-rise and highrise condos. These forward-focused urban centres are mixed-use, incorporating retail and employment spaces alongside residential development.
They are complete communities served by multiple transit options and equipped with an array of retail and amenities to provide residents with everything they need in a single location. The resulting steady stream of people and activity creates a more vibrant and animated street life, making these areas more enjoyable places to spend time for folks such as Rodricks and his family and friends.
Holistic complete communities cost less for municipalities to service when it comes to infrastructure.
They’re also more equitable from a socio-economic perspective, enabling residents to evolve and age in place, something Neptis Foundation executive director Marcy Burchfield notes is currently “impossible” in many of the GGH’s car-dependent suburban centres.
“We’ve been building suburbs the way we’ve been building them for a long time,” she says. “And it’s always hard to shift the status quo.”