Suburban Intensification: cultivating place in the dispersed city
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Date
2009-08-17T13:50:44Z
Authors
Gould, Kathryn
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Waterloo
Abstract
The sustainable growth and development of our cities are amongst the most important issues of the world today. It is estimated that soon up to ninety percent of the world’s population will live in urban centers. How to accommodate such growth, while maintaining high quality of life, is one of the most challenging tasks facing society.
The design proposal will address the future population growth in the City of Toronto with the intensification of an inner suburban area in central Etobicoke. It is founded on principles that address the communities growing needs while working to cultivate a sense of place and improve the livability of the surrounding neighbourhood.
Within this area through the design of a mixed-use development with significant forms of public space and amenities, the neighbourhood would experience increased connectivity with the surrounding environment and improved sense of community. It will draw together the residents of the area and cultivate a new public realm from its now disparate elements, this would raise the areas ability to meet future housing needs and mitigate congestion.
The design for the Etobicoke Centre is a symptom of – and a drive toward – the evolution of a mature suburb to a place aspiring for urbanity. The story of suburban transformation is relevant to metropolitan areas around the continent, and the clarity of the architectural design demonstrates how good public space design can set standards of sophistication, craft, and structure for other developments to follow. New growth in the area has the potential to act as a catalyst for change, demonstrating how existing inner suburbs have the ability to evolve into more urban, sustainable places.
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Keywords
architecture, urban design, suburbia, public space, planning, intensification