As a non-Canadian, when you think ‘Canada’ many wild and wonderful things come to mind. Largely the legendary outdoors, forests, hiking, nature.
But you can be forgiven for forgetting all of this and more, when living in Toronto. Now I get that Toronto is a city and not The Muskokas, but it is still seriously lacking green, open spaces, often found in other major cities, such as London, England or Paris, France.
In fact, it’s pretty remarkable that such a new city has lacked the foresight of urban planning, which if done correctly, would help make Toronto look and feel more balanced and less concrete jungle. But fear not, you don’t have to sit back and watch another condo shoot in-to the air. There are plenty of ways for you to get your voice heard so that Toronto can indeed, be more green.
Before I get too many backs up, I do need to acknowledge that there are a number of beautiful open spaces in Toronto. Take Trinity Bellwoods for instance. This park has a tonne on offer, from tennis to hockey, dog parks to picnics. Take your pick in this community hub and enjoy restoring your inner-calm.
However, if you’re living in the outer suburbs, then good luck. These areas lack the same kinds of green space amenities, often found in the city’s central areas. If you are living in a higher density area, with decade old city planning strategies, then you’re probably missing out.
What to do? Get involved in your community and be the change so that Toronto can get closer to being a green, liveable city that nurtures creativity and opportunity for all.
How-to? Connect with City Planning and find out how you can get involved and make a difference, locally. Really passionate and want to go one step further? Your City Chief Planner and Executive Director, Jennifer Keesmaat, invites you to take part in shaping your city by inviting you to attend various events; from the Chief Planner round table to Toronto of the Future at Metro Hall. To find out more about how you can be the change, visit City Planning or check out Jennifer’s informative blog Own Your City on the range of issues affecting Toronto.
There really are no excuses for not getting involved in shaping your city. A great example already in the works are Linear Parks – the idea is to link underutilized green spaces and connect these to communities. The hydro corridor in Earlscourt Park to Spadina road is just one project which Torontonians are hoping to transform into a linear park called the Green Line.
If this takes off, the Green Line would connect a number of neighbourhoods, plus nine city parks.
That’s a lot of green space.
If you’re feeling disgruntled at the lack of open space, then I hope this piece has inspired you to be the change so that you may help make this great city, even greater.
Whilst reading I remember when I was recently watching San Andreas I began thinking about what would happen if a earthquake was to hit Downtown Toronto and I started to imagine all these huge skyscrapers falling down. Which then led me to ponder why are the buildings (especially the really tall ones) are in such close proximity to each other. I couldn’t even imagine a single green space with the exception of St James Park close to school.
The green line is a great initiative and probably thought up after they took a look at Downtown.Toronto.
I agree Ali – so many sky scrapers down town. I recently discovered High Park – 400 acres of green spaces and a zoo in the city. Check it out if you need a breather from the concrete jungle!
I went to High Park last month and it was truly a breathe of fresh air and much needed relaxation. The greenery, flowers, the hike and animals… much appreciated… reminded me of Jamaica. I should take a trip there next week after the madness 🙂
The lack of greenery does seem to be Toronto’s biggest downfall. I traveled outside of the city last weekend, not having left the city in months and I found myself gasping at the parks and luscious grass (something that I took for granted when I lived outside of Toronto). Perhaps Toronto will one day invest in more rooftop gardens? That may be a solution to the lack of space we’ve left ourselves with poor city planning.
Thanks for your comment Camille. Roof top gardens are an excellent suggestion in the interim and realistically, long term as it’s not like the city will demolish buildings to create extra green space.
Since I live outside of Toronto I totally understand what you mean because I see the difference every day. I love Toronto but I think the city would be more balanced with more trees and parks. Great post Katie!
There is definitely a lack of urban planning in Toronto. It seems that most people are more concerned with getting to and from the office than the city around them. It would be great to shift the focus from the Gardiner to more usable green space in Toronto. I think Toronto should look at the New York City Highline and see if they can do something similar here.
Thank you for great post! If to compare with my city (kharkiv, Ukraine) I can say with confidence that Toronto is very green)) When I first flied to Toronto I thought that an air is very fresh here.Toronto has a lot of parks maybe in other cities there are more parks? I live in Etobicoke and adore this place because of a lot of parks and a harbor near my house.
Thank you for providing a different perspective Yulia. I didn’t know that Kharkiv was so urban – I guess everything is relative. London has so many parks that I was probably a little spoilt!
Whilst reading I remember when I was recently watching San Andreas I began thinking about what would happen if a earthquake was to hit Downtown Toronto and I started to imagine all these huge skyscrapers falling down. Which then led me to ponder why are the buildings (especially the really tall ones) are in such close proximity to each other. I couldn’t even imagine a single green space with the exception of St James Park close to school.
The green line is a great initiative and probably thought up after they took a look at Downtown.Toronto.
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I agree Ali – so many sky scrapers down town. I recently discovered High Park – 400 acres of green spaces and a zoo in the city. Check it out if you need a breather from the concrete jungle!
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I went to High Park last month and it was truly a breathe of fresh air and much needed relaxation. The greenery, flowers, the hike and animals… much appreciated… reminded me of Jamaica. I should take a trip there next week after the madness 🙂
LikeLike
The lack of greenery does seem to be Toronto’s biggest downfall. I traveled outside of the city last weekend, not having left the city in months and I found myself gasping at the parks and luscious grass (something that I took for granted when I lived outside of Toronto). Perhaps Toronto will one day invest in more rooftop gardens? That may be a solution to the lack of space we’ve left ourselves with poor city planning.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your comment Camille. Roof top gardens are an excellent suggestion in the interim and realistically, long term as it’s not like the city will demolish buildings to create extra green space.
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Since I live outside of Toronto I totally understand what you mean because I see the difference every day. I love Toronto but I think the city would be more balanced with more trees and parks. Great post Katie!
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Thanks for the read Amir. Lucky you having the best of both worlds!
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There is definitely a lack of urban planning in Toronto. It seems that most people are more concerned with getting to and from the office than the city around them. It would be great to shift the focus from the Gardiner to more usable green space in Toronto. I think Toronto should look at the New York City Highline and see if they can do something similar here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved the Highline in New York and think it would be awesome if Toronto could adopt something similar!
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I totally agree that Toronto needs more green. Forget about building a new condo. Instead build a park or a garden for the community. Great post!
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Thanks Maggie for reading my post. Unfortunately green spaces just don’t make the same financial ROI as a park, but we can hope!
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Thank you for great post! If to compare with my city (kharkiv, Ukraine) I can say with confidence that Toronto is very green)) When I first flied to Toronto I thought that an air is very fresh here.Toronto has a lot of parks maybe in other cities there are more parks? I live in Etobicoke and adore this place because of a lot of parks and a harbor near my house.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for providing a different perspective Yulia. I didn’t know that Kharkiv was so urban – I guess everything is relative. London has so many parks that I was probably a little spoilt!
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