M II A II R II K
Senior Member
The poor planning epidemic
April 4, 2010
John Griffin
http://www.examiner.com/x-43420-Toronto-Public-Policy-Examiner~y2010m4d4-The-poor-planning-epidemic
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With the Toronto Star reporting that a prominent architect has resigned in a dispute over a sports complex being built on the waterfront, we need to take a moment to consider just who is building Toronto. Ken Greenberg, the architect in question, believes the complex is massively oversized for the area being considered. Given the construction in our city over the last decade, this clearly isn't an isolated incident.
Our city has a tendency to rush into projects and at times it seems more about satisfying an ego or defining a legacy than about true city-building. TTC expansion is David Miller's legacy - and we just lost $4 billion in funding that - fingers crossed - may start flowing again in the future. Given the St Clair Streetcar development fiasco I wouldn't be in a hurry to hand that money over, either.
The Waterfront Revitalization organization started in 2001 with a mandate to rebuild our city. It has won awards for its plans, but nine years later little is finished. In the meantime our waterfront has also been awarded a place in an international waterfront Hall of Shame. And now this award-winning architect resigns from a waterfront development project, and fires off a telling parting-shot: 'Toronto unfortunately has a history of being very ambitious with their plans and then backing off at the lat minute because of expediency.'
Reminds me of TTC expansion. And the never-ending review regarding what to do with the Gardiner. And the failed bridge to the Island Airport. And the Portlands Energy Centre...
We want to be a world class city; that much is clear. But somewhere between that desire and the resulting development of our city, something has been lost in translation. In the comment section, tell me about Toronto's worst planning failure - what went wrong? how can we ensure it doesn't repeat? These conversations are important if we are truly going to be a world class city.
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April 4, 2010
John Griffin
http://www.examiner.com/x-43420-Toronto-Public-Policy-Examiner~y2010m4d4-The-poor-planning-epidemic
###############################################
With the Toronto Star reporting that a prominent architect has resigned in a dispute over a sports complex being built on the waterfront, we need to take a moment to consider just who is building Toronto. Ken Greenberg, the architect in question, believes the complex is massively oversized for the area being considered. Given the construction in our city over the last decade, this clearly isn't an isolated incident.
Our city has a tendency to rush into projects and at times it seems more about satisfying an ego or defining a legacy than about true city-building. TTC expansion is David Miller's legacy - and we just lost $4 billion in funding that - fingers crossed - may start flowing again in the future. Given the St Clair Streetcar development fiasco I wouldn't be in a hurry to hand that money over, either.
The Waterfront Revitalization organization started in 2001 with a mandate to rebuild our city. It has won awards for its plans, but nine years later little is finished. In the meantime our waterfront has also been awarded a place in an international waterfront Hall of Shame. And now this award-winning architect resigns from a waterfront development project, and fires off a telling parting-shot: 'Toronto unfortunately has a history of being very ambitious with their plans and then backing off at the lat minute because of expediency.'
Reminds me of TTC expansion. And the never-ending review regarding what to do with the Gardiner. And the failed bridge to the Island Airport. And the Portlands Energy Centre...
We want to be a world class city; that much is clear. But somewhere between that desire and the resulting development of our city, something has been lost in translation. In the comment section, tell me about Toronto's worst planning failure - what went wrong? how can we ensure it doesn't repeat? These conversations are important if we are truly going to be a world class city.
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