Cities Play a Key Role in Advancing Green Infrastructure Implementation – A Look at Innovative Policies and Capital Projects in the City of Toronto
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Introduction
Record-breaking weather events have been the theme of the last decade - from floods and heatwaves to hurricanes and wildfires, Canada and its growing cities are not immune to the extreme weather effects resulting from climate change.
In response, cities are steering towards a rapid adoption of nature-based climate solutions. Natural ecosystems are able to adapt to and recover from significant ecological events much faster than urban environments, largely due to the presence of soil and plants. Soil acts as a spong e during rain events, and plants help regulate temperatures. In contrast, the overabundance of paved and other impervious areas in cities has resulted in more water being directed into aging sewer systems coupled with the fact that we are experiencing more extreme rain events than ever before.
The City of Toronto has been leading the adoption of nature-based climate solutions to help future-proof the city’s infrastructure and support community resilience, with a core goal being stormwater management. For example, in 2009, the City of Toronto was the first major city in North America to adopt a bylaw to require and govern the construction of green roofs on new buildings. The Green Roof Bylaw and the innovative Eco-Roof Incentive Program have led to the installation of more than 1,200 green roofs resulting in more than 10 million square feet of green space.
In 2021, the Green Infrastructure Standards, Specifications and Guidelines for the Right-of-Way were published which enabled the scale-up of the Green Streets Capital program. City Council’s recent adoption of the Toronto Green Standard Version 4 (TGS V4)--the City’s sustainability requirements for new development. TGS V4 includes new and more stringent green infrastructure requirements for new streets to capture and control stormwater runoff using green infrastructure in accordance with the City’s green infrastructure standards and specifications for the Right-of-Way.
In addition, TGS V4 requires the incorporation of green infrastructure features into new development sites. The Standard consists of tiers of performance with Tier 1 being mandatory and applied through the planning approval process. Included in Tier 1 is the requirement that a minimum of 50 per cent of onsite at-grade plantings be native plants (including trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants). Developers must select from an approved list which includes intensive and biodiverse green roofs, at-grade pollinator habitats, bioretention facilities and reforested sites. The new requirements are driving the installation of biodiverse green roofs across the city.
To celebrate Toronto’s green infrastructure achievements, the CitiesAlive conference, co-hosted by the City of Toronto in November will explore large-scale green infrastructure projects aimed at future-proofing Toronto and ensuring communities are more resilient to climate change. The Green Streets Program, the Don River Revitalization, and Downsview Development are excellent examples of Toronto’s leadership in implementing nature based solutions. These projects also demonstrate why it is integral for local governments to drive support for nature-based climate solutions through the city planning and development processes.
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Green Streets
In Toronto, the right-of-way makes up 25 percent of our total land area, which comprises more than 5,600 km of streets and other paved surfaces. The potential to use the right-of-way to integrate green infrastructure to improve water quality and manage quantity, improve air quality, increase biodiversity and overall well-being is remarkable.
Traditional streets are designed to direct stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces into catch basins, gutters and pipes which eventually discharge into sewer systems. This runoff contains many untreated contaminants that are discharged directly into surface waters (ponds, streams, and lakes), negatively impacting the environment.
The Green Streets Program aims to manage rainwater at its source, where it falls, by incorporating green infrastructure. Bundling green infrastructure, such as bioswales, permeable pavement, green gutters, stormwater tree trenches, with state of good repair projects is a cost-effective manner to add green and complete street elements to road projects. Green Streets contribute to our city’s climate adaptation goals and targets while also providing co-benefits. Done well, a Green Street can also visually enhance the area, function as a physical buffer to the elements and mitigate downstream impacts of runoff; all while maintaining the intended function of an efficient travel corridor for all modes of transport.
The Don River is a southern Ontario waterway that flows into Lake Ontario at Toronto Harbour.
Don River Naturalization
The Port Lands Flood Protection and Enabling Infrastructure (PLFP) Project is a $1.35 Billion CDN project led by Waterfront Toronto, and funded by the three levels of government (local, provincial and federal). In addition to providing flood protection to approximately 240 ha of flood-vulnerable lands, this project transforms approximately 30 hectares of industrial brownfields into a naturalized river valley system, unlocking the area for revitalization and facilitating billions of dollars in additional investment.
A comprehensive vision for the re-naturalization of the Don River has been developed, recreating a river which acts as an organizing structure for a system of new parks and public open spaces that will become catalysts for a range of memorable activities and experiences. At the intersection of two major systems – urban waterfront and natural river corridor – the project focuses on flood control, naturalization, and placemaking to bring the Don Valley and Toronto’s public realm together in a robust and meaningful way.
A sustainable approach to design has also been woven throughout the approach to the enabling infrastructure planned for the site. With the reconstruction of three major roads, Cherry Street, Commissioners Street and the Don Roadway, a low impact development approach has been integrated into the design to manage stormwater and provide passive irrigation of streetscaping. Additionally, innovative solutions have been proposed to knit both the roadway and the parks together, taking a systems-based approach to design, and informing the City of Toronto’s Green Infrastructure standards city-wide.
The Port Lands major project elements related to sustainable placemaking combine to make it one of the most significant changes to the Lake Ontario shoreline in decades, and one of largest infrastructure projects in Canada. PLFP will improve quality of life, bring nature back to an underused industrial site and better protect our neighbourhoods from extreme weather conditions.
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Downsview Airport Redevelopment
Over an anticipated 30-year build-out, the former Downsview Airport in the northwest end of Toronto will be redeveloped to accommodate approximately 115,000 new residents (63,000 housing units) and 52,000 workers, representing one of the largest city-building efforts in the history of Toronto. Responding to City Council’s 2019 declaration of a climate emergency, the Downsview Secondary Plan and accompanying policy tools adopted by Council in spring 2024 set a framework that enables a decentralized stormwater management (SWM) system for most of the Downsview area. By integrating extensive green infrastructure and dry ponds, the decentralized SWM system proposed for Downsview makes more efficient use of lands and enables more functional open spaces, compared to a traditional SWM system which can require approximately 8 percent of land area for wet ponds alone. This innovative approach effectively supports ecological and hydrological functions and processes by slowing down stormwater where it lands, spreading it out over a broader area, and allowing for infiltration through permeable spaces while still fully meeting the City’s design criteria and Wet Weather Flow Management Guidelines. Green infrastructure functions will be implemented across a large land area and strengthen urban resilience and enhance community well-being. The Downsview project will be featured through a panel of expert speakers at CitiesAlive in November.
Conclusion
The City of Toronto is moving quickly to demonstrate the value of integrating nature into its urban environment and committing to creating a more resilient and livable city for all. With climate action needed at the global, national, and local levels, cities are well positioned to mainstream, regulate and encourage urban development that aligns with resilience goals. Local governments must urgently adapt their development and capital planning frameworks to a changing climate. The health, wellness and prosperity of tomorrow's cities depends on today’s policy priorities, and nature-based climate solutions must be at the top of the list.
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Alicia Rinaldi, MES (Pl.), RPP, MCIP, Planner, Strategic Initiatives, City Planning Division
Kristina Hausmanis, Senior Project Manager, Green Streets, Transportation Services
Shannon Baker Project Director, Parks and Public Realm, Waterfront Toronto
Emma Tamlin Project Lead, Outreach and Engagement, Environment & Climate Division
For more information, register for CitiesAlive, Nov. 6-9, 2024 in Toronto.
