Toronto Celebrates Green Infrastructure Leadership and Achievements at CitiesAlive Conference
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The City of Toronto welcomed more than 300 green infrastructure professionals on November 6 to 9 for the 20th anniversary of the CitiesAlive conference. The conference highlights green infrastructure design, research, policy and innovation from across the world.
The City partnered with Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the host organization, for the second time to host the conference, with the first CitiesAlive in Toronto held in 2004.
Rasmus Astrup and Pamela Conrad at the Councils Chambers at Toronto City Hall, after giving their speeches.
The 2024 conference opened with keynotes by Pamela Conrad, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Positive Design, and Rasmus Astrup, Partner and Design Principal at the Danish nature-based landscape design studio SLA.
Pamela Conrad is an internationally recognized landscape architect whose firm created a carbon calculator tool that identifies the embodied carbon and length of time projects take to become net zero. Rasmus Astrup is part of the team at SLA that designed the new framework plan for the Downsview Park redevelopment. The project, spanning over 520 acres, is a testament to designing for a new climate and creating spaces that connect humans to the community and Toronto’s diverse natural ecosystems. Conrad and Astrup energized the audience by showing how progressive landscape architecture firms are designing cities to be beautiful, functional, happier and healthier places.
Opening Plenary guests were then delighted when special guest Mayor Olivia Chow delivered enthusiastic remarks on Toronto’s leadership in green infrastructure, our future climate and the importance of resilience to Toronto’s wellbeing and prosperity. Attendees were pleasantly surprised and inspired to hear from a mayor who “gets it” and supports the mission of green infrastructure professionals.
Shannon Baker presenting her keynote speech at CitiesAlive.
On Thursday, November 7, the morning keynote session concluded with a presentation by Shannon Baker, Project Director of Parks and Public Realm at Waterfront Toronto. Shannon is leading the Port Lands Flood Protection and Enabling Infrastructure (PLFP) Project, a $1.35 Billion CDN project, led by Waterfront Toronto, and funded by the three levels of government.
She shared the inspiring story of how seeds that were buried in the port lands stayed dormant for over a century. When discovered during the construction process, the seeds were carefully excavated and transported to the University of Toronto for research. The seeds represent the Indigenous landscape of the historic Ashbridges Bay Marsh which was at the mouth of the Don River before it was covered with landfill in the early 1900s. Researchers propagated the seeds and the plants are being incorporated and reintroduced to their native home. The seeds and their growth are a testament to Toronto’s return to nature, the righting of environmental wrongs of the past and a commitment to a future rooted in Indigenous values.
City of Toronto staff delivered presentations throughout the conference that highlighted Toronto’s green infrastructure leadership and ongoing projects.
Shayna Stott, Senior Environmental Planner in the City Planning Division presented on the City’s innovative green building standards and the history, impact and importance of Toronto’s green roof bylaw. Emma Tamlin, Project Lead for the Eco-Roof Incentive Program shared collaboration opportunities to help advance the uptake of green roofs and cool roofs in Toronto. Toronto’s green roof programs recently celebrated over 1 million square meters of green roof installed across the city due to the bylaw and the incentive program.
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Jen-Sion Tan and Jennifer Leung from the Transportation Division delivered an insightful presentation on their work on the Green Streets program and the common design flaws in green infrastructure that make it more difficult to maintain. The session was an excellent complement to Rasmus Astrup’s presentation where he displayed a unique invention his team collaborated on with maintenance professionals to ensure water runoff in the spring, summer and fall can flow through a bioswale but in the winter be turned to direct run off contaminated with salt to the sewer system.
As the conference drew to a close, the Awards of Excellence ceremony on November 8 was buzzing with excitement as projects and professionals were awarded based on their tremendous achievements.
City of Toronto’s own Jane Welsh won the Civic Award for her exceptional policy leadership in developing Toronto’s Green Standard, Biodiversity Strategy and the Green Roof Bylaw.
Jane Welsh is a dedicated landscape architect leading the Environmental Planning unit at Toronto City Planning Division with over 20 years of driving innovative sustainability policy. Much of Toronto’s leadership and success in green roof and green building policy is largely due to Jane’s dedicated leadership, collaborative approach, and creative thinking.
David Yocca (Left), Chair Green Infrastructure Foundation with Jane Welsh, City of Toronto receiving the Civic Award during the Jeffery L. Bruce Awards of Excellence Ceremony at CitiesAlive 2024. Steven Peck, GRHC (Right). Photo: GRHC
Jane attended the inaugural CitiesAlive conference in Chicago in 2003, setting Toronto on a path to developing its Green Roof Strategy which ultimately led to Toronto’s Green Roof Bylaw in 2009. The first bylaw in North America to require green roofs govern their construction on new developments.
Her work goes beyond just green roofs and includes an impressive portfolio of progressive environmental policies and strategies. Jane was a key driver in developing the Toronto Green Standard, Toronto’s first Ravine Protection bylaw, the Ravine Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy.
Jane Welsh is truly an industry pioneer and her leadership has no doubt made Toronto a better and greener place to live for all of its residents.
CitiesAlive was an inspiring event and spotlighted Toronto as a leader in nature-based climate solutions. While there is a significant amount of work to be done, Toronto can be proud of its progressive leadership. With impressive green building standards, innovative incentive programs, and leading policy, Toronto continues to be a shining example of how cities can drive meaningful climate action.
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Emma Tamlin, Project Lead, Eco-Roof Incentive Program, City of Toronto.
