Established by ULI Toronto’s Regional Leadership Initiative in collaboration with FIG (Future of Infrastructure Group), a 4 part series was established to investigate best practices to reinvent under-performing suburban and urban areas in health-promoting and affordable ways. As part of ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative, ULI Curtis Infrastructure Initiative, and ULI Toronto’s Getting To Transit-Oriented Initiative, a series of TOC Professional Walkshop + Public Townhall has taken place across the Greater Golden Horseshoe at locations connected by Rapid Transit.  This work helps to advance efforts to foster communities that promote health, improve competitiveness and quality of life, and move the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) to reach carbon neutrality in innovative, inclusive and affordable ways.

TOC Professional Walkshop + Public Townhall, Uptown Brampton TOC – Implementing “20-min Walkable Neighbourhood with Community Hub” as the New Growth Model for Transit-Oriented Communities: ​ ULI Toronto, in collaboration with the City of Brampton, City of Helsinki, Greenberg Consultants and University of Toronto School of Cities will bring this subject to life through exploring the invisible hands that shape the 100,000 people and jobs expected at Uptown Brampton Hurontario-Steeles TOC. With the LRT coming in 2024, this area is experiencing substantial transformation into a high-density, mixed-use, family-oriented, healthy and walkable transit-oriented community, taking shape through the combined interests of Provincial, Regional, Municipal, Private Sector and Community interests.

ULI FIG Getting to Transit-Oriented Communities Report:  ULI Toronto and FIG the Future of Infrastructure Group examined three station developments in the Toronto Region, and one transit system development in Montreal.  A mix of expertise examined the challenges and learnings to provide recommendations on unlocking the potential of Transit Oriented Communities, with a focus on exploring ways to better integrate housing, workplace, public services and entertainment into transit developments. 7 key learnings were drawn out:

• • Shared vision to deliver effectively
  • Clear governance and dedicated resources
  • Integration of station into the community
  • Transitioning to pedestrians
  • Building in adaptability
  • Capturing value
  • Building community

ULI Toronto: Transit-Oriented Communities – Lessons Learned: Future Opportunities

Explosive population growth in the Toronto Region is powering a renaissance of transit-oriented communities in both urban and suburban geographies. Shaped by public policy, governance and market forces, the realization of these opportunities has been mixed, at times resolving urban challenges but often exacerbating them. On January 13, 2022, over 350 audiences from North America joint a panel of ULI Toronto and the Future of Infrastructure Group (FIG) experts to explore past and future TOC sites.  The panel offered timely advice to ensure that these complex opportunities are better leveraged to become the cornerstone city building blocks of greener, more affordable and more equitable GTA.