World Town Planning Day – Toronto

With the premise “the best way to know your city is to walk it”, a ‘walkshop’ exploring Toronto was organized for the annual World Town Planning Day 2011, uniting young planners and urban thinkers alike.

The November 8^th event was hosted by members of the Canadian Association of Planning Students. A few dozen civic-minded people with varied backgrounds joined the guided walking tour that connected five significant local destinations where keynote speakers shared their insights on the city’s planning matters.

The tour teed-off at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) where Ceta Ramkhalawansingh, Manager of Diversity Management and Community Engagement at the City of Toronto, wowed the group with stories from her 40-year involvement in neighbourhood activities, for which she and others have championed an array of successful urban initiatives. Ramkhalawansingh described the planning undertaken for significant cultural buildings and how they were enriched as a result of community engaged processes, such as the AGO, which expanded its outreach programs; and OCAD University, whose ”building as a bridge” design addressed residents’ concerns of blocking views to the adjacent park and increased street access. Along the way, she pointed out various social housing projects that have been well integrated into the fabric of the built environment.

The second stop on the tour was Union Station, the central hub for all inter-city transit in Toronto. Armed with a steel railroad spike from back in the day, Glenn Miller, Vice President of Education and Research with the Canadian Urban Institute, enlightened the troops with the history of Union Station and its revolutionary role in the development of the city. An advocate for public transit and transit-oriented land use, Miller explained that the station’s multi-million dollar refurbishment in progress will increase its functionality, and stressed the need for more hubs of this scale in the city, in conjunction with, what else, good land use plans. (Fingers crossed!)

The tour continued onwards to St. Lawrence Market where Christopher Hume, notable architecture and urban critic for the Toronto Star, addressed the city’s ongoing waterfront revitalization project. Hume generally encourages planners to be more proactive, emphasizing that planning cannot be left to the private sector exclusively – it needs rules and clarity. “Planners should take back their profession from the lawyers”, said Hume. (Amen to that!) While discussions of the built landscape frequently centre on the predominance of high-rises, at least in this city, Hume stated that it’s the condition at street level that often makes for a great building project, and that “it’s not always about height.” Many can agree that the planning process of Toronto is flawed but the city is still growing at a massive rate – it’s one of the biggest condo booms in the world. “The future is not about houses anymore but about condos/apartments, social housing, tower renewal, co-ops, transit, suburbs and a focus on inner Toronto,” Hume remarked. He re-iterated the need for thoughtful city planning, emphasizing that is not an “abstract process” that the average person cannot understand or get involved with in a meaningful way. It requires a commitment and collaboration with members actively engaged in the community.

With 40 years of urban planning experience and the title of Toronto’s Chief City Planner (1996-2004), Paul Bedford has seen it all. The passionate advocate and public speaker continues to serve on various boards and advisory committees and is adjunct professor at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. Bedford’s advice for the young planners in the group: 1) make a difference; 2) give the best professional opinion you can; 3) connect with people and constantly work at that relationship using effective media. (Get them behind your planning vision!); 4) have good priorities and principles and stick to them; and, 5) take calculated risks and be prepared to push the envelope. “Be both in tune with and ahead of where folks are in your city,” noted Bedford.

Bedford praised nearby Berczy Park as “a bold move that took political will and courage.” Once an asphalt parking lot adjacent to the historic Gooderham ‘Flatiron’ Building, the site was converted to a beautiful park, an oasis in a busy downtown environment. For him, the creation of this public space is an example of the design theory ‘urban acupuncture’ as it, in turn, lead to a broader restoration of the area, adding value and infusing new energy.

The tour marched onwards, convening next at planning and urban design firm Urban Strategies’ downtown office where associates Andrew Goodyear and Shonda Wang presented the Alexandra Park project, the revitalization of an existing site and what will be “the first public housing community in Toronto’s history without government funds.”

Alexandra Park is a residential area with a strong sense of community but suffers from an aging building stock and a fractured layout. Goodyear talked of the planning process and described the site-wide redevelopment, whose master plan will provide better housing options, improve community amenities, and increase open space and pedestrian priority areas. The presentation was followed by a walking tour of the nearby site, giving the group a hands-on experience of some of the challenges it currently faces. This innovative model introduces market housing (and some retail) as well as zero displacement, the housing component of which will generate sufficient reserves to cover the cost of the revitalization, giving the project near economic self-sufficiency.

The last stop of the tour was 401 Richmond St. W, a historic 200,000sf building in downtown Toronto that is home to anything and everything under the creative umbrella. Once a factory, the building was purchased in 1994 with the purpose of revitalizing, restoring and creating an arts-focused centre. The interior, with its exposed brick and original post and beam construction, lends itself beautifully to spaces for a varied tenant directory: galleries, studios, day care, micro-enterprises, and Swipe – one of the last independent bookstores in Toronto, and focusing exclusively on design.

There are plenty of examples of resourcefulness and inventiveness in keeping with the spirit of the building, like glass-filled passageways and an expanding roof garden. “We’re interested in things that really fit well with what’s already here … nothing too fancy … to keep things simple,” says Erin MacKeen, Director of Community Development and Communications for Urbanspace Property Group who owns and operates the facility.

Most fittingly, the tour wrapped up in front of a portrait of the legendary Jane Jacobs, who called Toronto ‘home’. 401 Richmond contributes to the vibrant culture in this city by hosting countless events and exhibits, by encouraging idea sharing and dialogue, and by promoting urban revitalization. Positive transformations in the city need sustained public engagement and transparency, and each begs the question, “What Would Jane Jacobs Do?”

[A panel discussion entitled "Staying the Course – What Have Planners Learned About Implementation?" was held later that evening at the University of Toronto. This public event was organized by the Canadian Urban Institute in collaboration with Association of Ontario Land Economists. It was a full house.]

Hamburg

Things are happening in Hamburg!

On a small scale, Knuffingen Airport opened this summer, well, a teeny tiny version of it anyway. Covering approximately 150 m², the installation is the most recently completed section of Miniatur Wunderland, a museum housing the world’s largest model railway. Detail-wise, nothing was missed. The airport has been outfitted with every sort of technical feature imaginable, even airplanes that take off and land. (Presently, they are navigated manually but a revolutionary autopilot system is in development). Be prepared to queue – one can spend hours ogling the museum’s outstanding layouts, from the Austrian Alps to a fleet of ships on the North Baltic Sea to the crowd-drawing, gravity-defying attractions of the USA. If you look closely, sometimes you’ll find random bizarre scenarios intermixed in the minutiae of detail – like monks stopped for highway speeding – small moments of humour injected by the exhibits’ builders, whose jobs couldn’t be more enviable! Until you get a chance to see these miniature marvels for yourself, the museum’s exquisitely rendered official video, a 5-minute engineering feat encapsulating many ‘wunderbare’ scenes, is the next best thing. Take a peek.

And the construction doesn’t stop there. A striking new full-size landmark in the Hanseatic city’s port is nearing completion. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the 37m high Elbe Philharmonic Hall is a tent-like superstructure sheathed in glass perched atop a brick warehouse where cocoa beans were once off-loaded. This entire cultural complex, which will house a ‘great hall’ and two other concert halls, a five-star hotel, and apartments is the latest highlight in HafenCity, an entirely new quarter emerging between the historic Speicherstadt warehouse district and the River Elbe, and one of the largest inner city urban expansion projects in the world. There’s no underestimating the lengths Hamburg will go.

For all the ongoing building activity, Hamburg was still bestowed the title “European Green Capital 2011” by the European Commission to acknowledge the city’s commitment to environmental protection. It is taking great measures to cut C02 emissions by creating sustainable buildings and businesses, maintaining nature-protected areas, and manufacturing the world’s largest fleet of hydrogen-fuelled buses. Even its immense port, for which Hamburg is best known, wants to make its entire transport chain environmentally friendly. It just goes to show how a major (growing) industrial hub can have a successful balance between business interests and the environment. Eligible cities vying for the top honour are assessed on the basis of 12 indicator areas, including biodiversity and eco-innovation. Applications are being accepted for 2014. Anyone, … anyone?

A city of parks and waterways, Hamburg should be experienced from the water, say, on a boat cruise along the Alster lakes and river. Start in the lake harbour and tour through narrow canals – a boggy oasis for water lilies, reeds and ferns – past secluded gardens, town houses and villas. Did you know that there are more bridges within its city limits than in Amsterdam and Venice combined?

Head to the rustically decorated Gröninger brewery for drinks and the usual heavy German fare. You can order a 10-Litre beer barrel for 75 Euro and then get tanked serve yourself right at the table. Better yet, visit the traditional Fischmarkt in St Pauli on Sunday mornings where hundreds of traders sell their wares, bands play deafening oompah music, and the beer is a-flowin.’ It’s a trip to watch the vendors auctioning off ‘variety packs’ of fresh fish to the throngs of onlookers. They holler and wave and try to underbid the guy in the next stall. Their ease and confidence is no doubt built upon the centuries-old foundations of harbour trading and loose bargaining that goes along with it. Get to the market at 5am if you can – for some the party just continues and for others it just gets started.

Until October 20, you can see an interactive urban environment exhibition on the „Train of Ideas“ – a “rolling ambassador for the city of the future” – at Jungfernstieg (Reesendammbrücke)

Copenhagen is design

The Danes don’t have all the answers but they do believe that good design can contribute to solving both local and global challenges. It’s no wonder that Copenhagen trumps other cities when it comes to quality of life.

Denmark residents rank themselves as happiest and there’s no doubt that seamless urban planning plays into that satisfaction. Of note is Copenhagen’s well functioning transport system and infrastructure, focus on environmental issues, and the overall scale of the city – large enough to have a vibrant cultural scene and embrace the benefits of diversity, yet you can get anywhere on bicycle. (It’s near impossible to take a photo here without a bike getting into the shot.)

Copenhagen Design Week just wrapped up its second year’s show, the programme of which was stacked with exhibits, conferences, lectures, and tours themed “Think Human.” The human condition has been the basis for Danish product design for decades (eminent architects’ furniture of the ’50s comes to mind) but the same focus carries into the context of the larger scale – how cities can frame urban life in the 21st century – and Copenhagen is a thriving model. The design capital, coined a ‘living lab of sustainable urban development,’ has undergone extensive economic, cultural and architectural changes during the past decade. Peppered with towering cranes, the landscape has been vastly transformed: ambitious growth in Ørestad (once a windswept field) and the old grounds of the Carlsberg brewery; new housing areas like Sluseholmen and Havneholmen; new cultural landmarks; new transportation connections; and, green spaces in the old working-class areas. Each of these provides ideas for how the urban challenges of cities can be met with architectural answers.

On display at the Danish Architecture Center is ’What makes a liveable city,’ the last in a series of exhibitions by Copenhagen X, which disseminates information on architectural innovation and invites the public to engage in dialogue about urban planning. An elaborate presentation in various media – models, master plans, interactive digital galleries and animation – is used to exemplify recently completed projects and long-term ones in the works. In particular, the development of Nordhavnen is featured in great detail. This former industrial port will be transformed over the next 50 years into a dense waterfront district that can accommodate up to 80,000 residents. Short distances are planned for the area, as are islets and canals, and priority will be given to green mobility. Nordhavnen spearheads efforts to improve environmental conditions and show how cities can help reverse climate change while still ensuring health, welfare, and quality of life.

‘Copenhagen X – the movie’ shows the recent transformation of the city in rapidly changing image sequences, while ’From Finger Plan to Loop City (1947-2047)’, a sweeping 3D visualization by firms BIG and Kollision, illustrates the story of how the capital developed in modern times and a futuristic vision of how it could be linked with the Øresund Region with a single metropolitan loop.

Visitors could take guided architectural tours, as ‘podwalks’ or by bicycle to see iconic buildings and districts to get a better sense of the massive scope. Highlights included the newly inaugurated Krystallen by Schmidt Hammer and the SEB Bank & Pension HQ by Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter, as well landmarks such as the ‘Black Diamond’, the impressive Royal Library extension; Gemini Residence; Opera House; Concert Hall, and the student residence Tietgenkollegiet. It was interesting to see how new urban spaces surrounding the buildings invite a broader audience to use the spaces. With panoramic views of the historic skyline as a backdrop, the oak-clad public promenade on the harbour at Kvæsthusmolen, the Royal Danish Playhouse, became the site for weekly summer Tango dancing by moonlight.

The Danish Design Center‘s (DDC) ongoing exhibition ‘Challenge Society’ explores how to design systems and services to improve the country’s ailing welfare state. Prisons and nursing homes, for instance, have teamed up with designers to re-imagine their operations and find creative and ‘simple’ strategies to increase efficiency and solve complex problems. Per international experts, the key to business in the future is ‘design thinking,’ and it’s required at all levels: nations, global communities, individuals and private enterprises. “It’s not about inventing new things but designing the world in a new way,” says Merete Brunander, acting CEO at the DDC.

Malmö

The history of Malmö can be traced back through the centuries to its humble beginnings as a flourishing herring marketplace but the forward-looking city is setting ambitious goals for itself: to be climate neutral by 2020 and to run on 100% renewable energy by 2030.

Sweden’s third most populous city has undergone a major transformation with significant architectural developments, growing biotech and IT companies, and a new university, due in large part to the construction of the Öresund Bridge crossing the strait to Copenhagen.

Malmö is focused on becoming a global role model for urban environmental sustainability, and has gained recognition for large-scale developments such as the Western Harbour, Västra Hamnen. The first stage of its renewal began in 2001 with the Housing Fair Bo01, or the City of Tomorrow, a post-industrial district built in the former shipyard. The pilot project’s 500 homes, commercial and community facilities are constructed to standards enforcing a strong ecological approach as set out in the ‘Quality Programme.’ A ‘wall’ of tall mixed-use buildings fronting the sea acts as a wind shelter around a densely built interior of small-scale housing blocks separated by green space and alleyways. A few dozen architectural firms had a hand in the design, including Ralph Erskine, Mario Campi and Gert Wingårdh, lending variation to the energy-efficient dwellings. Unfortunately, for all its success, the heavily publicized, visionary branding project was criticized for being an exclusive, secluded urban residential neighbourhood and for sky-high costs.

The Västra Hamnen and Hyllie neighbourhoods continue to be active areas of growth, with broad initiatives taken to integrate environment and energy in their urban planning. As a leading city, Malmö is hosting the upcoming International Conference on Sustainability Certification of Urban Areas on September 16.

On an entirely different scale, the nearby 54-storey (190m) Turning Torso by Santiago Calatrava is Scandinavia’s tallest skyscraper. Completed in 2005, the tower’s twisting form, composed of nine segments of pentagonal floors wound a total of 90° from the structure’s base to the top, has become a symbol for the city of blue collar roots.

The design dialogue continues with an exhibition this summer entitled ‘Ah Vådda-då? Malmö!’ at the Form/Design Centre, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting good design. An eclectic mix of objects, architectural projects and ideas were laid out, per the curators, “like a visionary medieval feast.” Examples addressed issues from climate concerns to multiculturalism, and included interactive city guides and bicycle campaigns, furniture made from ‘green’ materials, and a model of Malmö’s new World Village of Women’s Sports by the Danish firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) due to be completed in 2014. Also on display: a video of invited architects and planners discussing what the “capital” of the Skåne province will look like in the future.

Bratislava

Bratislava is a stone’s throw from Vienna. Or, it’s a +1hr boat ride along the Danube River on the Twin City Liner. Take your pick.

It cannot be compared to the Austrian capital or to Prague but it is a gem in its own right. Bratislava has got its fair share of historic buildings (an imposing Castle, baroque palaces, and notable cathedrals) and other protected heritage sites but some prominent 20^th and early 21^st century edifices – such as the Apollo Bridge, a new building for the Slovak National Theatre, as well as private real-estate development – are transforming the traditional cityscape. The construction boom may have slowed but Bratislava has the competitive advantage of being one of the last major European cities where there is still an abundance of available space. (read: welcome, foreign investors)

Plans are in the works to revitalize and develop unutilized quarters with the hope of giving the Slovak capital ‘a new look’: replace former factory sites in the centre with mixed-use buildings and parks; develop modern boulevards along the banks of the Danube; and, install high-speed tramways.

It might be some time before it is considered a modern European metropolis but the city is well on its way… Remarkably, stronger Wi-Fi hotspots can be found in some of the narrow cobbled passages of the Old Town than in many city centres! Laptop-bearing people lined Primate’s Square (Primaciálne námestie) into the wee hours of the morning.