{"id":8126,"date":"2026-05-12T19:19:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=8126"},"modified":"2026-05-15T15:14:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:14:54","slug":"toronto-island-neighbourhood-to-feature-canadas-most-ambitious-car-free-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/05\/12\/toronto-island-neighbourhood-to-feature-canadas-most-ambitious-car-free-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto island neighbourhood to feature Canada’s “most ambitious” car-free space"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SLA<\/div>\n

Danish landscape studio SLA<\/a> is among the designers of a neighbourhood on an island in Toronto<\/a>‘s Port Lands district, set to advance after receiving the all-clear from planning officials in the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

The latest piece in Toronto’s multipronged waterfront redevelopment<\/a>, Ookwemin Minising \u2013 or “place of the black cherry trees” \u2013 covers 98 acres in total, with activated public greenspace and a variety of car-free areas.<\/p>\n

SLA<\/a> and the project’s engineering lead GHD<\/a> are teaming with Ontario-based designers Trophic Design<\/a> and British architects Allies and Morrison<\/a> to complete the concept on the formerly industrial site.<\/p>\n

The team says its concept, which establishes a pedestrianised identity for the new manmade island at the mouth of the Don River, “reimagines streets as dynamic, living systems that evolve like ecosystems over time”.<\/p>\n

\"SLA
A team including SLA has designed Ookwemin Minising for Toronto’s Port Lands District<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It also said the design merges “Scandi-style green liveability, quirky density, and long-forgotten indigenous values”.<\/p>\n

The design shifts between five sitewide strategies (Living Legacy, Local Character, Prioritise Nature, Strategic Density, and Everyday Mobility) and finds its expression through six distinct “character” spaces, according to SLA.<\/p>\n

Among them, a 760-meter-long dissecting pedestrian route called Centre Commons anchors the development as “Canada’s longest and most ambitious year-round car-free space.”<\/p>\n

Another, dubbed Sandbar Trail, traces the outline of a prominent isthmus that was historically used for trade and congregation.<\/p>\n

\"SLA
The design features “living” aspects such as green streets. Architecture and massing designed by Allies and Morrison. Image by Allies and Morrison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The entire development is expected to hold more than 12,000 homes and include climate-safe infrastructure features meant to retain and reuse stormwater and increase protections against flooding and the impacts of urban heat islands.<\/p>\n

Through the incorporation of inlaid stonework, native planting strategies, and other interpretive elements, the design intends to reflect a \u2018Living Legacy’ approach that combines Indigenous storytelling and spatial practices.<\/p>\n