Mixed Use Development

By Kim Kuhteubl

Tired of commuting an hour each way everyday to get to the office and back? If you purchase a new home, you likely won't have to. Perhaps the biggest movement in new home development this year is one that's already happening in most big cities across North America. It's a planning philosophy called mixed use and it means that home, work, and play are just a walk away.

"The trend is away from a philosophy of land use planning that separates uses," says Ted Tyndorf, chief planner and executive director of Toronto's City Planning Department. "GTA-wide planning was done when people thought gasoline was going to cost 50 cents for the rest of their lives. Marketing geniuses capitalized on people's desire for wide open spaces rather than asking how we could make the quality of life in the city better."

Instead of separating groups of residential dwellings into sprawling suburbs that can only be accessed by car, a mixed use development includes a range of different facilities such as shops, restaurants, hotels, cinemas, and office buildings all within reasonable walking distance of home. In Toronto, developers are taking their cue from provincial and municipal policies that encourage them to make use of unused land parcels in the downtown core, in particular along Lake Shore Boulevard.

"Condo, condo, condo," says Stephen Dupuis, executive vice-president of the Greater Toronto Home Builders' Association, an organization that represents developers, home builders, professional renovation contractors, and their suppliers in the GTA. According to Dupuis, four of every 10 new units sold last year was in a high rise. "The whole government policy is intensification, anti-urban sprawl. The market has been forced to shift and if you want to buy, condos are what you can afford."

By building multiple-unit housing such as condominiums and infill townhouses instead of semis or single-family dwellings, cities are able to capitalize on the millions of dollars already invested in existing systems like mass transit, roads, power, and emergency services. The range of activities attracts a community of varying ages, income levels, and ethnic groups, people who want to grow old in their neighbourhoods. Downtown streets, sidewalks, and public spaces are not just links to activities, but destinations to be enjoyed in their own rights, and busy streets that bustle virtually all the time make a place feel alive and safe.

Consider Toronto, where 2.48 million people occupy about 240 square miles, including Rouge Park and the huge industrial areas. Then consider that same population spread over the miles between Hamilton, Barrie, and Oshawa and the range of transportation, shopping, and services needed to cover those miles. The inter-connectedness of densely populated cities is better business and better for the environment.

According to Tyndorf, the environmental footprint left by a dense city is far less than the footprint of suburban sprawl. By using existing urban infrastructure and services instead of introducing new ones on the urban fringe, the quality of agricultural lands is preserved. In addition, green gas emissions and reliance on cars are reduced along with our consumption of non-renewable resources.

"When you step back and look at great cities through history, people were used to walking. The pre-war city was a mixed use neighbourhood where people could walk, take transit, and drive if necessary. We've come full circle realizing that this is the better way for people to live."