A New Community Takes Off: Building a 15-Minute City at Downsview

In the center of Toronto, over 210 hectares (520 acres) of transit-served land are being reimagined to advance community and broader city-building priorities.

Due to the operation of the airstrip, the Downsview Lands have long been disconnected from the adjacent communities. Decommissioning the airport creates the largest city-building opportunity in Toronto: an opportunity to redarn the urban fabric and in so doing establish a more inherently resilient, sustainable and attractive way of life.

Guided by Henning Larsen/SLA Architects and Urban Strategies—members of the award-winning master planning and design team—this tour will introduce the Framework Plan vision of complete, connected communities that offer places to play, gather, explore, work and innovate, and together form an ecosystem where people and nature thrive together. It will provide a behind the scenes look at the existing community assets which inspired this progressive vision —including the 117-hectare (290 acre) Downsview Park, “The Bunker” at 40 Carl Hall, and Centennial College Downsview Campus Centre for Aerospace and Aviation—and highlight how the site’s orientation, constraints, and characteristics inspired a bespoke approach to urban development.