How Toronto is becoming the next Manhattan — and what urban planners should learn from it

If you went back to 1950, Toronto would not be dissimilar to other cities in the Great Lakes and Rust Belt region. It was a cluster of brick midrises with a few banking towers, an industrial waterfront separated from the city by a rail line, and surrounded by a ring of Victorian-era townhouses and storefronts. In 1969, the black monoliths of the TD Center signaled a new direction for Toronto, and the CN Tower later gave the Toronto skyline a world famous silhouette. But the city today is seeing a construction boom with dozens of new highrise towers being proposed each year. It might be far-fatched to compare any city to Manhattan, but Toronto is quickly catching up. But why exactly is Toronto growing so fast in such a short amount of time?

Render of the future Toronto skyline with current proposed highrise developments. Image by Scott Dickson

The growth of a city is often in proportion to the value of its land. Investors put money in housing knowing it is one of the safest guarantees for a return on investment. With relatively low interest rates and easily obtainable mortgages, Toronto has attracted investors from around the world to purchase housing and other properties in the city, raising its land value exponentially over the years, to the point that Toronto has among the highest costs of living worldwide. But real estate investment alone does not by itself explain the sheer amount of new developments in Toronto. Factors such as job opportunities, good infrastructure and overall quality of life will attract people to live in these areas, regardless of the cost.

Protected townhouse districts force developers to build higher to meet housing demands. Image by Steven Velasco @FutureModelTO

Urban development is also guided by a city’s zoning laws. As Toronto sheds its industries along the waterfront, the land gets rezoned for residential, commercial and other multipurpose developments. The Villiers Island megaproject is underway to transform a post-industrial waterfront district into a mixed-use community, digging a new river bed to solve the site’s flooding issues. However, the majority of the city consists of detached or semi-detached housing (known as the Yellow Belt) that cannot be rezoned, unlike the industrial lands. Developers must therefore build upwards to accommodate the explosive demand for housing units. Manhattan saw similar geographic restrictions with its island location and swathes of dedicated land for brownstone townhouses. The surface parking lots that dotted the downtown core fifteen years ago have become a rarity, and even heritage preservation guidelines make exceptions to new highrise developments if the existing historical buildings are physically integrated as part of the project. The resulting juxtaposition between old and new architecture tells a story of how the city evolved over time.

Toronto heritage guidelines often permit integrating listed buildings into new highrise developments. Cielo Condos

The proximity of these residential neighborhoods to the city center are one of the reasons so many people have moved to downtown Toronto, as well as zoning regulations that set aside commercial space for the ground level in new developments. It is almost comparable to a European city where most things are either walking distance or a short tram ride away, perfect for students of the city’s various university campuses. Combined with the Toronto’s low crime rate, wide choice of cuisine and entertainment, and overall stability of its government, it is not surprising that people from all around the world have chosen to live and work there. An estimated 421,000 immigrants are expected to arrive in Toronto in 2023, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Toronto offers easy access to good infrastructure, a wide range of social services and free healthcare facilities that makes life easier for new Canadian citizens. Many Toronto employers seek immigrant workers, particularly if they have a degree, and the provincial government’s Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program makes it easier for them to settle in places like Toronto. This “brain gain” helps to grow the Toronto economy which leads to more new construction.

Toronto’s elaborate Light Rail Transit system is one of the amenities that attract residents to the urban setting. Image by Toronto Star

Recreating Toronto’s successful growth may be difficult in other cities due to factors outside planners’ control. A clear example is Toronto’s low interest rates for housing investments which makes it easy for investors to treat housing as a financial asset. Another is the availability of jobs and education, and the types of cultural districts the city has to offer that attracts people to move there. Toronto may not yet be on Manhattan’s level, but it’s reaching that point faster than any other city in North America. People are attracted to cities that feel liveable, and Toronto’s planners achieve this through mandating street-level commercial space in most new downtown developments, improving infrastructure such as streetcar lines, and expanding walkable urban boulevards and park space. For a city that only had a handful of highrises fifteen years ago, its increasing resemblance to the Manhattan skyline shows the power of investment and high quality urban planning.