Urban Design Portfolio

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                      

Alex Gaio Urban Design Portfolio

Contents Keeping it Simple

1

Regional Analysis

2

Toronto Land Use

3

Transportation Networks

3

Land Use Analysis

4

Neighbourhood Details

6

Building Uses

7

Dundas Street (Existing)

8

Dundas Street (Proposed)

9

Residential Street Activity

10

Keeping it Simple Urban Design is a language that is commonly understood and interpreted by a wide variety of people. It needs to intuitive, simple, logical, and inspirational.

Some of the biggest challenges in today’s urban environments can be mitigated by planning for the future. The ever growing populations in urban centres present great opportunities for design-related solutions that manage transportation, land use, and social planning in smart and elegant ways. Cities are places where we all live and are the economic engines of the world.

The biggest challenge for the next generation of planners will be to adequately plan to sustain liveability, economic prosperity, and environmental longevity. This portfolio aims to outline some insight into the future of planning through simple solutions.

Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation Georgina

Regional Analysis Toronto— the most populous city in Canada, lies in the heart of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. With a population of 8.6 million, there is a very high demand for mobility. The region’s transportation networks play a big role in keeping people moving. This map shows how the regions networks connect the region from a bigger picture and understand what challenges exist in accommodating growing demand.

East Gwillimbury Bradford West Gwillimbury

Uxbridge

New Tecumseth Newmarket Whitchurch-Stouffville Aurora

Mono King

Pickering

Richmond Hill Markham Caledon

Ajax

Vaughan

Toronto

Brampton

Halton Hills Mississauga

LEGEND Rail Road Downtown Toronto Water Body

Milton Oakville

1. 500 000 0

2 • Alex Gaio

5

10

20

30

40 Kilometers

Toronto Land Use Land use in any city has a big role to play in how transportation services are deployed.

Toronto is no exception. By planning land use for the long term, cities like Toronto can build transportation effectively.

LEGEND Industrial Residential Commercial Parks & Natural Areas Open Space Institutional Water Body 1. 50 000 0

0.5

1

2

3

4 Kilometers

Transportation Networks The major transportation network in Toronto connects different land uses and mass transit is centred around denser land use and mixed use hubs.

LEGEND Road Rail Ferry Natural Area Water Body 1. 50 000 0

0.5

1

2

3

4 Kilometers

Alex Gaio • 3

Land Use Analysis The downtown core, centred around Yonge and Dundas streets, sees the nexus and breadth of Toronto’s transportation systems.

Tied closely to the land use in the area, the dense corridors are connected by: arterial roads, the YongeUniversity-Spadina Subway, the Dundas Streetcar, busy pedestrian routes, and a Bike Share Toronto station. The interconnectedness and effectiveness of these mass transportation systems depend heavily on “mass”. The heart of Toronto is a great example of how demand and mass transportation work in tandem and rely on each other.

LEGEND Dense Residential Medium Residential Dense Commercial Medium Commercial Green Space Squares & Plazas Parking Institutional Retail Mixed Use 1.6000

Neighbourhood Details The unique character of Toronto’s neighbourhoods are a result of smart planning that has allowed them to evolve into the multimodal places that they are today.

This neighbourhood, which is east of the Central Business District, is bound by the Dundas Streetcar to the south and Gerrard Street (with bike lanes) to the north.

6 • Alex Gaio

Building Uses Looking deeper into the uses on this section of the neighbourhood, the wide variety of uses justifies the need for providing mobility choice in the area. Mixed use, commercial, institutional, and medium residential provide the mass for mass transportation and keep arterial routes busy.

Alex Gaio • 7

Dundas Street (Existing) Today, Dundas is a major arterial street in Toronto and provides space for streetcar, vehicle traffic, and foot traffic. In response to growing density in the downtown core, it is important to take into account how the existing space along the Dundas corridor can be better utilised and planned to accommodate a greater volume of people. The widths of the drive lanes on Dundas Street are currently wider than the minimum width, which can be adjusted to accommodate for bike lanes.

8 • Alex Gaio

Dundas Street (Proposed) With a growing demand for transportation and moving more people in a finite amount of space, adding bike lanes to Dundas Street in the downtown core and converting a drive lane into a twoway left turn lane can increase capacity and makes better use of space. Added street trees provide a buffer for cyclists and support active and healthy transportation modes.

Alex Gaio • 9

Residential Street Activity Toronto is a city that is always pushing the limit on how it uses its space. Transportation choices have a big role to play in providing a viable network that works for everybody. By providing options for people to choose what transportation mode works best for them, Toronto’s neighbourhoods are on track to maintain their current liveability and improving their health and mobility.

10 • Alex Gaio

                      http://alex.gaio.me   