Jason Thorne

Cool job alert!

Help lead the continued revitalization and re-imagination of Toronto’s waterfront! The City Planning Division is looking for a new Director to lead the Waterfront Secretariat. Details at jobs.toronto.ca/search/

Toronto Has Embraced Upzoning The entire city has been "upzoned" in the last 3 years. July 2022 • Garden Suites Legalized Across All Neighbourhoods. 2022 February - Major Streets July 2023 • Standardization of the Development Review Process. Nov 2024 • City softens rules on Angluar Planes (Step Backs) June 2025 • City legalizes sixplexes in 9 wards and simplifies rules. • May 2023 Fourplexes up to 3.5 storeys become legal citywide. • Feb 2024 Toronto Legalizes Multi-Tenant Housing (Rooming Houses) • Feb 2025 City passes Avenues and Major Streets Policies. • August 2025 City-Province PMTSA Agreement Reached.

Ontario Has Made Some Progress We remain largely underwhelmed by most provincial actions. April - Bill 17 - Building Onfario Homes Mecisions, Mandvary Refund • Nov 2022 June 2023 • employment land to mcedu June 2024• * Nov 2023 custo fer mobiglex and aerdatie projecte Revvicts what municipates may requent in a compl Skation, reduing editions vodes ed loc preequin August 2025• greement Pasche nes, laach OCreven + Now 2025

It was also kind of crazy to be reminded of how much the needle has moved on housing policy the past few years in Toronto and Ontario, in part thanks to orgs like @moreneighboursto.bsky.social.

Of course the needle needs to be pushed much further and there’s much more work to do!

The people want transit.

This is an hour early and it’s freezing cold.

Bigger than the crowd for the Elizabeth line (more places to wait for that though…)

A tall building with a brick facade and large windows, set against a clear blue sky.

A view of two modern, multi-story buildings with a facade of red brick and glass. The sky in the background is partly cloudy. The angle captures the buildings from below, emphasizing their height.

A low-angle view of two tall buildings against a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. The buildings feature a mix of brick and glass facades.

You don’t see this very often anymore. 30 storeys of hand-laid brick. This is Fitzrovia’s Sloane project in North York.

Frank Gehry, legendary architect of some of the world’s most iconic buildings, dies at 96 Gehry defined his own idiosyncratic path in Toronto, Los Angeles and around the world

“I was interested in the … unfinished quality you find in paintings by Jackson Pollock, for instance, or de Kooning … I wanted to try that out in a building.” www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and...

A winding paved bike path with green centre line markings, flanked by young trees and streetlights. In the background, a modern bridge and a body of water are visible under a cloudy sky.

A new route to a new park. The Don Roadway bike trail and pedestrian path is now open to Ookwemin Minising island and Biidaasige Park (Toronto).

This social post is brought to you by the letter U! 🤩

Discover the origins of yearning for walkable cities and good neighborhoods with Anna Kodé on this week's episode of 99 Percent Invisible.

Available everywhere you get your podcasts 👉 https://bit.ly/48kSFTK

Check it out! Toronto’s Cycling and Pedestrian Projects team is now on Bluesky. That means Toronto City Planning and Toronto Cycling are both here … what more could anyone need?

My first job out of university in the early 90s was to help develop their land acquisition and land stewardship program. Amazing to see how far it’s come!

Ground has been broken at what will be Canada's largest new co-operative housing project in over 30 yrs, with 612 rent-controlled homes. Kennedy Green designed by Henriquez Partners Architects for CreateTO, Civic Developments, Windmill Developments and the Co-Operative Housing Federation of Toronto.

Toronto’s #EmploymentAreas are vital areas designated for employment uses and economic growth and are home to 381,270 jobs in 2025. These areas continue to be a primary location for export-oriented and goods-producing businesses, hosting 91.9% of all Manufacturing jobs.

https://ow.ly/oGbj50XA9EC

Screen shot of an aerial of the Portlands in Toronto in Apple Maps

Screen shot of an aerial image of the Portlands in Toronto using Here WeGO maps

And visible on satellite in Apple Maps & Here WeGo maps (the two I use).

Our new island is now showing up on Google Maps! (Ookwemin Minising island in Toronto)

Great to see the Toronto architecture community giving voice to the importance and impact of the Toronto Green Standards and green roof by-law.

A street scene featuring a gas station on the right with several vehicles in the parking lot. On the left, there is a brick building partially visible. The sky is cloudy, indicating a possibly overcast day.

A multi-story modern building under construction, featuring a mix of brick and contemporary materials. Scaffolding is present at the base, with construction equipment visible. Several vehicles are parked in front, and utility lines run overhead against a cloudy sky.

From a gas station to 57 new homes. New midrise in Scarborough (Windmill Development, Oben Group and RAW Architects).

The earliest iteration of the Toronto Green Standard (TGS) helped to shape Evergreen Brick Works into the environmental landmark it is today. Read more about how Bill 60 and Bill 17 will affect the TGS.

#CelebratingGreenStandards #Bill60 #Bill17 #onenvironment

A colorful, modern building with large, bright window frames in red, pink, and yellow is in the background. In the foreground, a skate park with graffiti-covered ramps and scattered autumn leaves is visible. The sky appears cloudy.

A modern building under construction features a black exterior with colorful accents in yellow, red, and orange. The structure has large windows and is surrounded by bare trees and construction elements, including a partially finished ground level. The sky is overcast.

A modern multi-story building under construction, featuring a black exterior with colorful window frames in yellow, pink, and red. The base is partially covered and surrounded by construction fencing, with cloudy skies above.

The future home of the Canadian Helen Keller Centre … 56 affordable and accessible homes in south Etobicoke.

Yep … it’s actually on the Swansea side.

Permeable roadway pavers in the reconstructed Riverside Drive in Etobicoke.

Photo of a four storey supportive housing building located at 90 Dunn Avenue in Toronto

Happy #NationalHousingDay.

Grateful for my team and partners across sectors working to build a more inclusive Toronto. Housing is about dignity and belonging, and I’m committed to doing my part so everyone has a safe, secure and affordable home.

#CityofToronto #DevelopmentReview #CityPlanning

YouTube video by 13 ON YOUR SIDE Fruitport designs $48M high school with places to hide from mass shooters

Curved corridors to limit a shooter’s sight lines. Bullet-proof glass. Concrete “bump outs” in hallways to provide hiding places. This is the sad new architecture of American high schools. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXeM...

LivLofts residential conversion of a 1971 International Style office building in Don Mills by developers FRAM + Slokker and Cadillac Fairview and architect Giannone Petricone Associates.

A small strip plaza with parked cars and various local businesses.

Are you a business owner or employee in a Toronto strip plaza? Your voice can guide future City planning related to commercial space and small business supports. Take part in our PlazaPOV Survey and tell us what matters most to you and your community.

Learn more: www.toronto.ca/PlazaPOV.

Future archaeologists and alien visitors are going to be so confused...

A large bronze bear sculpture sits prominently, depicting the bear in a seated position. The background features modern high-rise buildings and a partly cloudy sky. The sculpture is mounted on a black base.

The 9.5 metre tall “Seated Bear With Friends” by artist Dean Drever, overlooking the new park and playground at the Crosstown development in Toronto.

SOMETHING NEW: Since SO MANY great new books on cities, city-building & urbanism have been published since I did my “Top 100” List back in 2013, on 100 (non-consecutive) days I’ll profile 100 NEWER BOOKS for the #UrbanismBookClub in THIS thread!

Starting today (in no order), with “Messy Cities!” 1/

I had a lot of fun writing my contribution to this one … alongside so many great urbanists!

Update: Designer is Athena Macke www.instagram.com/athena.macke