Thousands of professionals from different fields across the wide-spanning land use industry are set to converge in Downtown Toronto next week for the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Spring Meeting. Drawing attendance from the various global branches of the distinguished organization, the three-day gathering is one of the most significant annual events in the city building sphere, and is slated to bring international attention to the processes of urbanization taking place here in Toronto while discussing best practices for the creation of healthy cities.
With a packed schedule of presentations and tours scheduled to kick off on Tuesday the 16th, we had a chance to speak with Richard Joy, Executive Director of ULI Toronto, before the event gets underway to learn more about the Spring Meeting and what it means for Toronto.
For Joy, and the rest of the ULI’s Toronto Branch, being chosen as the host city for the Spring Meeting is an exciting opportunity to put Toronto under the land use microscope; the last time Toronto hosted the event was almost 40 years ago, and in that time the City has seen transformational change. Over all, Joy expressed that he is confident that the group of international attendees will be inspired by what they see.
“It’s been a long time since this global ULI stage has been in our City, and what a stage we have here,” he said. “Toronto is an urban juggernaut in North America. There’s no faster growing metropolitan region, and there’s certainly no metropolitan region that’s growing in such a decidedly urban fashion.” In particular, Joy cited mixed income communities, suburban density, and high levels of immigration as areas where Toronto can be viewed as a model for other cities.
While the ULI is represented across the globe, however, the vast majority of its branches, estimated at about 85%, are found in the United State, a number that will be reflected in the Spring Meeting’s attendance. “This is going to be a huge U.S audience in Toronto, which is probably the standout aspect of who is in the room,” Joy noted. “I think there’s going to be a lot of interest from American companies who are going to think, ‘why are we not here’. When they see the incredible appetite for more development, it’s going to wow a lot of the U.S attendees, I’m certain of that.”
Part of the reason why this opportunity is so important for Toronto, Joy explained, is due to the lack of attention the City gets for its highly advanced city building industry; despite being a leader in North America, the dearth of recognition has begun to sting after all these years. “The fact that we are not higher profile has always been a curious thing to me,” Joy said, “but I think that is going to change next week.”
The benefits for Toronto go far beyond simply earning a nod from a group of large American businesses though, with the event also creating an opportunity to build new professional relationships. “It’s creating a lot of pride across the board,” Joy said. “Showing off our city, our talent, and our expertise is a great business development opportunity, and also a great energizing moment for us as a City.” For a market currently facing a particularly challenging economic climate, Joy expressed that “the timing is great.”
Speaking about what he hopes will be some of the key takeaways from the event, “I hope that our guests from out of town gain some inspiration from what we are doing here and spread that leadership to other parts of the world, because I think we have a lot to offer,” Joy told us. “It’s exciting to finally get our chance to stop talking about it and to actually show people.”
The Spring Meeting will take place at The Metro Toronto Convention Centre, running from Tuesday to Thursday, with an additional event, the Resiliency Summit, scheduled for Monday. More information about the suite of presentations, tours, and networking opportunities, as well as how to register can be found by visiting the website here.
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