{"id":17299,"date":"2023-05-20T19:34:51","date_gmt":"2023-05-21T02:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/toronto-impresses-as-host-city-for-ulis-2023-spring-meeting\/"},"modified":"2023-05-20T19:34:53","modified_gmt":"2023-05-21T02:34:53","slug":"toronto-impresses-as-host-city-for-ulis-2023-spring-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/toronto-impresses-as-host-city-for-ulis-2023-spring-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Impresses as Host City for ULI’s 2023 Spring Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After three days packed full of programming on the topic of healthy cities and responsible land use, the Urban Land Institute<\/a>\u2019s (ULI) 2023 Spring Meeting concluded yesterday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The annual event was hosted in Toronto for the first time since the mid-1980s, bringing the global membership of the ULI to Canada\u2019s largest City for a showcase of what we do best: urban growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Toronto was the host city for the Spring Meeting for the first time since the 1980’s, image by Matias Bessai<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was an interesting city to do this in because there is so much happening and so much changing,\u201d said Jordan Block, Principal at Stantec<\/a>‘s\u00a0Denver office. \u201cYou can see a lot of what we are talking about here happening around you.\u201d Block was part of a large group of American professionals \u2014 roughly 85% of the attendance \u2014 who participated in the busy schedule of panel discussions and tours, many of which used Toronto as a lens to investigate practices of urbanization and city building.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A ULI morning tour visits Humber Bay Shores, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

For many attendees, the Spring Meeting provides a unique opportunity to gain exposure to a diverse set of perspectives from across the international land use industry, returning to their home cities with new opinions on how to approach their professional goals. Block, for example, cited Toronto\u2019s design culture as a key takeaway from the week. \u201cGenerally, there is a culture here of good design,\u201d he said, \u201cwell made places, good materiality, it\u2019s the result of expenses being paid to the right things in a lot of cases. I think that\u2019s something that a lot of cities in America struggle with, because it\u2019s not something you are forced to do, it\u2019s more of a culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visiting attendees had an opportunity to learn from what Toronto does best, image by Matias Bessai<\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly, the event has proven to be equally informative for local attendees as well, allowing many to take a step back and interrogate where Toronto\u2019s development industry can improve. \u201cThere are so many common threads that cities are experiencing across North America, one of the biggest being affordable housing,\u201d said Mary Castel, Partner and Director of Business Development and Communications at Urban Strategies<\/a>, discussing what she has learned this week. \u201cMany of the Americans were shocked that Canada, which is supposedly a more socialist nation, doesn’t have the kind of funding streams that they do in the States, so that\u2019s a takeaway for us. While we consider ourselves very progressive in some ways, with taxation funding a lot of our social supports, it\u2019s not paying for housing in the way that it maybe should.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pina Mallozzi of Waterfront Toronto presenting plans for a new park in the Port Lands, image by Edward Skira<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Sibley Fleming, Editor in Chief and Vice President of the ULI’s Urban Land<\/a> publication, the organization found that the programming of the conference did well to engage and stimulate the attendees. “The tours, in particular, have resonated with participants, showcasing the many innovate trends across this diverse market,” she said. Fleming added that “The Beltway project and Concord CityPlace were particularly inspiring,” and described Toronto as “an exciting market for development and a great city.”<\/p>\n

Overall, the impression that this City has made on attendees, local and visiting, has been quite positive. \u201cIt\u2019s a very nice and friendly city,\u201d said Sonja Trierweiler, Vice President of Community Development at Global Network For Zero<\/a>, visiting from Washington D.C. \u201cThere are a lot of problems in major cities everywhere, and Toronto seems to have a pretty good sense of how to manage a lot of those issues. As a visitor, it’s a really pleasant experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennifer Arezes of First Capital describes the company’s plans for the 2150 Lake Shore site, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

Offering another local perspective, President of Toronto-based architecture firm DEXD<\/a>, Gelare Danaie, commented that the event has allowed herself and others to reflect on what the City has accomplished in the last few decades.\u00a0 \u201cOverall we are not good at advertising ourselves,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it\u2019s an urban and diverse city, and we have to be proud of that. Sometimes the message is negative, but if you think about the good developers, the public services, the transportation, everybody is doing their best to make Toronto a really world class city.\u201d<\/p>\n

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UrbanToronto has a research service,\u00a0UrbanToronto Pro<\/a>, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area\u2014from proposal through to completion. We also offer\u00a0Instant\u00a0Reports<\/a>, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter,\u00a0New Development Insider<\/a>, that tracks projects from initial application.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n