The City of Toronto is committed to a 2050 deadline to reduce GHG emissions 80% below 1990 levels. Changes we have to make to achieve that target will likely make this future low-carbon city look very different, but it’s hard to know just how. Will everyone have self-driving electric cars and solar powered chicken coops? What effect will these new low-carbon ways have on our economy, health, and social equity in our city? TransformTO, a project co-managed by TAF and the City of Toronto is attempting to answer these questions and lay out a plan. In addition to using technical scenario models to project out the long-term impacts of our GHG reduction plans, we also asked the community for their thoughts.
Community ideas
Through online surveys and live events held over the past year, we asked 2,000 Toronto residents to come up with their best ideas on how to achieve a low-carbon future. After compiling and analyzing responses from participants across the city, common ideas and themes were identified and grouped together into key categories, summarized in this report. Overall, some of the most popular ideas were:
- better transit (transit that is reliable; accessible, affordable, clean and expanded
- complete, dense and walkable communities
- urban agriculture
- cycling infrastructure, and
- presence of green space
Graphic overview of community ideas
The range of ideas demonstrated that participants in the conversation embraced broad systems change, calling for improved public transit and energy efficiency standards across all buildings, but also neighourhood level action, like local food, community hubs, and community input into local design. The most frequently mentioned ideas were about better transit, complete, dense, and walkable communities, urban agriculture, cycling infrastructure, and more green space.
Review all of the community ideas and methodology in a full summary report here.
For more information about what’s happening next with TransformTO, click here.
