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5:30 – 7:30 pm
PreForum Event Open to all!
CANU X USI Opening Reception
Hosted and sponsored by Urban Strategies Inc., this event kicks off the conversations on the challenge of change in our cities with colleagues from CanU and Toronto’s urban design community.
Raise a glass with us and enjoy refreshing beverages, light appetizers, and great company. Admission is complimentary, but registration is required.
8:00 – 9:00 am
Registration / Network / Refreshments
9:00 - 9:30 am
T1 - Welcome and Theme Introduction
9:30 - 11:00 am
Session Sponsored by
T2 - Climate Change - What is Urban Design’s Role and Response?
A dynamic panel of experts involved in the design and development of our urban environments will share their direct experiences in addressing the challenges of climate change.
The discussion will explore a range of scales and contexts—from international initiatives to local projects—covering topics such as climate change strategies, plan development, best practices, approval negotiations, market acceptance, and lessons learned along the way.
11:00 – 11:15 am
Session Sponsored by
Refreshment Break
11:15 am - 12:30 pm
Session Sponsored by
T3 - Leading with Landscape: Public Spaces as Catalyst for Urban Renewal
From HTO Park to the recently inaugurated Biidaasige Park, Toronto’s waterfront reclamation is, first and foremost, the story of ambitious, often iconic, public places. Here, landscape has set the framework for a comprehensive program of urban renewal and redefined what we should expect of 21st century urbanism. Join us as our panelists reflect on two decades of “leading with landscape” and discuss the public realm’s renewed centrality in urban design practice.
12:30 – 1:30 pm
Session Sponsored by
T4 - Lunch Presentation - CanU Caucuses Update
Join us for a lunch session where CanU’s caucuses review their yearlong activities and invite attendees to join their efforts.
- Urbanizing Suburbia Caucus
- Research Working Group
1:30 – 2:45 pm
T5 - Developer Roundtable
Canadian cities are changing. Whether it be economics, politics, climate change, pandemic response, affordability issues, how our cities were designed only a few years ago, is now changing. Unlike, the public sector, the private sector has had to be nimble in their response to change and leading the way is our development industry. Beyond this, how has the role of Urban Design changed in response to these new challenges? CanU has brought together a number of seasoned development leaders for a discussion on where our cities are heading and what we can anticipate in the next few years and beyond.
2:45 - 4:30 pm
T6 - Walking Tours
T6-1 - Limberlost Place and East Bayfront
Welcome to East Bayfront, Toronto’s award-winning, mixed-use neighbourhood, which has been transformed from an industrial area into a dynamic waterfront destination. Bringing expertise from the architectural team, this tour will highlight the ecological design innovations of Limberlost Place, the award-winning, mass-timber building hosting the CanU Fall Forum. The tour will then extend outwards into the East Bayfront waterfront precinct to learn from one of the City’s senior urban designers about the innovative public spaces that are catalyzing the area’s redevelopment.
T6-2 - Regent Park
Regent Park has grown from Toronto's only real slum in the 1930's and 40's to perhaps one of, if not the most successful mixed income, mixed use, mixed tenure communities in North America. It's evolution through late 1940's/early 1950's government "public housing" intervention and, for the last 20 years it's emergence as the New Regent Park is a complex and exciting story. Some of the planners and developers involved in making Regent what it is today (John Gladki, Ken Greenberg & Mark Guslits) will join us at 500 Dundas E (the Daniels Sales Centre in Regent Park) and along with Fatima Saya of the Daniels Corporation and Ran Chen from the City of Toronto, share with us stories of this evolution - followed by a tour of the new community. Please join us.
Tour Sponsored by
T6-3 - Distillery District
Join us for a stroll through Toronto’s unique and dynamic walking district created by a vision to “provide a place where creativity would flourish and passion would be aroused”.
Enjoy a place in which the history is understood as a continuum and listen to the owner’s and architect’s stories about creative partnerships with hundreds of entrepreneurs, artists, and tradesmen throughout their journey of reimagining this national historic site and creating one of Toronto's most sought destinations.
Tour Sponsored by
T6-4 - Ookwemin Minising
Step onto Toronto’s newest wonder, Ookwemin Minising—where the Don River meets Lake Ontario, surrounded by meandering waters and breathtaking views of the downtown skyline. Join us for an engaging walking tour through this remarkable landscape, the product of the world-renowned Port Lands Flood Protection project.
During your guided walk, you’ll explore the vibrant wetlands and traverse the scenic paths encircling Biidaasige Park, whose name means “sunlight shining towards us” in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin. The tour will share the island’s stories of restoration and renewal as the “place of the black cherry trees”.
T6-5 - The Well, Wellington Street
Come and join us in touring the Well, a transformative mixed-use development in downtown Toronto spanning 3 hectares (7.6 acres). A 38-storey office tower and six residential structures rise above three levels of retail set in an open-air pedestrian realm beneath a sinuous glass canopy. This creates a unique public space that is both outdoors and sheltered. Inspired by European galleria with Asian-influenced density, The Well is open and accessible from all sides and extends passage through laneways of adjacent heritage neighbourhoods. The 278,707sm (three-million sf) development integrates traditional building materials with modern design. Active programming and events make The Well a new city destination.
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Down Time
6:00 - 7:30 pm
Session Sponsored by
T7 - Rising Urbanists - Challenging the Status Quo Open to all!
George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, Third Floor, Toronto Metropolitan University
245 Church St, Toronto, ON M5B 1Z4
A curated showcase of bold ideas from Canada’s next generation of city-builders, this session features innovative urban design concepts from practitioners aged 35 and under.
Selected through a national call for submissions, these emerging voices are not offering best practices—they’re proposing game-changing visions for the future of our communities.
Presenters will share their concepts, the thinking behind them, and how they challenge conventional approaches to urbanism. The session offers a unique opportunity to engage with fresh perspectives and explore how the next wave of urbanists is reimagining the Canadian city.
8:00 – 9:00 am
Registration / Network / Refreshments
9:00 - 10:15 am
Session Sponsored by
F1 - The Great Urban Design Debate: Is urban design dead? If so, can it be revived?
Is urban design dead, or can it rise again to shape the cities of tomorrow? Join us for a provocative and vital conversation as five influential city builders confront the very heart of urban design’s future. In an era where the relevance of thoughtful city-building is questioned, our panellists will wrestle with the risks of abandoning design principles, reflect on the triumphs and failures that brought us here, and debate whether urban design can be revived for a new age. Will the big, lofty goals of urban design survive, or are we witnessing the end of an era? If you are a design professional, policy-maker, or politician, this session promises bold, challenging perspectives on the life—or possible death—of urban design, and what that means for our communities moving forward.
10:15 - 10:30 am
Session Sponsored by
Refreshment Break
10:30 - 11:45 am
F2 - Sharing our streets and the increasingly fierce competition for space in Canada's rights of ways
The emergence of “complete streets” and “shared streets” show positive progress in designing our streets not just for cars, but for humans and the many other ways we choose to get around. Now years into this important effort, urbanists are discovering tension and public discourse as transportation modes compete for space within our public streets. Join us as accomplished public and private sector transportation professionals discuss the challenges and opportunities of designing great streets that also balance our transportation needs.
11:45 am - 1:00 pm
Session Sponsored by
Lunch & Book Promotion
Frank Lewinberg and Vincenzo Pietropaolo
Housing For All: How Toronto Built the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood (2025)
The book, illustrated with colour photographs, traces how, back in the 1970s, a bold collaboration between government, developers, non-profits, and citizens turned derelict industrial lands into what became Toronto’s most successful mixed-income community. Today, the St. Lawrence neighbourhood is home to 10,000 people of diverse incomes, cultures, and professions, a vibrant, affordable, urban model for cities everywhere.
* Pre-order here
Shawn Micallef
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Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto (2024)
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Frontier City: Toronto on the Verge of Greatness (2017)
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The Trouble With Brunch: Work Class and the Pursuit of Leisure (2014)
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Full Frontal TO: Exploring Toronto’s Vernacular Architecture (2012)
* Books will be available for purchase at the event.
Michael von Hausen
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Real Estate Development Primer: An Introduction to the Development Process (2025)
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Public Realm: The New Makers Handbook (2022)
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New Pathways to Approvals: Developing Better Communities Together (2021)
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Small is Big: Making the Next GreatSmall to Mid-Size Downtowns (2019)
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Dynamic Urban Design: A Handbook for Creating Sustainable Communities Worldwide (2013)
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Eco-Plan: Community Ecological Planning and Sustainable Design (2011)
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100 Timeless Urban Design Principles (2008 Edition)
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Urban Design and Planning Graphics Resource Book: Effective Visual Communication Techniques for Informed Decision-making (2012)
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Real Estate Economics in Urban Design: The Role of Civic Economics in Place-Making (2004)
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Leading Edges: Alternative Development Standards in British Columbia Municipalities (2002)
*If you want Michael to sign your book please make sure to purchase them beforehand at his website in digital form or his most recent 5 books on Amazon.
1:00 - 1:30 pm
Self Transport to Walking Tour Starts
1:30 - 3:30 pm
F3 - Walking Tours
F3-1 - Canary District/West Don Land
The tour will explore the development of the West Don Lands including the public realm projects. It will start at River City, go down through Corktown Common and then the new buildings in the Canary District, explaining how the development unfolded over time. We will not be able to go into the buildings.
F3-2 - TO's Waterfront Parks and Public Realm
From Sherbourne Common to Love Park, join us for a waterfront walk through some of Toronto’s most iconic parks, promenades, and streetscapes, including Waterfront Promenade, Sugar Beach, Queensquay Streetscape, and the foot of Yonge Street. Get the stories behind some of Canada’s most celebrated public space designs while basking in TO’s regained lake-city mojo.
F3-3 - Bentway and Fort York
Join us on a journey through time with a tour of the Bentway and Fortyork area. The story that begins with Garrison Creek, once carving its way through this landscape and shaping the early settlement around Fort York. From there, walk with us into the present, where the Bentway has transformed the once underutilized space beneath the Gardiner into a lively public destination. Discover and learn about new parks, open spaces and developments where contemporary design meets layers of history, revealing the city’s evolution from natural landscapes to today’s vibrant urban fabric.
Tour Sponsored by
F3-4 - Downsview
YZD - the redevelopment of the 370 acre Downsview Airport - is the largest urban redevelopment project in Canada and part of the 2024 National Urban Design Awards winning Downsview Framework Plan. This tour provides a unique experience to see this site in transition from its past as an airplane manufacturing centre before major construction starts at the End of 2025. From Wilson Avenue's Ancaster Park a classic post-war suburban neighbourhood, through the Hangars and YZD Experience Centre, we will showcase the past, present, and exciting future for this community as a new city-within-a-city emerges at Downsview.
3:30 - 5:30 pm
Down Time
5:30 - 6:30 pm
Session Sponsored by
F4 - Pecha Kucha: Canadian Urbanism Coast to Coast Open to all!
1 Spadina Cres, Toronto, ON M5S 2J5
A presentation of the latest examples of good urban design from Coast to Coast, presented in Pecha Kucha style. Leading urbanists will present best practices and award-winning projects from BC, the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic, and Northern Canada. Join us for this perennial favorite!
6:30 - 7:30 pm
Closing Remarks
9:30 am - 12:00 noon
Session Sponsored by
S1 - Tour: Harbour and Skyline * Limited Tickets Available *
CANU welcomes and thanks our partners at the TSA for taking us on a journey of Toronto’s Inner Harbour aboard Toronto Harbour Tour’s Miss Kim Simpson, this 120-minute cruise will reveal the fascinating story behind the buildings and landscapes of Toronto’s Inner Harbour all from the comfort of our enclosed boat.
We’ll begin our journey on the western waterfront, where we’ll witness the legacy of our harbour’s industrial past now transformed into places to live, work and play. Our attention will then turn to the Toronto Islands, visiting its tranquil lagoons while revealing the many ways we have shaped these landforms to meet our city’s ever-changing needs. Distant views will provide the perfect backdrop to discuss our quickly evolving skyline, including iconic landmarks and new supertalls currently under construction. Our tour will end with a visit to the eastern waterfront and Ookwemin Minising, where one of the world’s largest waterfront revitalization projects is taking place. We’ll speak about the important role environmental stewardship is playing in shaping the next chapter of Toronto’s harbour and the ambitious plans for its future.
See Toronto from a whole new perspective and join us on a tour you’ll never forget!
About Toronto Society of Architects (TSA)
Established in 1887, the Toronto Society of Architects (TSA) is a non-profit volunteer-led organization dedicated to bringing people together to discuss, learn and explore around our shared passion for the built environment.We are committed to the betterment of our city and have played an important advocacy role throughout Toronto’s history. We do this through a wide range of programs which foster welcoming and inclusive forums for debate and the exchange of ideas, stimulating critical thinking about the design and building issues of our time.
Logistics
Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the tour begins for check in and boarding. Tickets cannot refunded if you missed the boat—give yourself extra time. We encourage you to go paperless—we can use either your digital ticket or your name for check-in. Your tour guide will be equipped with a microphone and speaker system to ensure you’re able to hear the tour clearly.This tour is 120 minutes in length and will proceed in most weather conditions as the vessel is enclosed. Should there be inclement weather and the boat operators decide to cancel the tour, we will contact you as soon as possible to have your ticket refunded.Please note that this vessel does not have internal washrooms, however there are washrooms located at the meeting spot.
Accessibility
Please note this vessel is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible, as there are a small number of steps that must be navigated to board.
Thank You!
This Boat Tour is made possible thanks to the support of the TSA, Waterfront BIA, Waterfront Toronto, and the passion and dedication of our volunteer of TSA Tour Guides.
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