In Toronto, Living Indigenous Values Shape Resilient New Community

Ookwemin Minising Indigenous values / SLA and GHD

By Jared Green

"We are following the footsteps of those Indigenous civilizations that have always been here and always gathered here," said Trina Moyar, a member of the Nêhiyawak Nation (Cree).

One of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in Canadian history led to the renaturalization of the Don River in Toronto and reconnected that waterway to thousands of years of Indigenous heritage.

The multi-decade, $1.4 billion effort led by landscape architects at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates transformed an industrial port into a restored river surrounded by 330 acres of new public parkland, including Biidaasige Park, which means "sunlight shining towards us" in the Indigenous language of Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwemowin) on an island called Ookwemin Minising, which means "place of the black cherry trees."

Ookwemin Minising is now the focus of a new 98-acre mixed-use development for Waterfront Toronto that will provide homes for 21,000 people and create nearly 3,000 jobs.

The design of this new green, livable community, which is guided by living Indigenous values, has been created by an international team of landscape architects, planners, and architects led by SLA, a Danish landscape architecture firm and GHD, a global engineering, architecture, and construction firm.

Ookwemin Minising master plan / SLA, GHD, Trophic Design, Allies and Morrison

"This is urban design at its most alive - where trees, water, wind, soil and people grow and flow together," said Rasmus Astrup, design principal and senior partner at SLA.

Informed by First Nations stewards who collaborated with SLA and Canadian landscape architecture firm Trophic Design, the development's new public realm applied a "Living Legacy" approach, which "embeds Indigenous knowledge, storytelling, and spatial practices into the fabric of the city," SLA writes.

Indigenous ideas shaped the design of "Growing Streets," the framework for the development's public spaces. SLA says this concept will result in streets that act like "dynamic, living systems that evolve like ecosystems over time."

Growing Streets concept / SLA and GHD

In practice, this means the streets are designed first for walking and cycling. Transportation systems and public spaces are designed to reduce climate risks, including flooding and heat islands. Rainwater will be captured, filtered, and reused through green infrastructure. The new development will also include native trees and plants that can support the river ecosystem.

Green infrastructure system in Ookwemin Minising / SLA, GHD, Trophic Design, Allies and Morrison

The development will include a Centre Commons, a 760-meter-long, car-free space, which will be Canada's longest pedestrian-only street. Running east-west, the commons will include more than 400 trees and spaces for community gatherings, markets, and playgrounds.

Centre Commons at Ookwemin Minising / SLA, GHD, Trophic Design, Allies and Morrison

Living Indigenous values have also informed the design of other key thoroughfares, including Ookwemin Street and The Sandbar Trail, which trace the historic shoreline and Carrying Place Trail.

"The Sandbar Trail is a historic connection from Toronto out to the Toronto Islands. It served as a historic route, a sacred space for healing, trade, and harvesting for Indigenous peoples prior to the settlement of the City of Toronto," explained Terence Ratford, principal landscape architect with Trophic Design.

"Through stone inlays, planting strategies, and interpretive elements, the design [of the street and trail] make Indigenous values and memory visible and tangible throughout the everyday experience," SLA writes.

The Sandbar Trail at Ookwemin Minising / SLA, GHD, Trophic Design, Allies and Morrison

In a video released by Waterfront Toronto, Indigenous leaders described how the new trail and street will help continue the Indigenous story of the landscape into the future.

"I think we have this idea that heritage is only an industrial heritage. Whereas this heritage - which goes back far, far, far longer - is very much there; it's very much affected the way these neighborhoods have been designed," said Shak Gobert, Nêhiyawak Nation, who took part in Indigenous engagement and co-design.

"When I think of The Sandbar Trail, it has been this natural gathering space that has morphed over time but has also stayed the same in so many ways."

The Sandbar Trail at Ookwemin Minising / SLA, GHD, Trophic Design, Allies and Morrison

A vibrant, resilient public realm also enabled Allies and Morrison, the team's architecture and massing lead, to increase housing density in the new development. "Compared to earlier plans - [it] supports a total of 12,000 new homes (including up to 3,000 affordable units) - without compromising the quality or quantity of public space."

Ookwemin Minising / SLA, GHD, Trophic Design, Allies and Morrison

Waterfront housing in Toronto has received nearly $1 billion CAD in investment from multiple levels of the Canadian government. The first homes in Ookwemin Minising are expected to be ready by 2031.

The team led by SLA and GHD includes:

• Trophic Design (Indigenous co-design)
• Allies and Morrison (architecture and massing)
• Transsolar (sustainability and low-carbon infrastructure)
• Monumental Projects (public engagement and community outreach)
• Level Playing Field (accessibility services)