A friend's Portuguese cousin sent these awesome images to him and he duly forwarded them to me. The title really says it all: Favela Japonesa indeed! Of course, perhaps a more flexible usage of the concept is required than the english equivalents shantytown/slum - my mind's drawing a blank, but in spanish, the word barrio, while carrying the same connotations (particularly in Venezuela), also simply means district or neighbourhood. Whatever the word should be, we like where this idea is headed… for something mildly related, check out the Personal Container Management post (on bricoleurbanism.org) ...

Statistics Canada has started to release data from the 2006 census at the City level - including population figures for Toronto and the GTA (or at least the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), mapped above). By this measure, the GTA has grown 9.2% since 2001, with a population of 5,113,149 - that's an increase in population of 430,252 in five years. The City of Toronto itself accounted for only 21,787 of this increase (with a very modest growth rate of 0.9%, and despite what most of us would think of as a significant high-density condo boom) which ...

Plant Architect & Shore Tilbe Irwin were announced the winner of the Nathan Phillips Square competition. For more information on the competing schemes see the Spacing Wire post or the City of Toronto's website. Also, check out the Toronto Star article. The rest of the team members were: Peter Lindsay Schaudt Landscape Architecture, Inc. (landscape design collaborator, Chicago) Adrian Blackwell (urban design collaborator and art consultant, Toronto) Blackwell Bowick Partnership Limited (structural engineering, Toronto) Blanche Lemko van Ginkel (historical guidance, Toronto) Crossey Engineering Ltd. (integrated mechanical and lighting systems ...

The Toronto Star is announcing on its front page that a final $697 million from the federal government has sealed the Spadina Subway Extension deal (see their article here). The money comes as part of a large package of funding for transit in the GTA including: A Mississauga transitway, a bus-only road along Highway 403 and Eastgate Parkway from Burnhamthorpe Rd. to Eglinton Ave. E. Brampton's $280-million Acceleride project, meant to speed bus service. Ontario has already committed $95 million for the improvements. An expansion of York Region's Viva bus system. York Region officials want ...

In the Toronto Star last weekend was a special 2-page spread on the sorry state of Toronto's water mains with emphasis on who's to pay for upgrades (see story online here). However, the maps included give a fascinating glimpse into the history of Toronto's development seen through the age of the water mains. Divided into four periods, 1859-1900, 1901-1940, 1941-1960, and 1961-2000, these maps are indispensable for anyone interested in the history of urban infrastructure. To see a little more detail, follow these links (maps 1+2, maps 3+4) - if you prefer, a much ...

This enigmatic and forlorn stairway cuts through the retaining wall of the railway overpass crossing Dupont Street where it meets Dundas Street West and turns into Annette Street. A little historic investigation reveals that the old West Toronto CP passenger station (demolished in 1982, in orange on map below) was just along the tracks from here, though this stairway (red dot below) was not the main entrance. It's likely that this was an entrance/exit to the southern end of the CP station's platforms, allowing easier access to the important historic service into Union Station. Map of ...

A rough timelapse sequence of the demolition of the old Ford dealership on Yorkville Avenue as part of site preparations for the new Four Seasons hotel/condominium proposal which will stretch from the historic fire station (with the tower visible in the photos) west between Yorkville Avenue and Scollard Avenue to Bay Street. The yellow box in the left of the photos is the sales centre (under construction). The proposal is for two towers, one 46 storeys at the corner of Bay and Yorkville and the other of 30 storeys on Scollard adjacent to the existing recently completed mid-rise residential ...