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What's wrong with us?
Stockholm turned around its waterfront in a few years. All we can do is talk about it.
Sep. 16, 2006. 01:00 AM
CHRISTOPHER HUME
STOCKHOLM—To wander through this city's newly rebuilt waterfront is to have a glimpse of what Toronto could be.
This new neighbourhood, Hammersby Sjostad (City on the Water) is energy self-sufficient, environmental, architecturally diverse, connected, vibrant and exactly where we should be headed in the years ahead. Whether or not we'll get there remains to be seen, but so far the signs are bad; lack of political leadership and an entrenched bureaucracy will make it extremely difficult.
Still, there's much to learn from Stockholm, a city of 1.5 million built on an archipelago of 14 islands. Certainly, the physical resemblance between the two waterfronts is striking. Both were once industrial harbours that fell into disuse. Both are also close to the heart of the city, easily reachable by public transit.
The big difference lies in the attitudes each city brings to the project. Planning in Stockholm began in 1990 and construction is well underway. Already 7,500 people live in these new areas. By 2015, when complete, there will be up to 25,000 residents and 10,000 workers.
"The key is integrated planning," explains Erik Freudentahl of the Hammersby communications department. "Our objective was to lower the environmental impact by one half. We built our own wastewater plant and district heating, which services 80,000 homes. Combustible waste from the area is recycled as heat and organic waste is used to produce biogas."
There are also solar panels on buildings to heat water, a new streetcar line, an Envac underground garbage collection system and high-efficiency fridges, stoves and dishwashers.
Though public participation is needed, 80 per cent of the environmental measures are incorporated into buildings; the rest is up to residents.
Hammersby itself is largely mid-rise, between four and 10 storeys, though there are taller buildings. Most remarkable, perhaps, is the variety of the architecture; that monolithic look of the mega-project has been avoided. Beyond that, the quality of the architecture is extraordinarily high. Not that every structure ranks as a masterpiece, but there's a marvellous sense of consistency and coherence. Despite having been constructed in a short period — about five years — the community also feels organic and diverse.
Smaller streets are organized around a series of canals that reach inland from the water. The main artery, along which streetcars run, is lined with commercial buildings, tall but not skyscrapers. Though densities are relatively high, about the same as those called for on the Toronto waterfront, the layout is generous, with plenty of green space, water features and views.
Toronto could be `a world leader; really, really fantastic, beyond anything we have done here at Hammersby'
Prof. Ulf Ranhagen, Technical University of Lulea
The relationship to the water's edge is at a neighbourhood scale; there are promenades and bicycle paths — lots of bicycle paths — but some buildings reach right to the shore. It's also pedestrian oriented, distances are walkable, pleasant and everything is accessible.
To reduce car use, planners initially decided it would be enough to provide 0.3 parking spots per living unit. Turned out that wasn't enough, so it was increased to 0.67, mostly underground. At the same time, however, 10 per cent of residents now belong to a car share program that rents out 28 vehicles.These are precisely the kinds of things Toronto waterfront planners have dreamt about for years. So far, to little avail.
Interesting, too, that the redevelopment of the harbour lands has been organized by the Stockholm planning department, not an agency such as the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp. Of course, the three levels of government in Sweden, unlike those in Canada, tend to take a co-operative rather than a confrontational approach.
The city covered the costs of infrastructure — transit, bridges, pipes, parks and soil decontamination — but private developers did the rest.
"Before they start to build," Freudentahl says, "developers have to put down in writing their plans for the environment, health and resources and present them to the city."
What makes the scheme feasible is the increase in land values prompted by redevelopment. In other words, it becomes a self-sustaining venture, one from which all players, from residents to developers, profit.
But what are the chances of adapting the so-called Hammersby model to Toronto? According to Prof. Ulf Ranhagen of the Technical University of Lulea, they are excellent.
Ranhagen, who prepared a study for the Toronto waterfront corp., insists that Toronto could be "a world leader; really, really fantastic, beyond anything we have done here at Hammersby."
To get there, he argues, "Toronto needs to bury the Gardiner Expressway and the railway tracks in parallel tunnels, because the links between the city and the waterfront are absolutely critical.
"The buildings need to be sustainable and energy efficient. The best approach is to start with the smaller components and make sure you get them right."
The rest will follow, he says. But first you have to start.
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http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...id=968332188492
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