City Building : In The News

Toronto is on its way to earning a new nickname "Silicon Valley North," according to an article that ran in Global News. The article names numerous reasons. We've compiled the top five. 

 

 

This year alone, the article notes, Google "scooped up" University of Toronto startup DNN research, while Apple acquired data services startup Locationary. 

 

 

The city's ties with the surrounding Waterloo and Markham ("known for its slogan 'Canada's high-tech capital'") regions positions it as a central hub of entrepreneurial culture. 

 

Engineers
 

“If you think about Facebook, Google, all of the big Valley companies – most of them were started out of the universities. It’s the talent from the engineering schools that fuelled the tech scene in Silicon Valley,” says Payman Nilforoush, CEO of earned advertising platform inPowered, in the article. 

The article points out that major tech companies have noticed the talent coming out of schools such as the University of Toronto and University of Waterloo, noting that companies such as Google and Facebook have "made an effort to attract some of those graduates." 

Cost

Nilforoush notes that, "In his experience, relative to Silicon Valley, the cost of running a business in Toronto in most cases is nearly half."

Mentorship

"According to the Bank of Montreal, almost half of Canadian post-secondary students surveyed — 46 per cent — said they see themselves starting a business after graduation," the article reports. It states grads are relieved to find out they don't have to travel to Silicon Valley to receive the mentorship they desire due to a number of "boot camp" style programs stemming from Ontario universities. 
 

Read the full story here. 

Original source: Global News.

Forbes has compiled a list of the top cities for entrepreneurs, naming Toronto as a key region.

 

"Toronto is home to Canada's largest entrepreneur ecosystem and one of the largest in the world. Toronto entrepreneurs have their attention on new markets and outsourcing is increasingly popular. Some entrepreneurial success stories are Wave Accounting, FreshBooks, and Achievers," the article says.

 

Incidentally, Toronto was listed second, surpassed only by Silicon Valley.

 

Techvibes also recently weighed in, wondering if Toronto has what it takes "to become the entrepreneurial capital of the world."

 

"Toronto was recently ranked among the top five startup hubs globally, one of the most livable cities in the world, and the fourth-largest city in the North America in terms of population—but what does this all mean for community’s entrepreneurial future?" Techvibes wrote.

 

The article cites the city's multi-cultural, "diverse and entrepreneurial workforce" as a key component. "Universities in Ontario have a strong emphasis on research and innovation. They are producing the deepest talent pools in business, engineering and science with many of these graduates choosing to start their own businesses."

 

Government funding opportunities, accelerator programs, VC funding, and a "great ecosystem for young companies" are also cited as reasons why Toronto is a top city for entrepreneurs. 

 

Read the full story here. 

Original source: Forbes

The University of Toronto has ranked in the top 20 universities in the world for the second year in a row, climbing two spots from last year to tie with the University of Edinburg for 17th place. QS World Universities ranks international universities annually to determine the top educational institutions in the world.

 

"The University of Toronto has assembled one of the strongest research and teaching faculties in North America, presenting top students at all levels with an intellectual environment unmatched in breadth and depth on any other Canadian campus," says QS, directly quoting the University's profile. 

 

"U of T faculty co-author more research articles than their colleagues at any university in the U.S. or Canada other than Harvard. As a measure of impact, U of T consistently ranks alongside the top five U.S. universities whose discoveries are most often cited by other researchers around the world."

 

The University ranked with an overall score of 91.30 out of a possible 100. However, the school ranked 13th overall based on Academic reputation, which earned a score of 99.90. The University has been climbing steadily since 2007, when it was ranked 45th out of 100. This number climbed to 23rd by 2011, and broke the top 20 in 2012. 

 

Here is a list of the top 20 overall out of 100 for 2013/2014:

 

1) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

2) Harvard University

3) University of Cambridge

4) UCL (University College London)

5) Imperial College London

6) University of Oxford

7) Stanford University

8) Yale University

9) University of Chicago

10 = California institute of Technology (CALTECH)

10 = Princeton University

12) Eth Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)

13) University of Pennsylvania

14) Columbia University

15) Cornell University

16) Johns Hopkins University

17 = University of Edinburgh

17 = University of Toronto

19) Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne (EPFL)

19) King's College London (KCL)

 

McGill University in Montreal was not too far behind, with an overall ranking of 21. The University of British Columbia ranked 49th, the Université de Montréal ranked 92nd, and the University of Alberta ranked 96th.

 

Read the full list here. 

Original source: The Independent

Toronto's population has grown more than 100,000 in the past year "equivalent of a new city on its own," says an article that ran in Daily Commercial News exploring Canada's six largest cities, the home of one in every two Canadians. 

 

"Toronto has the highest population, 5.9 million, followed by Montreal (4.0 million), Vancouver (2.5 million), Calgary and Ottawa-Gatineau (each 1.3 million) and Edmonton (1.2 million)," the article says. 

 

The two-part series based their findings on population figures from Statistics Canada's census metropolitan areas (CMAS) which including downtown cores and "surrounding highly-integrated suburbs."

 

The findings reveal some interesting trends. "One in six Canadians lives in the Toronto CMA. Toronto is a 'behemoth' on the national scene," the article says. "Toronto has a strong financial sector, excellent academic institutions, vibrant broadcasting, communications and entertainment companies and ongoing manufacturing activity, with a solid base of auto assembly plants."

 

The article notes a few things that threaten Toronto on an international level, pointing out potential problems with the adoption of Michigan's "right to work" legislation which may threaten our province's auto industry, the article says. It also notes Mayor Rob Ford's media spectacles and the heavy construction activity in the city.

 

"The city is gearing up to host the 2015 PanAm Games, which will see the participation of more athletes than gather in one place during the Olympics."

 

One more interesting thing, according to the Statistics Toronto is a "largely business-oriented" population, compared to the West Coat's chill environmental and "artistic slant on life."

 

Read the full profiles here and here. 

Original source: Daily Commercial News

A new report issued by ArtScape states that its $10-million capital fundraising campaign for Daniels Spectrum helped make 2012 the company's most successful fundraising year in its history. 

 

Daniels Spectrum, located in the Regent Park neighbourhood, was a $38-million development, making it a "major catalyst for the $1+ billion revitalization of Regent Park," the report states. Located at 585 Dundas St. East, the 60,000 sq. ft building opened last year to support seven non-profit arts and social-mission organizations as well as to become a central events space in the neighbourhood. 

 

The building helped Artscape, a non-profit that provides affordable studio and housing for artists and their families, increase revenue to more than $2-million, or 33 per cent in one year. The building is built to LEED silver standards. 

 

Beyond Daniels Spectrum, the report highlights the success of its many creative placemaking initiatives. Yonge Street highlighted some of this recently in a profile on creative placemaking, which is the intentional use of the arts to transform a neighbourhood or city. 

 

The report states that Artscape's 1,348 tenants held 1,720 events in Artscape buildings and around the city in 2012. 

 

"We learned that our spaces help to build Artscape tenants’ profiles and allow them to build their practices. Our research into market rents revealed that our 2012 subsidy to our tenants equalled close to $2.5-million. And with more staff and volunteers than ever before, we are better equipped to deliver greater impacts and to create the conditions in which artists can thrive," the report states.

 

Read the full report here. 

Original Source: Artscape

By Tyler. Chris Tyler from Toronto, Canada [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

 

The Hospital For Sick Children is set to officially open its new collaborative research centre on September 17 after 10 years of planning and construction.

A report that ran on Global News states the $400-million tower is "intended to be an incubarot or innovative ideas," according to the hospital's head of research, Dr. Janet Rossant.
 

The 21-story Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning will "bring together the venerable hospitals’ 2,000-plus scientists under one roof after decades of being scattered in five different locations," Global News reports. 

Architects worked with the hospital to design a space that prevented researchers from working in silos, instead favouring an approach that inspires collaboration. The hospital features "neighbourhood gathering spots" that are accessible from several floors and encourage meeting and mingling. 

"[The architects] have built these mini atria in which people can come out of the lab, come into this space, sit down, have a coffee, talk to friends, have a small meeting," Dr. Rossant told Global on a tour of the new facility. "This is not just the most beautiful part of the building, but it really exemplifies what we wanted to achieve in the building."

The building will feature "state-of-the-art research labs for seven broad disciplines – among them genetics/genome biology and neurosciences/mental health," Global reports. 

"We do it, research in the hospital, because we want to implement change. We want to see change that impacts on health," Rossant says.

Read the full story here. 

Original Source: Global News

Thumbnail photo by dhammza via photopin cc

 

On Friday, Canada welcomed the first permanent residents to stem from its new Federal Skilled Trades Program. The program is "designed do attract and retain skilled workers," Canada's Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander says in an article that ran on South Asia Mail.

 

Of the new residents is Eric Byrne, originally from Ireland. He received his Ontario trades certificate of qualification last May and "currently works as a plumber for University Plumbing and Heating. He first arrived in Canada through the International Experience Canada program, which provides opportunities for international youth between the ages of 18 and 35 to travel and work in Canada," the article says.
 

"Canada is a great country and the people here have been exceptionally warm and welcoming," says Byrne in the article. "I am very pleased that I qualified for the Federal Skilled Trades Program as it recognizes the value of my skill set and has allowed me to stay in Canada and integrate seamlessly into my new status as a permanent resident."
 

The welcoming ceremony was held on August 16. The program was launched in January 2013. So far, successful applicants have come from India, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany and various others. 

 

Read the full story here. 

Original source: South Asia Mail 

Nick Saul, president of Community Food Centres Canada and former manager of Toronto community food bank the Stop, penned a piece for the Guardian detailing his observations on what makes a food bank successful. The key ingredient, he says, is "food banks need to feed people's hope and purpose, not just their hunger."

 

Saul has been looking at Britain's food bank situation with growing concern that they're falling victim to a problem he feels has affected Toronto, but that is shifting here. He says it's the construed notion that simply providing food is enough, when the larger issues of people's value of worth need to also be addressed. 

 

"In 1998, when I took over The Stop, a small, under-resourced food bank in a low-income neighbourhood in Toronto, it was like hundreds of other makeshift, church-basement charities popping up across the country. Lineups wound out the door. When you got to the front, you were handed a hamper of largely unhealthy processed food – corporate castoffs – intended to last a few days. It was a place where people kept their eyes on the floor and checked their dignity at the door," Saul says. 

 

"In our community, we didn't buy the rhetoric that there was no better alternative for those who fall through the cracks of our country's fraying social safety net. So we created programmes at The Stop that meet people's immediate food needs, but also allow them to be active participants in their own lives and neighbourhoods."
 

Saul writes about how the Stop built "a community food centre with shared gardens, community kitchens and dining; nutrition initiatives for low-income, pregnant women; after-school workshops for children; and affordable, fresh market stands." He says they started looking at food as a tool to build health and began changing the perspective of food's role in the lives of those in need. 
 

"We've created allies in the farming, restaurant, gardening, middle-class foodie and social justice worlds, and, instead of applying a new plaster every day, we're building organizations that reflect the healthy, dignified, inclusive future we want to see."

 

The piece offers an interesting take on food banks in Toronto, while also commenting on food banks overseas. He says still work needs to be done.

 

"By making people think the problem is dealt with--the hungry fed--they let us and our governments off the hook for finding real economic and social policy--based solutions to this growing problem."

 

Read the full story here. 

Original source: The Guardian

A new report solidifies Toronto's ranking as one of the world's top 10 most competitive cities, at least until 2025. 

 

The report, entitled Hot Spot 2025: Benchmarking the Future of Competitive Cities, was commissioned by Citi Group and released by The Economist Intelligence Unit. It examines 32 indicators for each city, which are divided into eight categories and then assigned weights.

Notable categories include economic strength (GDP, income levels, pace of growth) constituting 30 per cent of the weight, physical capital (infrastructure, transit, telecommunications) at 10 per cent, human capital (skilled labour, sizable working age population, opportunities for women) at 15 per cent, global appeal (attracting international business) at 10 per cent, and social and cultural character (such as freedom of rights) at five per cent. 

 

Cities were also ranked on a number of sub-indicators, including quality of physical infrastructure, taxation, government effectiveness, presence of crime in the society, risk of natural disaster, and environmental governance. 

 

Toronto was the only Canadian city to break the top 10, holding steady from its same position last year. Vancouver fell five spots down to 28th and Montreal fell eight spots down to 36th.

 

"North American cities dominate the list of the most competitive cities in the 2025 Index. Six of the top 20 are US cities: New York (1st), Chicago (9th), Washington DC (14th), Los Angeles (17th), San Francisco (18th) and Boston (19th). One Canadian city, Toronto, falls into the top 20, ranked at 10th," the report says.

 

An additional aspect of the report looked at cities in the Index based on regional diversity, economic important and size of population. Toronto was one of 15 North American cities to rank, this time joined by Montreal and Vancouver. 

 

New York continues to reign supreme as the world's most competitive city. The report indicates the city has made significant gains in all areas except environmental governance, but there are action plans in place to remedy this by 2030. 
 

Read the full report here. 

Original Source: Citi Group

California's Silicon Valley has long been known as the world's innovation hub. It is home to the headquarters of some of the world's top tech companies, not to mention a plethora of startups. But other cities are beginning to catch up and challenge Silicon Valley as a sole destination. 

 

Australia's the Herald Sun has published a list of eight destination sit says could potentially rival Silicon Valley. Among it: Toronto. 

 

"Nicknamed Silicon Valley North, Toronto has reigned as the undisputed capital of Canadian Innovation for the past decade. With just over 600 new start-ups, the country’s largest cluster of research producing universities and some gloriously deep venture capitalist pockets, you can guess why," the article says. 

 

"In September 2012, the federal government set aside US$400 million for private sector VC funds and promised the business development Bank of Canada another US$100 million for investment opportunities."

 

Though New York, Boston and Waterloo don't make the list, The Herald claims they're fierce competitors to Toronto's role in "startup ecosystems of the north."  It says more work needs to be done if we want to play on the global stage, though it places us in higher regard than other growing hubs including Berlin, Bangalore and Moscow. 

 

Read the full story here.

Original source: The Herald Sun

 

The Daily Commercial News (DCN) has gathered the results of the Annual Green Roof Industry Survey and it's good news for Toronto. The city has, "experienced a 33 per cent growth in the installation of green roofs across the city," the article says.

 

The Toronto Metropolitan Region installed 338,310 square feet of green roofs in 2012, more than 100,000 more than the previous year. Toronto has more green roofs than anywhere else in Canada, but fourth overall in North America, falling behind Washington, Chicago and New York City. 
 

"Through the Green Roof Bylaw, the City of Toronto has required over 250 development applications to include green roofs, totalling 170,000 square metres of new green roof in Toronto,” Jane Welsh, project manager of environmental planning with the City of Toronto, says in the article. 

 

Read the full story here. 

Original source: Daily Commercial News

A new study released by Waterfront Toronto provides deep insights into its role in the Canadian economy. "Toronto’s waterfront project has injected $3.2 billion into the Canadian economy and has created 16,200 full-time years of employment, according to economic research firm, urbanMetrics," says an article that appeared in the Daily Commercial News.

 

"The tri-government effort to revitalize our waterfront is an increasingly important driver for economic development in Toronto,"Toronto City Councillor Michael Thompson, Chair of Economic Development and Culture Committee, says in the article. "Ultimately it is helping Toronto compete with other leading global cities for investment, jobs and people."
 

The waterfront's revitalization prompted an additional $2.6 billion in development projects altogether, including the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games Athlete's Village, River City Condominums and Monde Condominiums. The article reports these constructions will "put another $2.2 billion in to the Canadian economy and generate $1.17 billion in labour income." 

Once complete, "the revitalization project would add $12.9 billion to the economy and $4.9 billion in revenue to all three levels of government. The City of Toronto will receive an additional $252 million toward future infrastructure projects as well as $105 million annually in property tax revenue."
 

Additional reports say there are 44 recent or planned developments in the works. 

 

Read the full story here. 

Original Source: Daily Commercial News

The Univeristy of Toronto's Mississauga campus has caught the attention of sustainability publication Treehugger for its award winning Instructional Centre. 

 

Featuring a gallery that highlight's some of the building's greatest attributes, Treehugger pays homage to the Centre's many integrated photovoltaics, solar panels that convert light into energy, as well as its student lounges that overlook green roofs planted with indigenous meadow grasses. The solar panels are unique in that they also offer shading in the centre's main east west corridor and centre staircase while simultaneously providing clean energy throughout the building. An additional star attribute, the building's geothermal system that heats and cools the building, is hidden beneath a playing field. 

 

The Centre is the creation of architects Perkins + Wills, known for their green educational buildings, as well as design principal Andrew Frontini, a master at crafting breathtaking fixtures. He chose to "clad the building insides and out in copper," which Treehugger points out isn't the greenest of materials, but one that certainly lasts a long time "if it isn't stolen." 

 

"This is certainly not the greenest educational building that Perkins + Will has turned out; that would probably be Peter Busby's Centre for Interactive Research and Technology. But it is lovely to look at and combines such generosity of comfort, luxury and sustainable features. Leonard Shore would be proud," Treehugger says. 

 

View the gallery here. 

Original Source: Treehugger

More than one million tons of produce and horticultural products pass through the Ontario Food Terminal annually, making it "one of the largest wholesale produce distribution centres in Canada and the third-largest in North America," the Produce News reports. So when an opportunity came for the publication to get a sneak peak at what happens behind the scenes, they were eager to chronicle the tour.

 

The resulting story is one that accounts how the terminal, easily viewable when driving on the Gardiner Expressway, operates. The terminal consists of 21 warehouse tenants and a four-acre farmer's market comprised of Ontario growers, which is open to the 5,000 registered buyers but not to the public. It is open every day, but Sundays are the busiest, receiving "roughly 600-850 pallets and an average of 25 tractor-trailer loads in a 12-hour period."  

 

The terminal supports, "local farmers, local fruit and vegetable stores, independent and chain supermarkets, retailers, restauranteurs, foodservice, caterers, farmers’ markets, farm gate markets, florists, garden centres, landscapers, convenience stores and institutions," according to its website.

 

The Produce News provides an overview of the terminal's operations:

 

"Since 1954, the Ontario Food Terminal has been located in the Toronto district of Etobicoke. The distribution center boasts a central cold-storage area that includes 19 rooms with temperatures set from 32-45 degrees Fahrenheit. The rooms are set individually to meet the storage needs of a variety of commodities from carrots to tomatoes. There is approximately 100,000 square feet of storage available in the coolers. Some of the new portions of the building have racking systems available in the cold-storage rooms."

 

The terminal is closed to the public, but it does occasionally have open houses according to its website, though no upcoming dates are listed. 

 

Read the full story here. 

Original Source: The Produce News

 

An article appearing in the Telegraph cites that if more women were to partake in architecture and city infrastructure, cities would become safer and better designed.  Featuring an interview with Christine Murray, Toronto expat and editor of Architects' Journal, the article says "more women architects could lead to better designed cities that were more 'humane,' 'safer' and 'livable.'"

 

"Women have a unique perspective on the world, and it is not to say that men cannot design excellent cities, or a good nursery or workplace, but everybody would benefit from designs by both halves of the gene pool," Murray told the Telegraph.

 

The article explains women face many challenges in the industry such as high female drop out rates, pay discrepancies, lengthy education periods, bullying, and cites having children as a disadvantage. Only 20 per cent of the country's registered architects are women, a trend common across the board. 

 

Read the full story here.

Original source: The Telegraph