Environmental Enhancement of Infrastructure
Port Lands Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Future-proofing a former industrial urban area against flooding. The Port Lands consist of low-lying infill with a legacy of industrial uses, overlying what once was one of the largest wetlands on Lake Ontario. They are bounded to the north by the Keating Channel and the Don River, to the west by the Toronto Inner Harbour, to the east by Ashbridges Bay, and to the south by Lake Ontario and Tommy Thompson Park. The Port Lands are among the highest flood risk areas in Toronto. During an event the size of 1954’s Hurricane Hazel—the flood standard for floodplain management in the Greater Toronto Area—approximately 290 hectares of land are in the floodplain. Providing flood protection for the Port Lands and naturalizing the river mouth have long been objectives of the City of Toronto and were prioritized when the government established Waterfront Toronto in 2001. The multi-award-winning Port Lands Flood Protection project transformed and revitalized the underused postindustrial area into a natural asset supporting Toronto’s growth and economic competitiveness, creating a new mouth for the Don River and two new urban islands with associated municipal infrastructure. The new mouth’s multiple outlets will provide expanded waterfront access while creating natural habitats that provide social and environmental benefits locally and regionally.
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