Latest news with #AlexBozikovic
Globe and Mail
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Morning Update: How to move a river
Good morning. A new park that will be unveiled tomorrow in Toronto is an ambitious example of moving rivers to bring civic imagination to public spaces. More on that below, plus catching up on First Nation leaders meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Bill C-5 and Ukraine's cabinet shuffle. But first: It's not every day that you move a river. And yet, that's exactly what has happened − on the edge of downtown Toronto, no less. Hi, I'm Alex Bozikovic, The Globe's architecture critic. In recent years, I've often written about landscape, and about the ways climate change is reshaping our cities. This week, those two threads come together. After 17 years of planning and eight years of construction, the Port Lands Flood Protection Project has given the Don River a new path to the lake. The river's re-engineered mouth now opens into Toronto Harbour through a carefully sculpted landscape − 50 acres of new parkland known as Biidaasige Park that will welcome its first visitors this weekend. Biidaasige is an Anishinaabemowin word that means 'sunlight shining toward us,' a choice that could reflect the effort to renew the ecological and Indigenous past. There will be plenty to take in: some of the city's best new playgrounds, zip lines, trails, native plantings in bloom. The setting feels uncannily natural, as if it had always been there. But as landscape architect Herb Sweeney told me, the real drama lies beneath the surface. The wetlands and inlets where red-winged blackbirds dart through the reeds are, in fact, feats of ecological engineering − a collaboration among landscape architects, civil engineers and environmental scientists. What can this place teach us? First, that we have the tools to mitigate the effects of climate change by reshaping the urban fabric itself. The Don River is prone to flooding, in part because it was hemmed in and its wetlands paved more than a century ago. This project replaces what was lost with a new, engineered marsh. It won't solve every problem − flooding on the Don Valley Parkway will still occur − but it will help. The project's soft surfaces and sinuous waterways now protect about 400 hectares of the city from the kind of floods that climate change is making more common. Second, it shows that big, ambitious public works are possible. The agency behind this, Waterfront Toronto − a rare partnership among the city, province and federal government − has proved unusually capable. In a country where delay often reigns, it has delivered a complex piece of infrastructure more or less on time and on budget. The secret? A degree of autonomy. Though it answers to three governments, Waterfront Toronto has just enough distance from all of them to think long term − and to act. I've been following this story since the beginning. In 2007, Waterfront Toronto launched an international design competition to reimagine the Port Lands. The winning proposal, from New York-based Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA), proposed something almost unheard of: move the river. More audacious still, put landscape architects − not engineers or planners − in charge of the project. It worked. 'This project is one of a kind in the world,' said Sweeney, a partner at MVVA. 'It's a good opportunity to show other cities what can be done.' And this isn't just about a river. The transformation has redrawn the map of the city. The new course of the Don defines a new island, Ookwemin Minising, where development will follow: housing, streets, public space. A blank zone at the edge of downtown will become a new piece of the city. That's still to come. But for now, the swans and salmon in the Don will have company: people putting canoes into the water, strolling the trails, seeing the city − and perhaps their place in it − in a new light. Diverging views among First Nations leaders signal a rocky road ahead for Prime Minister Mark Carney's desire to fast-track major projects. The law requires consultation with Indigenous peoples to determine which projects would be deemed in the national interest, and to develop the conditions under which chosen projects could proceed. Read our explainer about why First Nations leaders have opposed both the federal government's Bill C-5 and Ontario's Bill 5. At home: The 17-year-old accused of attacking an eight-year-old girl in Quadeville, Ont., whose injuries were initially believed to have been caused by an animal, appeared in court. Abroad: With a Ukrainian cabinet shuffle, President Volodymyr Zelensky aims to re-energize a war-weary nation. On the field: Canada's Olivia Smith becomes most expensive player in women's soccer after £1-million Arsenal signing. Digital finance: U.S. House passes stablecoin legislation. President Donald Trump expected to sign it into law. Personal finance: When you can retire is determined by this one number – and it's not your age.
Globe and Mail
18-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
After 18 years of work, Toronto's Port Lands opens to the public
Now known as Biidaasige Park, the project is part of $1.5-billion effort to renew the area's ecological and Indigenous past Alex Bozikovic The Globe and Mail Video by Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail to view this content.
