The City of Toronto has been a pioneer for important public policy initiatives such as one of the first Municipal Soil Volume Standards for street trees, a ground breaking Best Practices Manual for Hardscape Street Tree Planting. All of this was done through a cross departmental collaborative approach, and began with the Queensway project, which utilized the incorporation of Silva Cells to manage stormwater and turn it into a resource. A report on the project, including results, can be found here:
The City’s Green Street Program is a continuation of this collaborative effort to make Green Infrastructure the default design solution. A recent article highlights the details of this “precedent setting document” and recipient of 2019’s Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Awards of Excellence: “Co-ordinated by a steering committee comprised of representatives from five different city departments, Green Streets is a relatively new approach to help manage storm water and, in the process, improve air quality, increase biodiversity and beautify the streetscape.”
Through connecting various departments and understanding how biodiversity can benefit urban environments, the City of Toronto is leading the way in proving green infrastructure innovation.