Condoland: The Planning, Design, and Development of Toronto’s Cityplace

Follow the evolution of CityPlace, Toronto’s largest residential megaproject.

Condoland casts CityPlace--a massive residential development of more than thirty condominium towers just outside Toronto’s downtown core--as a microcosm of twenty-first-century urban intensification that has transformed the city skyline beyond all recognition.

Built almost entirely by a single private developer, this immense neighborhood took decades to plan, design, and develop, but the result lacks a sense of place and is not widely accessible to those who need homes: only a small number of its 13,000 units constitute affordable housing, and public amenities are limited. James T. White and John Punter journey through the forty-year development of Toronto’s largest residential megaproject, focusing on its urban design and architectural evolution. They also delve into the background, summarizing the tools used to shape Toronto’s built environment, and critically explore the underlying political economy of planning and real estate development in the city.

Using detailed field studies, interviews, archival research, and nearly two hundred illustrations, they reveal an alarmingly flexible approach to planning and design that is acquiescent to the demands of a rapacious development industry. Condoland raises key questions about the sustainability and long-term resilience of city planning.

James T. White is professor of planning and urban design at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and deputy director of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence. John Punter is a retired professor of urban design at Cardiff University, Wales. He is the author of The Vancouver Achievement: Planning and Design and Design Guidelines in American Cities: A Review of Design Policies and Guidelines in Five West Coast Cities.