Wednesday Talk: February 26, 2025, at 2-4pm. It is in-person and on Zoom
- This event has passed.
February 26 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Speaker: Netami Stuart, Senior Project Manager for Parks, Waterfront Toronto
Title: “The Port Lands Flood Protection Infrastructure Project: How to Build a River”
Abstract: The Port Lands Flood Protection and Enabling Infrastructure (PLFP) Project is a $1.38B project led by Waterfront Toronto, the City of Toronto, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and CreateTO, with the support and involvement of Ports Toronto, and funding from the three levels of government. In addition to providing flood protection to approximately 250ha of flood-vulnerable lands, this project will transform approximately 30 hectares of industrial brownfields into a naturalized, multi-outlet river valley system, unlocking the area for development and facilitating billions of dollars in investment. PLFP will improve quality of life, bring nature back to an underused industrial site and better protect Toronto neighbourhoods from extreme weather conditions.
A comprehensive vision for the renaturalization of the river has led the construction project, recreating a river which then acts as an organizing structure for a system of new parks and public open spaces that will become catalysts for the development of a new district in downtown Toronto. At the intersection of two major systems – urban waterfront and natural river corridor – the project focuses on flood control, naturalization, and placemaking to bring the Don Valley and the Toronto’s public realm together in a robust and meaningful way. This project allows the river and its associated parks and open space to shape and define the following neighbourhoods and the relationship of their inhabitants to the river. Additionally, innovative solutions have been proposed to knit both the roadway and the parks together, taking a systems-based approach to design.
This presentation will highlight the major project elements related to sustainable placemaking that combine to make the Port Lands Flood Protection and Enabling Infrastructure Project one of the most significant changes to the Lake Ontario shoreline in decades, and one of largest infrastructure projects in Canada.
Bio: Netami Stuart is a landscape architect and certified arborist who has been working to build and revitalize parks and natural areas in Toronto for over 20 years. She is currently the Senior Project Manager for Parks at Waterfront Toronto, focusing on the parks and river valley of the Port Lands Flood Protection Project.
The link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/zbfg5r7a9w
The deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.
