Ontario

Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario has announced a plan to counteract the intense NIMBYism that has stifled projects throughout the province.

One developer has found a way to build condos at $60,000 less than it costs the average Toronto developer. Through deferrals from the city, money is made available to assist homebuyers with their down payments.

Toronto, a land of cheap gas and unclear traffic reduction policies, has a long way to go in improving public transit, according to one architect. But designers are making progress as they make city's new subway stations as enticing as possible.

The city of Toronto is considering a plan to fast-track the construction of a new downtown subway line.

Ontario is set to join the electric era with the installation of recharging stations which would allow drivers of electric cars to swap batteries.

Toronto is now the biggest city in North America to ban the sale of bottled water on city premises, a victory which advocates hope will spur a reinvestment in public water facilities, including drinking fountains in new buildings.

The current economic downturn has meant a drop in commodity prices, including for recycled materials. Now Toronto is facing the prospect of warehousing their collected recycleables until the market improves.

Toronto has created new public space where there was none, building a curvy wooden plaza designer Adriaan Geuze calls a 'WaveDeck' directly over the water.

The new master plan for Ottawa calls for a radical rethink of priorities, postponing at least $84 million in road building to focus on creating a 'compact, transit city'.

Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario is about to open its spectacular renovation designed by Frank Gehry.

In a privately-owned plaza designed by Mies van der Rohe in Toronto, owners have sliced into benches to dissuade skateboarding. Some call it an affront to the legendary designer's work.

Officials in Toronto have decided to keep secret the locations of 90 security cameras installed on public buildings. Residents and union officials are outraged.

Robert Sibley comments on the worldwide problem of homeless people in public spaces, and reflects on how Canadians can and should manage them.

London, Ontario has been focused on retaining and embracing its creative class. The city remains optimistic that it's on the right track toward becoming a creative city--which has been good news for its economy.

This column looks at the NIMBY-minded attitude of one couple that has been fighting to prevent a bus line from coming into their neighborhood.

As Toronto's heritage buildings fall to disrepair, new condominiums are slated to go up in their stead, prompting outcry from preservationists.

John Barber laments cities' tendency to (rightfully) favor environmental consciousness over aestheticism. Low-carbon street lighting is the latest eco-trend to retrofit, and potentially blight, the streets of Toronto.

Ottawa's high-tech sector has burgeoned. More of its residents are employed in fields of engineering and science than in any other Canadian city, making it a high-tech hotbed not unlike those of the U.S.

Recognizing a need for formal cooperation between the regions in the middle of North America, the author of this article calls for a North American Central Economic Region.

This column from the Globe and Mail expresses some common frustrations with a slow-moving regional transportation plan.