Toronto?s cold-savvy planners adapt the city to hotter summers.
By Sam Bloch

Illustration by Meg Studer
When cities plan to mitigate extreme heat, many draw from a now-familiar playbook?more trees, more reflective surfaces, and more air-conditioning. In Toronto, city officials are exploring a different strategy: changing the orientation, massing, and materials of new buildings to improve the habitability of public space. The project, currently billed as a ?thermal comfort study,? represents a new frontier in urban adaptation. ?We can?t change the climate,? says Dorsa Jalalian, an urban designer at Dialog, a design firm retained for the study. ?We are just trying to extend the number of hours that we can be comfortable.?
The idea that cities might shelter people from heat has a long, mostly pre-air-conditioned history, but in North America, new buildings are typically required to enhance outdoor warmth, not dispel it. In the early 1990s, when urban designers created ?pedestrian comfort? guidelines for downtown Toronto, the focus was on limiting shadows and gusty winds to improve winter conditions. Back then, the city suffered an average of just 10 very hot days per year, with scant mention in the city plan. By the 2050s, that number could rise as high as 55 days.
A four-season approach to balance winter comfort and summer?s deadly heat.

In 2022?as the city prepared a broader heat relief strategy?the planning department began working with Dialog and the engineering firm Bu...