We have less than 10 years to make real progress to stay within 1.5 degrees of global warming. Given that buildings are responsible for almost 40% of global annual carbon dioxide emissions, how can we set achievable goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions so that we can reach net-zero levels of construction by 2050 or sooner"  
I recently met with Toronto urban affairs writer John Lorinc and Brandon Donnelly, Managing Director at Slate Asset Management, to discuss their views on removing overly prescriptive and rigid policies to build net-zero cities. Focusing on Toronto, I wanted to know how we can improve our policy frameworks to support net-zero construction.  
The topic for this discussion was inspired from one of the key findings in a report our firm released called “The House is on Fire!” that challenged the disconnect between the process of revising the City of Toronto’s Official Plan and embedding its inspiring programs intent on a climate-positive urban planning framework. One of our key areas of focus identified in the report includes methods and approaches to incentivizing low-carbon building design and construction.  Below are some highlights from the SvN Speaks discussion I had with Donnelly and Lorinc about the issue. You can watch the full conversation on SvN Speaks?here. 
Tall and Sprawl: Uneven densities make for disconnected cities 
Over the last 25 years, Toronto developers have responded to our current planning paradi...