Essay Sample on Sustainability in Toronto

Ontario (the land of clean water) has significant developments in sustainable management, making it to be among the largest and even the most prominent places or regions in the country. Following the enormous growth and development of the town, there have been many positive influences in sustainable development, which contributes mainly to the economic and social growth of the country. Toronto city officials continue to create and implement innovative policies and projects that inspire society and the public to participate in sustainable management projects to make Toronto the most environmentally sustainable region or city on the planet. For instance, some programs handle all the environmental issues relating to the industries so that they operate according to the ecological, social, and human acts that prohibit the misuse of resources. When creating initiatives, those city officials rely on three fundamentals of sustainability, which are equity (social perspective), environment, and economics. This paper will evaluate various sustainability initiatives/programs in Toronto and their significance in environmental, social, and economic aspects.

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Waterfront Toronto Initiatives

The waterfront initiative is among the project which aims at use of many global best practices towards the sustainable development in Toronto city.

District Energy

One of the critical components or elements towards the transformation of Toronto is the Toronto climate action plans, which aim at reducing emissions from buildings and generally help the city to accomplish its objective of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction to net zero by the year 2050 or earlier. In the current times, the industries are adopting the emission program by producing about half of the greenhouse gas emissions in the city. The district energy systems (low-carbon thermal energy networks) are the channels that distribute thermal energy to various city buildings around Toronto city and its neighborhoods. Also, the methods comprise of cooling and heating center, which also includes a thermal network of pipes that are connected to the multiple numbers of buildings around the city. However, the District Energy Systems has some process or channels on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also try to improve the energy resilience in the city through;

• Delivering the economies of scale where the emissions are reduced in substantial aspects through lower costs than when handling a single bundling system.
• The District Energy Systems offers the best platform, which is ideal for private investors hence attracting a lot of individual investors who, in turn, contribute a lot to the local economic development of Ontario.
• Also, the District Energy Systems permits the use of less carbon-intensive fuel sources, which are later integrated at the single energy center without any impact on the already connected buildings. The carbon-intensive fuel sources include sewer heat, ground heat, solar thermal, biomass, biogas, and cold lake water.

Healthy Trees Project

The plants or trees contribute a lot towards the new waterfront since they provide shade and also aid in cleaning the air and improving the environment of the region. Through the waterfront revitalization program, the locals are expected to participate in the planting of about 34,000 new trees, which will contribute to restoring the natural beauty of the shoreline. The waterfront has a target of covering about 30-35 percent of the revitalization region with new species of trees, which will contribute to the total of Toronto’s tree canopy population of 30-40 percent for the next fifty years. The city plans to expand the tree coverage of the city by saving the already existing trees by planting the native species since they require less water, and they are sustainable in that they do not cause any ecosystem disruption when thriving. Another advantage of depending on the native species of trees is because they are much tolerant of the region's climate and levels of urban pollution.

A tree to grow and mature along the urban environment is very challenging; for instance, they are exposed to pollution and the salt from the winter road maintenance. The waterfront decides to adopt new technology of tree planting such as installs of the tired web of rigid boxes, mostly referred to as Silva Cells, that can provide a space of 30 cubic meters of the nutrient soil to an individual tree. The main reasons as to why experts recommend the adoption of the Silva cells is because most of the urban soil compaction does not favor tree growth. They lack the adequate volume of nutrients to support the growth of the trees, which later hinders the growth of the trees when planted and die immediately after seven or ten years of their plantation. Moreover, the applied Silva cells make sure that there is stiff reinforcement of cells, which creates support for the soil so that in future it might not compact under the heavyweight of the pavements, which later aids in the spread of the roots and thriving of the healthier trees in the region.

Aquatic Habitat

The waterfront through their partnership with the Aquatic Habitat Toronto (AHT) they have decided to make commitments towards improving the aquatic habitats at the water’s edge. Through the waterfront Toronto projects, there have been a lot of improvements in the marine habitats of about 108,000-meter square. for instance, some of the results of the monitoring of the projects are;

There has been a recorded increase in the number of fish species caught around the inner harbor to about 27 from the first number of five from the year 2001 to 2013, respectively.

Also, the most abundant fish in the biomass is the northern pike, which is the native top predator in the aquatic food web, and this helps in the creation of the recreational facilities and opportunities for many individuals and locals since it’s mostly desired by the anglers.

Completed Projects

Some of the completed projects are the creation of more than 1700 square meters of aquatic habitat. The completion of the above habitat was developed amid the construction of the wave decks around the waterfront. However, the creation of the marine habitat was not easy since it involved the adoption of a variety of different techniques and measures such as root balls, boulders, large logs, and smaller aggregate. The creation of the aquatic habitat can provide ample space for the fish to hide, and this is capable because there are aquatic plants that provide food and shelter to the fish hence contributing to their increase in number. Last but not least is the construction of the Mimico Waterfront Park, which enhances the aquatic and terrestrial habitats is among the significant developments which contribute primarily to the environmental sustainability of Toronto city.

Climate Positive Development Project

The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) is the founding father of the climate positive development program, which was founded early in the year 2009 by President Bill Clinton to aid the expansion of enormous scale urban projects which display that the towns can develop in climate-positive culture or nature. The main target or objective of the Climate Positive Development Program is to work hard towards the reduction of the quantity of the on-site greenhouse gas emissions to about or below zero levels. For instance, one example of the Climate positive development program is the Lower Don Lands, which acts as a guideline for climate [positive strategies to be adopted by other cities around the country. The construction of the Lower Don Lands utilizes all the necessary sustainable measures such as water reuse, which also supports sustainable working and living at the same time.

Also, for the government to make sure that there is a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, they work with the property developers and other local governments to make sure that all the builders operate within specific environmental and social acts set in place. For instance, the implementation of the economically viable innovation in the buildings, waste management, clean water generation, outdoor lighting systems, transportation, and water management contributes tremendously to the reduction of the gas emission in the city. Also, the waterfront makes sure that they incorporate the technical knowledge of the United States green building council so that the climate positive development program can accomplish the sustainable development of the region by being able to measure the positive climate results.

Carbon Tool

Waterfront also works extra hard towards the creation of the green, livable and prosperous society, which makes sure that the carbon tool supports the community by incorporating some sustainable considerations in their constructions or any development projects happening in the nation. The carbon tool plays an important role when it comes to the general assessment or measuring of sustainability performance in some key elements or components such as energy, waste, land use, water, and transportation. The tool is used because every single region comprises of the strategies and some associated goal levels, which can be adjusted in the future, and this makes it possible for the carbon tool to measure a range of any possible sustainability results amid the creation of the planning alternatives. Moreover, through the carbon tool, an individual can fully understand the relationship between the construction decisions and sustainability and be able to explore some of the unique ways to improve the performance and reduce the emission of the carbon in the atmosphere.

In conclusion, the sustainable development initiatives in Toronto are mostly focused on the environment. Toronto city and the whole country believe that when the situation is viable, then the other aspects of life can adjust, such as the social and economic activities of individuals that might change positively. Through the sustainable environment, business and private investors can flock in the Toronto region, and this later boosts the region’s economy and contribute a lot to the infrastructure development of the country. Therefore, it is upon the entire society to adopt the recommended measures from different sustainable programs to transform Toronto into the best sustainable town around the globe.

Bibliography

"Environment and Sustainability." 2020. Waterfrontoronto.Ca. https://waterfrontoronto.ca/nbe/portal/waterfront/Home/waterfronthome/our-vision/environment%20and%20sustainability.

Toronto, City, Services Payments, Water Environment, Energy & Resilience Climate, and Community Planning. 2020. "Community Energy Planning." The City Of Toronto. https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/environmentally-friendly-city-initiatives/community-energy-

Toronto, City, Services Payments, Water Environment, Energy & Resilience Climate, and District Energy. 2020. "District Energy." The City Of Toronto. https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/environmentally-friendly-city-initiatives/district-energy/.