Tomorrow’s Connected Communities:
ICT Strategies and Opportunities
Connected Urban Development Global Conference 2008
Bill Hutchison
Chair, i-Waterfront Advisory Council
Executive Director, Intelligent Communities
Waterfront Toronto
bhutchison@waterfrontoronto.ca San Francisco
www.waterfrontoronto.ca February 21 2008

Waterfront Toronto
Established 2001
Three levels of government
Mandate to lead and oversee all aspects of revitalization

World’s Largest Urban Revitalization Initiative
Context for Revitalization:
• Revitalization vs. Redevelopment
• Goals: Sustainable Economic and Social Development
• Blending Business Capital and Human Capital

Overall Scope
• $17 billion
– $4 billion public sector
– $13 billion private investment
• Four Districts
– Exhibition Place/Ontario Place
– East Bayfront
– West Don Lands
– Port Lands
• 200 hectares of parks and public spaces
• Major Film Studio
• 40,000 residential units: +100,000 residents
• Ten million square feet of employment space

Context for Revitalization
Revitalization vs. redevelopment
Public Policy Agenda:
– Reduce urban sprawl
– Develop sustainable communities
– Build more affordable housing
– Create more parks and public spaces
– Expand public transit
– Increase economic competitiveness

Fundamental Principles
Public Accessibility
Sustainable Development
Design Excellence
Economic Prosperity
Fiscal Sustainability

Sustainability
• Leading edge technology and innovation
– Mixed use/local services
– Transit
– Parks & Open Spaces
– Green Building Requirements
– District Energy
– Intelligent Communities
• Market Transformation
• Sustainability Framework/Swedish Audit

Vision – Overall Scope

Lake Ontario Park

Waterfront Neighbourhoods
West Don Lands
East
Bayfront
Port Lands
Lower Don Lands

Central Waterfront Promenade
• International design competition
• Bathurst to Parliament
• Continuous public access
• Transform Queens Quay into iconic boulevard

West Don Lands & East Bayfront
• 130 acres of parks and public
spaces - 25% of precinct
• 12,000 residential housing units,
including 2,400 social
• 3, 000,000 sq ft commercial
• Elementary School(s)
• Recreation and childcare centres
• Community Wellness Centre
• Transit, bikeways & pedestrian
connections

Strategy for Sustainable Economic &
Social Development: Create a new
Intelligent Community; “i-Waterfront”
• Proven over 20 years to facilitate
economic and development
• Ensures Business Innovation
AND Social Innovation
• Key to success = i-waterfront*Net
(low-cost gigabit broadband
intelligent communications
infrastructure: FTTH and
ubiquitous wireless

Green Building Specifications
• Experienced Team
• Integrated Design Process
• LEED Gold Certification
• Minimum Energy Use
• Green Roofs
• District Energy

District Energy
• District Energy system in the West
Don Lands and East Bayfront
• District Energy provides heating and
cooling to a community of buildings
from one central plant
• Reduces costs of new buildings,
lowers air emissions, improves air
quality, consistent with corporation’s
sustainability goals

Transit
• Transit first approach; within 5 minute walk of all residences
• EA underway
• Construction scheduled to start 2008; service operational in 2009

i-waterfront*net: Open Access Architecture
Residents
Ultra Content and
Businesses Content and services broadband service
Institutions Infrastructure providers

Digital Media Business
• Focus on new digital media companies as part of employment
strategy
• Filmport, Corus Entertainment are new anchors in the
precinct

The Key Elements in Implementing i-Waterfront
• Community collaboration:
– Define the vision
– Create the roadmap
• Economic development, marketing and inbound investment:
– Building the i-Waterfront plan into the economic development
and job creation plans
• Leadership:
– Education of the WATERFRONToronto Board of Directors
– Create and use of the i-Waterfront Advisory Council
– Create focused subcommittees of the Advisory Council to lead the
e-application strategies
– Create international expert panel on broadband infrastructure

Other Global Intelligent Communities*
As selected by the Intelligent Community Forum,
“ICF”…..a Global Think Tank based in New York
Taipei, Waterloo, Glasgow, Sunderland,
Mitaka, Singapore, Tianjin, Seoul, Vasteras
……… and many more
The Winning Characteristics : Community
leadership, collaboration, digital democracy,
marketing, sustainability, advanced
broadband infrastructure

In Closing
• Ultra broadband infrastructure provides the foundation and
the first step
• The e-applications generate usage social prosperity and
sustainable economic development.

www.WATERFRONToronto.ca