July 2019
A paper on how to make better use of city infrastructures reimagines the Bloor Viaduct as serving both transportation and housing needs.
Living Bridges: Healthy urban Infrastructure as a Multi-use Economic Asset, by Farrow Partners, provides a unique perspective on how to make better use of a bridge currently used for automobile transport and TTC subway trains. The paper was presented to an international gathering in London, UK. on designing healthy cities. This paper provides one approach to transforming urban infrastructure into mixed-use communities.
Completed in 1918, the bridge was officially called the Prince Edward Viaduct after the Prince of Wales. It includes a suicide-prevention collar installed in 2003. Lights installed in 2014 put an end to approximately 60 suicides a year.
The idea of building communities around a bridge is not unique. As early as the 15th century, Venice made better use of its bridges by locating shops around them. Rental income was used to maintain the bridge.
