Summary/ Canada is projected to experience a population growth of 12.5 million by 2061, (“The Next Generation of Emerging Global Challenges: Canada”) with the provinces Ontario and British Columbia’s growth expected to exceed the national average. (“2009 to 2036: Highlights”) Canada’s largest city, Toronto, in Ontario, is expected to experience the majority of the Ontario growth. Toronto’s growth is evident in that it retains a significant lead compared to the rest of Canada and the United States of America for the number of construction cranes building high rise towers per day over the course of a year. (Novakovic)

However, the average density in Toronto (4,457people/km2) is only approximately one quarter the density of cities such as Paris (21,067people/km2). Even compared to New York’s average with its boroughs (10,935people/km2), Toronto has less than half the population density. (Novakovic) This is because large areas of the city of Toronto are low-rise due to their zoning restrictions in the Official Plan as neighborhoods for “residential detached”. (Novakovic; Blonder & Bereznvak)

This zoning category is noted in yellow and has been coined the “yellow belt” by Gil Meslin in reference to the impact it has on restricting densification similar to the “green belt” of green space and agricultural communities at the periphery of the city of Toronto. (Novakovic; Blonder & Bereznvak)

Some minor adjustments now exist for this category, for example permitting laneway housing for portions of Toronto if certain conditions including sizes, locations, laneway width and distance requirements are met. (“Laneway suites in Toronto: an Overview”)

However, even the modest density of the few, small, midrise apartments from the early 20th century that pre-exist the bylaws in these areas are today impossible to replicate. (Novakovic) It is this scale of density between the extremes of low rise and high rise that is significantly absent in the ‘residential detached’ zones that occupy most of Toronto.