52 business elite canada
H
AUGUST 2014
Toronto was initially born out of efforts to de-
velop the city’s largely neglected waterfront
area in 1999 as part of its bid to host the 2008
Summer Olympics, but it has since become a
pioneer in city-building with a mandate of ur-
ban revitalization and sustainable planning and
infrastructure. To that end, Waterfront Toronto
has received $1.5-billion of government fund-
ing, and has attracted $2.6-billion in private
sector investment, with a 25-year mandate to
transform800 hectares (2,000-acres) of brown-
field lands—i.e., previously developed lands
for industrial and/or commercial use— along
the city’s waterfront next to the city’s central
business district into sustainable mixed-use
communities and public spaces.
Enter Campbell, and a new kind of thinking
when it comes to revitalization rather than
redevelopment. For the CEO of Waterfront
Toronto, revitalization is all about trying to
“future-proof” what he calls the
new
city of
Toronto. This means revitalization that is pub-
lic-policy driven with the goal of putting a stop
to urban sprawl, and promoting sustainability,
transit, housing and improving quality of life
Render of waterfront districts at full build out
