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Our recurring Insider Q&A series is a great tool for getting to know the names and faces of those contributing to Toronto's historic development boom. For this edition of Insider Q&A, we spoke with Cyndi Rottenberg-Walker, a partner at influential global planning and design firm UrbanStrategies, who have worked on a number of notable projects, including the much anticipated Bay Park Centre development in Downtown Toronto.
How did you start in the business?
When selecting my undergraduate degree program at U of T, I couldn’t choose between majors in Psychology or Urban Studies so decided to pursue both. A big lightbulb went off when I took a course in Environmental Psychology and discovered there was a natural connection. The course was about how the urban settings we create impact the quality of lives we live. I wish I still had the reading list from that class, but do know it was there that I first read Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities. The next lightbulb was that these interests had a potential career path—urban planning—so I raised my grades, did a Masters of Science in Planning, where I was fortunate to have Meric Gertler as a professor. Then I interned at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and then Ministry of Housing, and from there joined Urban Strategies where I have spent the last 26+ amazing years.
Your role at your organization
I’m one of several Partners who run the firm collaboratively and each manage projects and lead teams. I am also on our Executive Committee, responsible for the day to day management of the business. Urban Strategies has a dynamic practice that provides integrated urban planning and urban design consulting services to public and private sector clients in communities, cities and regions of all sizes, across the globe. Each one of our 50+ team members has individual passions for different aspects of city-building—including policy, development, TOD, campuses, waterfronts and public engagement—but of course these are overlapping. We work to put things together, tackling complex issues by identifying a set of interconnected strategies that catalyze positive change. We have about 70 active projects, and while this is exciting, it does mean lots of juggling to keep all trains on the track and moving in the right direction!
Tell us about a current project you're working on
We are so fortunate to have an amazing range of projects for clients who want to do interesting things, and to work with experts in so many fields related to planning. For me right now that includes preparation of Princeton University’s Campus Plan, Sustainability Plan and Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan; several retail transformations with First Capital Realty and its partners, including Humbertown Village, Yorkville Village and 3080 Yonge Street; and the new mixed-use Evergreen Community in Burlington.
Any future plans you'd like to tell us about?
Also with First Capital and a diverse team, we’re working on the King High Line. The proposal is to physically connect Liberty Village, Parkdale, King West and West Queen West with new and repurposed bridges that support a multi-purpose walking and cycling path and function as a linear park. What makes this even more exciting is its potential to play a key role linking between the existing West Toronto Railpath and the just announced Under Gardiner project.
Favourite project in Toronto
With all that’s been happening in Toronto it’s really hard to centre on just one but Corktown Common is high on the list. The space is both beautiful and performative, creating a wonderful amenity for its current and future neighbours while protecting the broader area from flooding and managing stormwater in very innovative ways.
Current biggest issue facing Toronto/GTA
Transit. Having recently spent time in London, Stockholm and Copenhagen you just know we must figure this out.
Your take on the state of the Toronto market
As a planner it is pretty powerful to see the effect that a strong policy framework can have on the market. So much has been accomplished through the Places to Grow and Greenbelt Acts, the Growth Plan and the Toronto Official Plan. The defined Urban Structure has proactively shaped growth beyond the downtown to also fill out the Avenues and suburban Centres. The next big challenge are renewal and intensification of older tower neighbourhoods as a way to accommodate further growth, but lots of good thinking is taking place.
Work Inspirations?
Young people! I’m so encouraged by families who are embracing urban living, choosing downtown apartment neighbourhoods over suburbs, and also by the fact that so many millennials don’t want to own cars. With these lifestyle choices and the growth of all aspects of the sharing economy things can really change. I’m awed every day by my kids’ passion for their world – it challenges me to do what I can to help make it better too.
Favourite thing to do in the city?
Be along and on Lake Ontario. Stand up paddling provides an amazing way to simultaneously see the city differently and forget you’re even in the city at all. I also love that we can ride bikes on a continuous trail network that connects the lake and ravines to so many of the city’s best urban assets, like the Distillery District and Soulpepper Theatre.
Favourite restaurant?
Again, impossible to choose just one. For weekend brunch we love Maha’s Fine Egyptian Cuisine. Los Colibris has fabulous Mexican food, especially the ceviche—and who doesn’t love a restaurant named after hummingbirds!? Queen Margherita’s Queen East location has great pizza, and even better, a great former industrial space with views over the Connaught streetcar yard.
Who do you follow on Twitter?
My colleagues at Urban Strategies—especially the younger ones who know about so many interesting things. I also really like @StreetsblogNet—it’s fascinating what a powerful public resource streets are and how much they can evolve—from horses to cars, to bicycles, to transit routes to pedestrian and even park spaces. Our in-house Urban Strategies Academy recently hosted a panel discussion on the future with driverless cars and one thing that is really clear is we need to protect our streets as places for people while we undergo this transformative change.
We thank Cyndi for taking the time to answer our questions. We will return soon with another Q&A session with one of the many insiders in Toronto's development scene.
