Compounding challenges facing the TDSB

Rapid intensification Demographic shifts TDSB finances

• Residentialintensificationoutpacingpublicservices

• Schoolsupto250%overcapacity

• Studentscan’taccesslocalschools

Current approaches to how urban public elementary schools look and function need to change. Pressures on the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), outdated assumptions around school design and procedural challenges reflect a disconnect with the realities and needs of a growing urban centre like Toronto. Provincial priorities around community hubs and the benefits of mixed-use development provide direction for new approaches.

!!!

Figure 1. Development applications in late 2017-early 2018.

Over capacity

At capacity

Under capacity

Figure 2. Where children live (2016).

Figure 3. Utilization rates of elementary schools (2014).

So much development

in the City of Toronto,

much of it residential

0-170 children/sq.km.

171-260 children/sq.km

261-340 children/sq.km

341-530 children/sq.km

531+ children/sq.km

Suburban assumptions

(Creditforbothimages:TDSB)

Yikes

... that is a lot of schools at- or over-capacity!

Experts suggest the TDSB still assumes that children mostly live in single- or semi-detached houses, which is increasingly

untrue.

Connecting schools + cities using mixed-use education

Schools 2.0

• City-wideenrolmentdeclineof13%

• Underutilizationofsuburbanschools

• Overcapacityschoolsindenserneighbourhoodsanddowntown

• $4billioninrepairbacklogs

• TDSBdoesnotqualifyforEducationDevelopmentCharges(EDCs)

• TDSBreliesonMinistryofEducation(MOE)forfunding

The TDSB is heavily, if

not entirely, reliant on the

Ministry of Education for all its

capital funding - new schools,

renewals and major renos...

• Culturalexpectationsdriveschooldevelopment

• Suburbanschoolmodelexpectedtoapplyindowntowninfillcontexts

• Nolandand/ortooexpensivetomeetsitereq’ts

Existing policy & processes

Benefits to students

Thoughtful public-private partnership arrangements, an emphasis on complete communities and new approaches to “unstructured play” could be combined to create innovative school developments that use land efficiently without compromising learning experiences. In fact, combining schools with other uses and co-sharing space could yield benefits for many stakeholders.

Provincial Policy Statement, 2014High-level with limited implementation direction, but policies are aligned with mixed-use goals. Supports efficient use of land and resources, and co-locating public services. However, identifies schools as “sensitive land uses”.

Growth Plan for the Greater Golden HorseshoeSame as PPS, 2014. Additionally, supports creating

community hubs.

City of Toronto Official Plan Overall, supports the idea of mixed-use schools. It allows co-locating uses and allows other uses to be combined with schools. Supports complete communities. However, it also contains qualifying language, and limitations around where schools can be

sited.

Growing Up: Planning for Children in New Vertical Communities Urban Design GuidelinesA high-level guideline, but promotes co-locating community services, partnerships among City divisions, developers, school boards, local school staff and community groups, and creating lively vertical

complete communities.

City-wide Zoning By-law 569-2013The zoning by-law is outdated and inflexible, and does not support mixed-use school models. Schools are not permitted in most zones, and where they are, other uses usually restricted. Where permitted, they are subject to height, FSI and lot size requirements (among others) that reflect traditional school assumptions.

TDSB Elementary School Design GuidelineNot prescriptive, but reflects a traditional, suburban school model and does not encourage innovative

approaches to school design. TDSB has very detailed preferences as to administration and design processes, site and building design, and electrical

and mechanical systems that may limit innovation.

MOE Funding FormulaMOE design and funding processes are overly

restrictive and rely on outdated assumptions that hamper creative approaches to mixed-use schools. TDSB and its consultants are limited to specific floor areas and construction budgets set by the MOE, based

on assumptions not reflective of a downtown infill context.

While at a high level, provincial and local policies broadly support mixed-use elementary schools, implementation tools (like the zoning by-law) and Ministry of Education (MOE) and TDSB processes are less friendly to the idea and pose challenges. Below are some of the major policies and processes.

Ministry of Education (MOE)

TDSB

Consultants (Architects, engineers...)

General public

City of TorontoDevelopers

Benefits to communities

A

B+

(Credit:NeONBRAND,Unsplash)(Credit:ScottWebb,Unsplash)

A

F

A

D+

F

Inspiration from elsewhere

Examples from within the City and from other cities provide direction and insight on how to plan and design mixed-use schools.

Serving 507 students, this school has a gym facility, outdoor play area, and community rental spaces. It is strategically located by a public park, and is part of a larger development that has two residential towers of 25 and 31 storeys, and a 5-storey residential/commercial building.

(Credit:FranclArchitecture)

This middle school is located on a former brownfield site. It accommodates 900 students during the day, and has been designed as a social and entertainment hub for the surrounding neighbourhood. It includes a 250-seat auditorium, sports field, and column-free flexible space, adaptable for community and entertainment uses.

(Credit:BDP)

Do they make the grade?

Benefits to TDSB & its partners

(Credit:GTDAquitaine,Wikimedia)

• Accesstopublicservicesandotheruses

• Synergieswithschoolactivities

• Moreopportunitiestoparticipateinpubliclife

• Facilitiesthatprovidegreaterbenefitsthanschoolsalone

• Enhancedyouthengagement=moreinvolvedadults

• Age-friendlycompletecommunities

• MoreefficientuseoflimitedTDSBresources

• TDSBcanoffsetriskandcosts

• Otherusescanbenefitfromproximitytoschool

Why mixed-use elementary schools?

Figure 4. The key players involved in the school planning and development process.

Crosstown Elementary School, Vancouver

Bridge Academy, London, UK

Arleigh Hack, Kasia Kmiec & Abraham Plunkett-Latimer Emerging Trends in Mixed-Use Development @ Ryerson University April 2018

Bridging the disconnect: Positioning mixed-use schools as community hubs

3 steps to connecting schools + cities:

Schools + ...Schools typically tend to stand alone, in isolation from other uses. A land use compatibility analysis suggests that they can be combined with many other uses.

(Credit:Verduzco,2017)

(Credit:Earthscape,n.d.)

(Credit:ArchDaily,2017)

(Credit:CondoEssentials,2017)

(Credit:CocoBean,n.d.)

(Credit:Wood,2017)

(Credit:PracticalArt,n.d.)

(Credit:CityofToronto,n.d.)

(Credit:GoldenScissors,n.d.)

Residential apartments

Nursing homes

Studios/workshops

Offices

Public parks

Public libraries

City halls

Eating establishments

Professional services

As institutions designed to develop children’s academic, social and life skills, schools are well-suited to serve as the anchors of vibrant mixed-use community hubs. A community hub approach is a unique lens through which the school/city disconnect can be addressed.

Identify compatible land uses

Partner with non-profit, public & private partners

Enhance policies & processes to promote & enable mixed-use school development

Residential

Parks & Open Spaces

Other Institutional

Retail & Entertainment

Employment & Commercial

Spatial requirements

Green space needs

Safety & security concerns

Principal times of use

Sensitivity to noise

Sensitivity to other hazards

Parking needs

Loading & servicing needs

Criteria considered:

Arup (2017). Cities Alive: designing for urban childhoods. London, UK.Ayerbe, A. A., & Báez, N. P. (2007). The city and children’s participation. Children Youth and Environments, 17(2), 187-198.BDP. (2018). Bridge Academy. Retrieved from http://www.bdp.com/en/projects/a-e/Bridge-Academy/.Caulfield, J. (1992). Gentrification and familism in Toronto: A critique of conventional wisdom. City and Society, 6 (1), 76-89.Chatterjee, K. and Scheiner, J. (2015) Understanding changing travel behaviour over the life course: Contributions from biographical research. In: 14th International Conference on Travel Behaviour Research, Windsor, UK, 19-23 July 2015.City of Toronto. (2013). City of Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013, as amended (Office Consolidation). City of Toronto. (2015). Official Plan: Chapters 1-5.

City of Toronto. (2017). Growing Up: Planning for Children in New Vertical Communities Draft Design Guidelines. City of Toronto. (2017, August 18). Proposed Downtown Plan. City of Toronto. Earth Day Canada (2017, October). Outdoor Play and Learning: The OPAL Primary Program. Ellaway, A., Kirk, A., Macintyre, S., & Mutrie, N. (2007). Nowhere to play? the relationship between the location of outdoor play areas and deprivation in glasgow. Health and Place, 13(2), 557-561.Expert Panel on Capital Standards. (2010). Building Our Schools, Building Our Future. Ministry of Education. Gordon, A. (2018, March 2). The challenge of urban density: They can see the school from their balconies but their kids can’t attend. The Toronto Star.

ITC Construction Group. (n.d.). Firenze Residential British Columbia. Retrieved March 09, 2018, from https://www.itc-group.com/project/firenzeMallach, A. (2009). Better Schools, Better Neighborhoods: New ways to create the schools New Jersey needs.Ministry of Municipal Affairs. (2017). Places to Grow - Growth Plan 2017. Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. (2014). Provincial Policy Statement, 2014. Murtagh, S., Rowe, D. A., Elliott, M. A., McMinn, D., & Nelson, N. M. (2012). Predicting active school travel: The role of planned behavior and habit strength. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9(1), 65-65.Norðdahl, K., & Jóhannesson, I. Á. (2015). Children’s outdoor environment in icelandic educational policy. Scandinavian Journal of

Educational Research, 59(1), 1-23.SimplyAnalytics (2017). Census 2016 Population Data. Retrieved March 1, 2018 from SimplyMap Database.Stewart, M. (2017, April 5). Things are looking up for new Crosstown elementary. Vancouver Courier.TDSB. (n.d.). Elementary School Design Guideline (Edition 1.0). TDSB. (2014). Elementary/Junior High School Enrolment, Capacity and Utilization Data (2004-2034) Sorted by Utilization Rate 2014, Lowest to Highest. Retrieved from https://www.ett.ca/?wpfb_dl=765TDSB. (2017). Long-Term Program and Accommodation Strategy (2017-2026).

Imagining School 2.0: ScenariosThe Upgrade: Conventional TDSB properties are reserved for single use school buildings that do not yield any of the potential benefits of mixed-use education. The TDSB should examine sites that it already owns, and consider how they can be intensified and diversified to get more use (literally!) out of their lands.

The Squeeze: Where the TDSB must acquire new land to accommodate student populations, it must be open to building up. Elementary schools do not have to be 1-2 stories, and there are benefits to proximity to other uses! Play areas can be situated on rooftops and amenities can be shared with adjacent uses.

School

Sources of inspiration

Before

After (Not to scale)

Before

After (Not to scale)

The DNA of a schoolExamining the individual elements of a “typical” elementary school reveals that at their core, school sites are often simple, sprawling and arguably underutilized.

School buildings tend to be low and squat, taking up the majority of the site. Can’t

they be built up?

The TDSB Elementary School

Design Guideline recommends

min. 220 sq. ft. of yard space

per student! (For 800 students,

that’s approx. 3 soccer fields1!!)

Can parking take up less

space? Can it go underground?

The Guideline also recommends reserving site space for

(potential) future portables

Gyms also take up a lot of

space at grade. But do they need to be at

grade?

Employment Other Institutional Retail Residential Parks & Open Space

Schools such as Rothenburg Preparatory School in Cincinnati use rooftop gardens as outdoor garden classrooms that aim to enhance students’ critical thinking and hands-on skills.

(Source: Rothenburg Rooftop Garden)

Internal courtyards allow for natural light, and also serve as a safe gathering space.

(Source: OAA)

Spruce Street Public School in New York is a great example of a successful urban elementary school that built up. It takes up the first four floors of a podium of a 76-storey mixed-use building.

(Source: Inside Schools)

On top of the podium, Spruce Street Public School has sizable indoor and outdoor play areas for its students.

(Source: Inside Schools)

One possible broader community benefit of mixed-use school community hubs is intergenerational socializing. Seniors have been shown to benefit from even mere proximity to children, and children can develop connections with older generations.

(Source: Hartford Courant)