VIRTUAL Manchester Livable Cities

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, downtown Toronto has been transformed by a condominium boom that has reshaped its skyline and public realm. Much of this development has concentrated along the waterfront, on former industrial sites. Promoted under the banner of livability, these projects exemplify what might be termed Spreadsheet Urbanism: planning driven by density targets, unit counts, and amenity ratios. The result is a landscape of repetitive towers, heritage façadism, and privately managed public spaces. These processes omit cultural memory—including immigrant neighbourhoods, industrial heritage, and historic urban fabric—and displace civic care: design attentive to ecological health, everyday social life, and inclusivity. The proposed redevelopment of Ontario Place extends this logic into the civic sphere. Opened in 1971 by Eberhard Zeidler and Michael Hough, it was a landmark of public modernism—defined by state investment, architectural innovation, and open waterfront access—and included the world’s first IMAX theatre dome, the Cinesphere. Its planned regeneration into a private spa—developed by Therme Group and designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects—applies the same logic: spectacle, capacity, and monetisation drive decision-making. Profitability metrics and visitor numbers are privileged over heritage, ecological stewardship, and Indigenous presence. What was conceived as a civic landmark risks becoming another site of exclusion and banal homogenisation. This paper situates Ontario Place within Toronto’s broader trajectory of renewal through erasure. It concludes by highlighting alternative practices, including Indigenous-led placemaking and community-driven planning. While centred on Toronto, the critique resonates with global debates on the “urban renaissance” in post-industrial cities such as Manchester.