LAYERCITY

Tree City is a feasible urban alternative within the stated available budget. Landscape elements will be planted incrementally over time as funding permits, gradually building up the park’s mass into a flexible patchwork of planted clusters separated by open undesignated areas. This will be staged as three long term phases: 

• site and soil preparation, 

• pathway construction, 

• cluster landscaping. 

 

The outcome is a matrix of circular tree clusters covering 25% of the site which is supplemented by meadows, playing fields and gardens.

 

Tree City’s landscaped clusters are programmed for various leisure activities. Adopting the criss-cross figure of the existing runway, Tree City’s clusters are complemented with 1000 crossing paths to be used by cyclists, joggers and pedestrians. Its amalgamated landscape will offer a green destination within Toronto’s expanding core.

 

Ultimately, we envision this vegetal epicenter to connect with the city’s green spaces and form a Tree infrastructure for the Greater Toronto Area. By continuing its landscape clusters and extensive pedestrian pathways into adjacent areas, Tree City can link up with the Black Creek and West Don ravines, integrating Downsview into the system of wooded river valleys, parks and public paths so unique to Toronto’s urban domain.