Toronto Realizes Environment Exists, Does Stuff

Here in Canada people love their unsustainable lifestyles, and the City of Toronto realizes that these lifestyles actually hurt – so they’re going to do something about. Toronto has announced their plan to fight climate change, and Spacing has a good write up on it with some interesting comments.

The Toronto Star, has an article on how old apartment buildings can be turned green in Toronto by copying what’s been done elsewhere in the world.

Built in an era when energy efficiency was not a big consideration, these buildings are energy pigs. Counterintuitive to the accepted theory that density aids sustainability, the city’s stock of aging slab apartments demands more energy per square metre than any other housing type – a full 30 per cent more than a contemporary detached house.

But the slabs have their plus side. Due to their relatively straightforward structure and boxy facades, upgrades can be achieved with relative ease. This has not been lost on two members of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Architecture, Ted Kesik and Ivan Saleff. After running numerous simulations, they have concluded that this building type may be the most cost-effective candidate for retrofit

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