Waterfront Toronto is likely the largest public infrastructure project in North America.  How large?  Imagine the reclamation and redevelopment of 20 km of shoreline and 800 hectares in the heart of the city. 

Yesterday I toured the project with Waterfront Toronto officials and speak to the organization's annual meeting.  Waterfront Toronto's ambition for design excellence, sustainability, walkability, transit orientation and a complete public realm gives us a glimpse of what next generation cities ought to be.  The planning has been long (100+ years long), but Waterfront Toronto, a public-private partnership supported by all three levels of government, has moved rapidly since taking control just five years ago.  While the opportunities for development and connections are somewhat pinched in the heart of Toronto's downtown, the new beach and imaginative pedestrian connections are in place, and land is moving in what's called West Don Lands to make it possible for a major park and big (32-hectare site) new neighborhood (with 6000 new residential units and nine hectares of parks and public spaces, commercial spaces, even an elementary school) adjacent to the Distillery District to take shape.

John Campbell, president of the organization, is exactly the kind of executive you would want in charge of a project this ambitious and in need of public support.  The exchange he and board chair Mark Wilson had with constituents last night was as civilized and productive a public meeting I've ever witnessed.  You have to see this project now so you can compare it to the completed product.

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