Shirley Li

01 For Jurying Consideration - Green Escape

Environmental Design

2023

The project focuses on St. James Town in Toronto, Ontario. St. James town is a densely populated with mainly large housing units and has the least park space per captia. This thesis is interested in the socio-ecological improvement of St. James Town. It also focuses on the importance of utilizing pockets of unused green space and green corridors to create a green urban network. The thesis explores the different possibilities of connecting green spaces where both people and nature can coexist in the city site conditions. While addressing problems such as multi species design and lack of social space.The green corridor acts as the urban network by connecting the green spaces. The wildlife and pollinators are able to move through the corridor. The green corridor ends at the two large open green space across from Bloor St and Parliament St. The corridor contains a roof top level, ground level and also burrows.The three green spaces are the garden trail, community garden and the park and market. The garden trail is a passive green space that allows for the residence to walk through nature and connects back to the green corridor. It has a wide open grass field and seating around the pathways. It is also surrounded by vegetation that is very important to pollinators, birds, squirrels and more.The community garden includes a wildlife greenery section, planters and also pear and apple orchards. There is a long path in the middle to walkthrough the sections. The wildlife greenery helps connect the green corridor and also directs more pollinators to the planters and orchards.The park and market contains a elevated walkway that goes above the green corridor. It contains a playground, splash pad and a basketball court. There is also unmaintained elevated swimming pool that has been re purposed into an elevated seating area. There is also added booths for the neighbourhood vendors on the sidewalk.