Small apartments or townhouses
Test a modest building behind the main street, with usable homes, outdoor space and workable access. Begin with the current policy and zoning, then identify any changes needed for a feasible design.
Transition Zones
Explore
From a general idea to a Toronto block.
Compare two approaches to the same illustrative blocks, then switch between plan and section. The colours identify the corridor, the possible transition area and the neighbourhood beyond.
Compare the approaches
Plan change across several properties.
The intervening properties can accommodate more housing choices. Their scale, access, trees and open space need to be planned in relation to one another.
A conceptual comparison of the same blocks, not a representation of current Toronto zoning. On a small screen, scroll the diagram sideways to read its labels.
Main streetTransition areaNeighbourhood
Read the diagrams
How to read the diagrams.
Terracotta identifies buildings on the main street. Green identifies the intermediate housing opportunities extending into adjacent blocks. Stone identifies the smaller buildings further into the neighbourhood.
The dashed line in plan illustrates one possible study boundary. Local streets and rear lanes remain visible because access, orientation and the relationship between properties help determine what can work.
The models illustrate a relationship between places. Their heights and spacing are not proposed standards. The selection and classification work explains how those standards could be developed for a real area.
A worked Toronto example
Danforth, between
Chester and Arundel.
This block shows why the relationship behind a main street matters. Read the existing context, the City’s mapped approach, then several possibilities to test.
North is up. On a small screen, scroll the diagram sideways to read the labels.
Housing, a main street and a subway station within the same block.
Chester Avenue is on the west, Arundel Avenue is on the east and Danforth Avenue forms the southern edge. Green P surface parking occupies the subway corridor between the main street and the neighbourhood. Chester station has entrances on both sides of Chester; the accessible entrance is on the west side.
Add to or convert a building
Additional homes could also come from a retained building. Test layouts, accessibility, trees and rental protection; change need not depend on assembling the entire block.
A small workspace or shared room
Consider whether a suitable non-residential use could fit. Confirm land-use permissions and address operating hours, deliveries, noise and its relationship to neighbouring homes.
A landscaped pedestrian edge
The 2022 framework contemplates greenway edges beside the subway corridor. Any public connection would need a workable design, secured access and a maintenance arrangement alongside parking operations.
Interpretive diagrams by Transition Zones, based on the City’s 2022 SASP 772, Maps 2 and 3A, and the Danforth Urban Design Guidelines. Street and transit relationships are sourced; lot boundaries and building footprints are generalized. Current zoning, appeals and subsequent station-area policies must also be reviewed.
One policy application / Toronto
Station proximity
changes the permissions.
In approved station areas, the 2025 provincial modifications permit multiplexes and apartments on Neighbourhood-designated lands at scales linked to station proximity and major-street frontage.
The six-storey category also applies to sites fronting a Map 3 major street within the approved station area. The four-storey category is not a universal cap where other applicable policies permit more. Policy permissions and implementing zoning must be read separately.