Tour Leader: David MacLeod, City of Toronto Environment and Energy DivisionWe will depart from the Sheraton lobby and walk across the street to City Hall, taking in some of the architectural features of this iconic building and Nathan Phillips Square. Inside the building we will discuss aspects of resilient building design. There will be a discussion on how extreme weather has affected this building and others in the downtown area. The group will then take a stroll on the green roof of City Hall, where we will consider design and maintenance issues with green roofs. There will be a discussion of different types of green infrastructure as a way to buffer against extreme weather. From the City Hall podium roof vantage point, there will be a discussion of built infrastructure within view that contributes to and detracts from the city's resilience to extreme weather. We will discuss the implications of extreme weather on issues such as backup power in high rise buildings. From our vantage points around City Hall, we will discuss district energy, failing building envelopes and flooding basements. There will be time to consider advanced approaches such as infrastructure interdependency risk assessment and the use of Geographical Information Systems to inform climate risk decision making. There will be consideration of insurance sector implications of extreme weather and new financial disclosure guidelines on climate risk. The concept of resilience hubs for business and residential areas will be considered. Weaved throughout the discussion will be a description of the City's leading edge engagement with different infrastructure groups and the concept of interdependencies and cascade failure avoidance.
Expect a wide ranging multi-disciplinary commentary about resilience of Toronto to a variety of shocks and stresses. Toronto is considered one of the most resilient cities in the world. Find out for yourself if you think this is true and if Toronto is on the right path forward for climate change resilience in particular. Maybe you have some ideas for Toronto?
Maximum capacity: 20 personsMethod of travel: Walking Date: Wednesday, April 4
Approximate time period: 1:00pm—3:00pm **Meeting time: 12:45pm in Sheraton Hotel LobbyTicket Price: $10.00 USD Click here to purchase tickets for Tour 7: Walking and Van Tour: Toronto's Resilience to Extreme Weather!
