SUDBURY 2050
The history and future of Sudbury is intrinsically linked to its railways. The city was founded at the point where two 19th century lines merged. During the construction of which a rust coloured rock, blasted from the railway's path, marked the discovery of one of Earth's largest mineral deposits, and the ultimate source of Sudbury's development. The city has grown around this junction, though continuously constrained and disconnected by the rail-yards at it's centre. This proposal focuses on relocating these rail-yards and explores the immense possibilities this generates for the future city. Rather than projections for salvation through high tech speculation, or piecemeal interventions, this proposal calls for robust urbanism and invest¬ments in ecological infrastructure as a means of imagining a vibrant Sud¬bury of 2050.
NEW LINE
What if you could take a high speed train from downtown to the airport?
What if a new railway line were constructed North of the city, along the Southern edge of the Sudbury Basin? The new line would connect existing railways to each other, mines to smelters, and for the first time, the airport to the city centre. It could eventually be expanded to form a consolidated industrial economic zone circuiting the entire basin. It would allow freight to be transported efficiently and without the risk of a catastrophic derailment within the community. The rail-yards would be relocated to the new junction within the industrial zone. Passenger trains would continue to travel into the city's core on tracks submerged underground.
RE-GREENED HEART
The covered train lines would form a new linear park connecting once disparate neighbourhoods to each other, and increasing by an order of magnitude the amount of green space within the downtown core. A new recreational corridor, expanding on The Great Trail (formerly Trans-Canada Trail), would be established from the city centre to Ramsey Lake and Bell Park. 2000 new trees would be planted to re-green the former rail yards and establish an urban Green network. Urbanism through forestry.
CONNECTED CITY
What if the city's infrastructure served to create a seamless urban envi¬ronment? The grid of streets would be expanded over the former western rail-yard site, nearly doubling the amount of developable land within the city centre, and connecting east to west. The historic dimensions of the existing urban grid would be used to generate and reinforce a cohesive urban envi¬ronment. Planted trees would form the framework for these future streets, maturing into a green street canopy in summer months.
POSITIVE DENSITY
High density, mid-rise, and mixed use buildings would fill out the new grid, and infill existing on-grade parking lots within the city. Pedestrianisation would be encouraged by a network of multilevel parking facilities within a comfortable walking radius of every area. A rapid public transport loop would connect the parking facilities to other key locations within the centre, and to all other forms of transportation. Buildings constructed primarily of cross-laminated timber, incorporating green house type vertical farming and solar array's would not only limit the ecological footprint of the devel¬opment, and set a new standard for future developments, but would con¬tribute to a compact, liveable, and self sustaining city. 20,000 new homes would be constructed to house a diverse demographic mix. Large three bedroom units for families, smaller more affordable units for students, as well as more flexible short stay type housing to deal with fluctuating needs ranging from global pandemics to environmental disasters in remote Northern communities. Buildings for research, study, retail, commerce and entertainment would be integrated to develop an urban community where anyone could live and work.
URBAN CULTURE
What if the city was active 24 hours per day? The numerous back alleys in Sudbury's downtown hold the potential to be developed from service lanes to a pedestrianised laneway network. These small scale lanes would be ac¬tivated by cafes, bars, restaurants, galleries, boutiques and street art. They would form an alternate sequence of spaces, unique in the city, and con¬tribute to the development of an urban culture as a compelling alternative to car centric suburban life.
CULTURAL ARCHIPELAGO
What if new cultural buildings in the city were conceived holistically to promote each other and amplify each other's functions? Existing cultural buildings, adaptively re-used former industrial structures, and new venues are combined into a linked archipelago of exciting public programs span¬ning the entire width of the core. A new Library shares event spaces with the Performing Arts Centre next door. The refurbished Arena shares it's parking with a new Convention Centre. A Hotel connected to the new Con¬vention Centre benefits from an adjacent Museum's event programming, while a new Market Hall anchors the archipelago and acts as a meeting point between functions, etc. The entire city benefits from the increased activity and public life.
BLUE NETWORK
What if the buried section of Junction Creek, which runs beneath the city was day-lit and exposed at points to bring waterside amenity directly into the urban core? Exposed sections of the creek would be designed to mitigate f looding while simultaneously serving as natural centre-pieces in a new string of micro wetland parks punctuating the core. The new con¬nection would not only create novel urban experiences, but complement the east-west linear rail parks, by providing a north-south recreational route and nature corridor through the larger city region.
FUTURE CITY
This proposal sets out a series of interrelated initiatives intended to im¬prove the liveability, vitality and role of Sudbury's urban core in the long term. While the scope is large, the formula is scaleable, phase-able, and straightforward; Relocate the train-yards, bury the train-lines, connect the streets, connect the blue and green grids, build dense, build mixed and build green. Enjoy the city of the future.
(Competitor's text)
5 scanned / 5 viewable
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
