Abstract:

For 15 years the King's College Land Use Research Unit has carried out academic work on how British housing design defects cause social breakdown, and also practical design improvement that has successfully alleviated the problems. This paper explores how far the same designs exist in selected Toronto estates and whether similar solutions are appropriate. Very similar designs were identified; the main difference was an adaptation to Toronto's cold winter climate. Design-Improvement Concern for the Environment (DICE) principles were also appropriate as improvement measures, and were received in a welcoming spirit by the city's housing authorities, who intend to begin implementing them.