News
Coverage, interviews and writing on housing, planning, climate and the way our cities change.
18 stories · selected coverage
Interview · Housing
Toronto Life includes Blair Scorgie among contributors to a feature gathering ideas for addressing Toronto’s housing crisis.
Illustration from the Toronto Life article · supplied by Blair Scorgie
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Interview · City building
In reporting on Toronto–Danforth, Blair discusses commercial affordability and the infrastructure needs of older main streets. The interview connects neighbourhood change with the conditions that allow local businesses to remain and thrive.
Portrait: Scorgie Planning
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Interview · Climate
Blair supports stronger tree protection while calling for a coordinated, workable permitting process. CBC examines the next steps for Toronto’s tree canopy and the practical implications for property owners and development.
Image: CBC News
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Radio interview · Housing
Mia Johnson speaks with Blair about changes to Ontario’s planning framework. The report examines what standardized official plans could mean for Toronto’s infrastructure, local identity and ability to plan for housing growth.
Photo: Mia Johnson / CJTM News
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Podcast · Housing
A conversation with Josh Findlay and Ehren Laycock about multiplexes, laneway suites, zoning reform and the practical work of adding homes in established neighbourhoods.
Episode artwork: BLD Financial
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Interview · City building
CityNews speaks with Blair about the evolving plan for Ookwemin Minising and how airport expansion could affect the delivery of housing, public spaces and a new waterfront neighbourhood.
Image: CityNews
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Interview · Housing
Coverage of the earlier eight-unit proposal at 63 Station Road. Responding as the applicant’s planning consultant, Blair discusses the building envelope and coordination of the revised application materials.
Image: CityNews
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Written by Blair · Housing
Expanded housing permissions need an approvals system that can deliver them. Blair examines the gap between Toronto’s zoning reforms and the processes used to put those reforms into practice.
Image from the Spacing article
Read the articleInterview · City building
Aidan Chamandy examines proposed changes to neighbourhood retail permissions. Blair discusses why foot traffic, visibility and transit access could make small businesses on major streets more viable.
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Interview · Housing
Blair discusses how Toronto’s Major Streets permissions could enable smaller apartment projects, and how land costs and familiarity with the framework will influence delivery.
Photo: Daniel Ramos / The Trillium · Article context
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Podcast · Housing
Blair joins Ben Myers and Igor Dragovic to discuss public engagement, housing research, planning approvals and Toronto’s Major Streets housing framework.
Episode image: Toronto Under Construction / Bullpen Consulting
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Teaching + practice · Teaching
TMU follows an applied studio led by Blair, in which planning students tested housing concepts, site conditions and financial feasibility for a real property in Scarborough.
Image: Toronto Metropolitan University
Read the articleInterview · City building
Jack Landau interviews Blair about his documentation of shops, cafés, studios and other businesses operating in Toronto laneways. The coverage explores his call to expand neighbourhood commercial permissions to include accessory buildings and laneway frontages.
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Interview · Climate
Stefan Novakovic interviews Blair about replacing fossil-fuel heating with air-source heat pumps in his family’s Leslieville home. The story considers the comfort, installation challenges and practical costs of electrifying older Toronto houses.
Image: Designlines Magazine
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Teaching + practice · Teaching
TMU profiles the Christie Lands housing studio taught by Blair. Six graduate students tested development options and financial feasibility for a constrained Housing Now site, identifying the regulatory, infrastructure and partnership issues affecting affordable housing delivery.
Image: City Building TMU · Christie Lands studio report
Read the articleInterview · City building
John Lorinc reports on the case for small commercial uses in Toronto’s laneways, including Blair’s work on a proposed garage-to-grocery-store conversion. The coverage connects neighbourhood business opportunities with the limits of existing land use rules.
Read the articleInterview · Climate
An interview with Blair about reducing fossil-fuel use in an older Toronto home. The story considers the practical decisions involved in replacing gas equipment with electric heat pumps.
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Written by Blair · Housing
Blair sets out the case for density transition zones: gradual intensification near main streets, transit and other amenities. This earlier article considers how a wider range of low-rise housing could connect Toronto’s growth corridors with surrounding neighbourhoods.
Rendering: SvN · Image from the Spacing article
Read the articleArticles open on the publisher’s website. Some publications require a subscription. Photographs and artwork are credited to their sources.
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