Between the House and the Tower: Major Streets and the Future of Housing in Toronto
Toronto’s housing debate is often framed around two familiar building types: the detached house and the high-rise tower. Over the past two decades, much of the city’s growth has been defined by condominium towers concentrated in downtown districts and near major transit stations.
Yet across Toronto’s major streets, another pattern is beginning to emerge. Modest apartment buildings—typically three to six storeys—are appearing on individual parcels along corridors that pass through established neighbourhoods.
Between the House and the Tower explores the conditions that make this form of housing possible and what it may mean for the city’s future. Rather than concentrating growth in a few tower districts, these buildings represent a gentler form of urban change unfolding gradually across Toronto’s existing neighbourhood fabric.