The Port Lands includes 715 acres of land that extends from Toronto’s downtown core into Lake Ontario. ‘It’s a Small World’ brings together the interests of three major constituencies: the TRCA, Waterfront Toronto, and Film Ontario, by reshaping the site for stormwater management and ecosystem regeneration, and then dividing it into nine communities, each containing a public space with different characteristics. The public spaces serve as incentives to activate neighbourhoods, create film settings, and foster tourism. Learning from the popular attractions created by Disney Land, the project recreates the fun of being able to experience great diversity in a short period. The balance between diverse public spaces and unifying urban fabrics is the centre of the project, and the final proposal imagines a system of dynamic communities with distinct characteristics, activated and connected by landscape and infrastructure.
