Toronto's Eglinton Line 5 opened last weekend — finally. I have yet to ride it, but I'm really looking forward to doing so the next time my day brings me north of St. Clair or I find the time for a joyride. Notwithstanding the fact that it took a really long time, it's a crucial piece of transit infrastructure for the city.

It's a need that we arguably recognized in the 80s with a proposed busway, and then started and stopped construction on in the 90s with the Eglinton West line. Some four decades later, we now have a 25-station, 19-kilometre rapid transit line that runs across the middle of the city.

Transit consultant Jarrett Walker is calling it the first major transit investment that shows Toronto is moving away from its downtown-oriented network. Historically, Toronto's transit network has emphasized bringing commuters from the suburbs and other lower-density parts of the city to downtown for work. Then, at the end of the day, these people would return home. Simple.

But this kind of network no longer reflects the reality of today's city, which has become and is continuing to become far more polycentric.

Walker's argument is that Toronto needs a transit network to match its grid geography, so that "people can go from anywhere to anywhere in a simple L-shaped trip, usually with a single transfer." Line 5 is an example of this approach and, of course, we need much more of it.

But the other thing that is needed alongside a "grid transit network" is the right land-use approach. One of the fundamental principles that we espouse on this blog is that land-use and transportation planning are interdependent.

In this regard, Toronto is undertaking some important planning work. It has been proposing new Avenues (a defined term that you can read about here) and encouraging more housing along all of its Major Streets (also a defined term).

These efforts remain a work in progress, but at their core, they serve to broadly increase the average density across the city (which is a prerequisite for transit ridership) and to, what I'm going to call, "strengthen the urban grid." It helps move Toronto further away from being a monocentric, downtown-oriented city toward something more akin to a Paris.

What we have is a really interesting moment in time where transportation efforts and land-use policies are starting to coalesce around a new kind of Toronto. One that is decidedly more urban and less car-oriented. This is good. Now, let's do it faster.

Transit map via the TTC

As most of you know, the Toronto housing market has shifted its attention from condominiums to rentals. This is out of necessity. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the GTA saw approximately 71,392 condominium apartments leased (counting only those leased through MLS) in 2025.

These increases are a result of having no other option. As demand has waned for new condominiums, a greater number of investors have decided to rent out their new condos. If you're a tenant looking for a new home to rent, this has been good news.

At the same time, Urbanation just reported that a total of 9,821 purpose-built rental apartments started construction in 2025, representing a 42% increase from the year prior. This is the highest annual total since the 1970s.

At year-end, this resulted in a total of 27,815 purpose-built rental apartments under construction in the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area. And like individual condominium buyers, developers are doing this because there is, in most cases, no other option.

But while these may seem like large numbers, it's important to keep in mind that new condominium completions are currently on a downtrend toward zero completions in the coming years (for all intents and purposes).

Even with rental starts approaching 10,000 units per year, it's not enough to replace the condominium supply that is starting to evaporate. Based on current sales and starts, 2029 looks to be the year where we'll hit our housing supply bottom.

Cover photo by Nadine E on Unsplash

Toronto's East Bayfront has changed dramatically over the last twenty years. Remember when we used to complain that the waterfront was under-utilized?

Here's what it looked like circa 2005 (photo via Waterfront Toronto):

And here's what it looks like today:

The waterfront has, in my opinion, become one of the nicest neighbourhoods in the city. I'm bullish on this part of Toronto. But it's not done yet.

One key piece of infrastructure that was just completed is the landfilling of a part of the Parliament Slip.

If you go back to the previous aerial photo, you'll see that the water's edge now runs parallel to Queens Quay East in this section.

This was an important piece of city-building work because it will allow Queens Quay to continue eastward to Cherry Street, establishing a new city grid that can be used for transit and future development in the area.

If you'd like to see what it takes to landfill part of Lake Ontario, below is a time-lapse video, also from Waterfront Toronto.

If you can't see it embedded in the post, click here.

Cover photo from Waterfront Toronto