The Bentway: Harnessing the Void Underneath the Infrastructure

expanding design practices, Middle Density, Politics and economics, Project, PUBLIC WORK, Territory and mobility, Urban Paradigms

Active Public Spaces, Agency of Urban Organization, Architect’s role, Canada, Collaborative work, Empowering society, Limits of the infrastructure, New urban lifestyles, New urbanism, Pedestrian realm, Political & Economic Approach, Project, Public Catalyst, Public Space, Territorial Approach, The Infrastructural City, Toronto, Urban Paradigms

Photography: Andrew Williamson, Nic Lehoux and Nicola Betts

The Bentway is transforming a 1.75km space under Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway into a vibrant public place where visitors can experience a diverse mix of activities and programs. The initial phase – from Strachan Avenue to Bathurst Street – reinvigorates the area beneath the expressway into a vital artery for pedestrians and cyclists, stitching together seven neighbourhoods, expanding access to key areas such as the Fort York National Historic Site, and creating a new gathering place for Toronto’s growing population.