What can cities learn from Toronto?

We tend to take for granted how well we do things here in Toronto.
My recent travel reminded me of some of the key things that we figured out and are doing a great job at.
Here are 6 things I wish other cities would learn from Toronto.

[@santaclosed5062]

Toronto is a city with plenty of good welcoming people. That’s genuinely true. But Toronto as a city, it’s slightly better than average US cities. And if we are focusing only on growth, it shows quite remarkable dynamic. But that’s just it. Toronto now is just a typical example of Americanized gentrified city with losing cultural and historical singularities to the ever growing real estate speculation. It’s because we are only focusing on the growth and blindfolding our-selves about all the losing qualities. Yes, Toronto has a good urban planning policies such as mid rise planning guideline which reminds me of good European urban planning guidelines. But that has completely lost it’s dynamic due to frenetic and quasi-chaotic real estate development which starts kicking people out of the city and killing urban diversity. Toronto has some beautiful green patches here and there like Trinity bell woods, Riverdale. And areas like Don valley,High park are effectively amazing. But the city’s urban blocks are rather very grey in Toronto with raised proportion of heat islands everywhere. One time, the city which Jane Jacobs was so fond of, now it’s been becoming exactly like the cities which Jane Jacobs has criticized of. Due to uncontrolled or rather politicized real-estate speculations and development, Toronto has lost many good and unique values and it becomes more like a typical American big city with also typical problems inherent in those American big cities. Personally, I think Toronto still has chance to become a happy city with a very unique cultural trait and kind people. But if the city continues as it’s been lately and if city keeps its long, wishful and unhealthy obsession on wanna-be-NewYork, that chance will simply be slimmed out.

[@winstonsolipsist1741]

Listening to communities and making sure different voices are heard and, apparently, ignored if you and your neighbors don't like what the city wants to do because you and your neighbors are too ignorant to understand how cities should be built.