In January 2006, Toronto City Council directed City Planning staff to incorporate the “needs of migratory birds into the Site Plan Review process with respect to… lighting, including floodlighting, glass and other bird-friendly design features.” A volunteer working group of community stakeholders was formed to draw up development guidelines. The working group exemplified true community involvement: members represented the development and building management industries, bird advocacy groups, professional architects, urban designers, and planners. FLAP, Toronto Hydro and the Oxford Properties Group were amongst its members.

The working group met throughout 2006 and 2007 and compiled a comprehensive set of design-based development and operational options presented in an attractive, professional format for distribution to the public. The Bird-Friendly Development Guidelines are a notable and original accomplishment, because the working group had no template or model to follow. The success of this effort is reflected in the positive attention the Bird-Friendly Development Guidelines has received from all over North America and Europe (including translation into German and French by the Swiss Ornithological Institute).

The development guidelines, coupled with their subsequent rating system, have placed the city at the forefront of bird-friendly building design. They describe the potential hazards posed by the urban environment, and provide an array of suggestions for mitigating them, using examples of buildings that are subject to few bird collisions. The techniques described include treatments to minimize reflections from large expanses of glass and methods of reducing light pollution at night.

For more information on the Urban Institute Awards, click here.

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