1.5 ConEd Learning Hours

4:00 p.m. ‐ 5:30 p.m.

In most large-development applications to municipalities, architects’ counterparts are mainly planners and urban designers with whom we interact and negotiate a path to approvals. This panel brings together some of the most senior urban design leaders at some of the largest municipalities in Ontario for presentations and a discussion on initiatives to improve design and approvals of projects. This will be followed by Q+A with the audience where fellow architects will have the chance to ask questions and express their thoughts.

Participants include:

• Emilia Floro (urban design director, City of Toronto);
  
• Shahrzad Davoudi-Strike (urban design and cultural heritage manager, City of Vaughan);
  
• Giulio Cescato (director of planning and urban design, City of Markham);
  
• Sharon Mittmann (manager of urban design, City of Mississauga); and
  
• moderator Len Abelman (principal and architect at WZMH Toronto).

Learning Objectives

1. Share ideas and insights in this opportunity for architects and municipal urban design leaders to collaborate outside of specific project meetings.
2. Discuss recent provincial government bills to expedite processes and whether they are really working or creating unintended consequences.
3. Explore whether planning departments review and comment more from a planning or architectural background, what is their level of intervention in design, and what initiatives they are undertaking to expedite approvals.
4. Learn about what can we all do better to create improvements to the process.

Len Abelman
Principal and architect
WZMH Toronto
Len Abelman has worked as an architect in multiple countries and his international experience brings lateral and creative insights to all phases of the design process. From large-scale master planning and urban design projects through to the design of individual buildings and detailing, he brings all-around skills to the project team in resolving complex requirements. As a project architect, Len has coordinated the work of office staff and consultant teams, and liaised with client groups, city officials, and public working groups in guiding projects to their fruition.

Len is inspired by the role of the architect in creating built environments for future occupants: the cities around us, offices we work in and homes we live in, and their impact as backgrounds to our daily lives. Len strives to design practical solutions balancing the needs of clients, budgets, and municipal regulations to improve the surrounding urban fabric. Len joined WZMH in 2005 and became a principal in 2014. He is licensed with the Ontario Association of Architects and currently sits on its Policy Advisory Coordination Team (PACT). Len has also written extensively about architecture and has been published in numerous magazines and web journals.

Emilia Floro, RPP
Urban Design Director
City of Toronto
Emilia Floro is an urban designer and the director of urban design at the City of Toronto. She has been involved in creating transformational urban design visions and implementation strategies, delivering on city-building projects. Influencing development through her work in both the public and private sectors with a focus on the re-urbanization of downtowns, urban centres, waterfronts, and transit corridors, she has contributed to the quality of the built environment and public spaces. She has played a leading role in promoting design competitions as a means of achieving design excellence and is a collaborator whose core values centre on diversity and inclusion. Sustainability, resilience, and tackling climate change are priorities in her life and work.

Emilia holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Toronto, is a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), and the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), and is a Registered Professional Planner.She regularly participates in academic reviews, talks, and design workshops.

Sharon Mittmann
Manager, Urban Design
City of Mississauga
Sharon Mittmann is the manager of urban design at the City of Mississauga, the sixth largest city in Canada. She has an undergraduate degree in architectural science from Toronto Metropolitan University and a master’s in city planning from the University of Manitoba. She held several positions of increasing responsibility in areas that include architectural control, policy development, heritage planning, and special-needs housing prior to joining Mississauga in 1999. In her current role, she works in the Planning and Building Department, and directs a team of urban designers, architects, landscape architects, and landscape architectural technologists. Her team develops strategic policies and implementation plans, as well as provides expert review of development applications to ensure great urban design as the City of Mississauga grows and develops at a rapid pace. Sharon is passionate about how developments interact with the public realm. She is a former board member of the Design Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC) and an active member of the CanU Urbanizing Suburbia Caucus.

Giulio Cescato, MCIP, RPP
Director of planning and urban design
City of Markham
Giulio Cescato graduated with a master’s degree in environmental studies (planning) from York University in 2007. He first worked as a planner under Robert Millward for two years before taking a job as an Assistant Planner with the City of Toronto in the North York Centre. In 2010, he was promoted to Planner and transferred to Scarborough District, Waterfront Section. The following year, he was transferred to the downtown east as a planner and then promoted to senior planner in Midtown Toronto. In 2016, Giulio was promoted to manager of community planning in the North York Centre and acted as director in 2020. In 2021, Giulio left the public sector to become associate director of planning for Arcadis IBI Group in its Toronto office. He grew the planning practice, significantly increasing revenue and productivity, while fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment.

During his career, he has worked on complex development applications, completed the Downtown East Planning Study, co-led the Downtown East Revitalization Initiative, and founded Planners in Public Spaces–an innovative public consultation strategy now routinely used in Toronto. Giulio is the past Vice Chair for the Railway Association of Canada's proximity guidelines committee, taught Policy Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University, and created the City of Toronto's digital consultation strategy for planning applications and studies.
Giulio believes in being progressive on issues of housing and fostering a policy environment that promotes equitable outcomes. Housing is economic development and the single biggest competitive advantage municipalities can give themselves. He believes it is imperative for local governments to do everything in their power to create an environment where young people, in particular, can find housing and start their careers on the right foot. Giulio is the current director of planning and urban design with the City of Markham, supports and works closely with the Mentorship Initiative for Indigenous and Planners of Colour (MIIPOC), writes about planning policy and theory, and loves being a full-time dad and occasional player of video games.

Shahrzad Davoudi-Strike
Manager of Urban Design and Cultural Heritage
City of Vaughan
Shahrzad Davoudi-Strike is the manager of urban design and cultural heritage in the City of Vaughan, overseeing a multi disciplinary team of urban designers, architects, landscape architects, heritage planners, and project managers delivering expertise in urban design and cultural heritage to both policy and development planning departments, as well as delivering a wide range of capital projects such as feasibility studies, design guidelines, listing/designating heritage resources, streetscape design, and construction within intensification areas.

Prior to joining the city, Shahrzad worked in private sector for over 15 years as an urban designer and project manager on a wide variety of project types, scales and scopes, ranging from visioning studies, to detail design development for mixed-use developments both in Canada and overseas. She is also a qualified Land Use Planner and Urban Designer at the Ontario Land Tribunal and have provided expert design and planning evidence on behalf of developers and communities.