September 14–17, 2026 | Toronto
Mpact Transit + Community Conference is coming to Toronto this September, and Urban Strategies is proud to be a sponsor and to welcome delegates from across North America to our hometown.
Toronto is an especially fitting setting for this year’s conference. More than CAD$80 billion in transit investment is reshaping the region, bringing new rapid transit to established neighbourhoods, supporting the creation of entirely new communities, and changing how people move between homes, jobs, services and destinations.
Urban Strategies’ planners, urban designers and engagement practitioners have had the opportunity to contribute to many of the places and projects at the centre of this transformation. At Mpact 2026, eight Strategists will participate in 11 sessions, mobile workshops and events examining transit-oriented development, community resilience, waterfront regeneration, public-realm investment, intensification and the creation of complete communities.
From Port Credit and the Finch West LRT to Toronto’s eastern waterfront, the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and the Eglinton Crosstown, our team will be joining colleagues from the public, private and community sectors to share lessons from across the region.
Monday, September 14
MW06 — Multimodal TOCs in Toronto’s Western Suburbs
Christine Fang-Denissov joins Kate Hatoum of DiamondCorp, Leo Lin of Giannone Petricone, Stuart Anderson of BA Group and Shameeza Gafoor of Metrolinx for a mobile workshop exploring how transit-oriented communities in Toronto’s western suburbs are integrating higher-density development with walking, cycling, transit and last-mile connections.
MW07 — Preserving Community Along Finch West LRT
Emily Reisman joins representatives from the Jane Finch Centre, City of Toronto, Hullmark and Monumental Projects to examine how major transit investment can support growth while responding to displacement pressures, strengthening community relationships and preserving the social fabric of existing neighbourhoods.
Tuesday, September 15
MW16 — Getting Ahead of Transit on Queen’s Quay East
Benjamin Hoff joins Carly Bowman of the City of Toronto, Jed Kilbourne of Waterfront Toronto and Anson Kwok of Pinnacle International to explore how parks, infrastructure, affordable housing and development are transforming Toronto’s eastern waterfront in advance of new rapid transit investment.
Wednesday, September 16
MW26 — West Don Lands
Benjamin Hoff joins Renee Gomes of Waterfront Toronto, Jason Lester of Dream, Zahrah Munas of Metrolinx and David Stonehouse, formerly of the City of Toronto, to discuss how flood protection, transit, public space, housing and community infrastructure came together to transform the West Don Lands into a new complete community.
MW29 — The Well, CityPlace and the Bentway
Sirous Ghanbarzadeh joins Michael Conway of HPA, Jamilla Mahmoud of the City of Toronto and Josh Harskamp of The Bentway for a look at how major mixed-use development, transportation infrastructure and innovative public-realm projects are reshaping Toronto’s downtown west side.
MW30 — Two Kings One Corridor
Inger Squires and Neil Loewen join representatives from the TTC, BA Group, First Gulf and First Capital to explore the evolution of the King Street corridor, where transit investment, adaptive reuse, employment growth and residential intensification have contributed to significant urban transformation.
MW31 — Transit-Centered Transformation in the VMC
Tim Smith joins Christina Bruce of the City of Vaughan, Jay Claggett of QuadReal and Joël León Danis of the Toronto Society of Architects to examine the ongoing creation of the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and the role of major transit investment in establishing a new mixed-use downtown.
Who Gets the Ground Floor? The Making of Transit-Oriented Places
Craig Lametti joins Danielle Whitley of WW+P for a discussion about the critical role of the ground floor in transit-oriented development and how design, programming and the relationship between buildings and public space can help create active, engaging urban places.
Mpact PK Slam
Sirous Ghanbarzadeh will also take part in the Mpact PK Slam, bringing Urban Strategies’ perspective to a fast-paced evening of ideas, projects and lessons about innovative approaches to transportation and community building.
Thursday, September 17
MW34 — High-rise Development in Low-rise Neighbourhoods
Benjamin Hoff joins Greg Gilbert and Renata Shamsutdinova of Fitzrovia, Alexandra Khazzam of Hines and Dan Nicholson of the City of Toronto to compare approaches to high-rise, transit-oriented development in established low-rise neighbourhoods and the planning and design challenges that come with intensification.
MW35 — Toronto’s Crosstown: A Tale of Three Communities
Craig Lametti joins Edna Cuvin of the City of Toronto, Ian Griffiths of CPCS Transcom and Anyika Mark of the Little Jamaica Community Land Trust to explore three communities along the Eglinton Crosstown and the very different opportunities, pressures and community responses generated by major transit investment.
Sharing Toronto’s transit transformation
Transit investment is not only about moving people more efficiently. It is also an opportunity to create new housing, support employment, strengthen existing neighbourhoods, improve public spaces and build more connected, inclusive and resilient communities.
For Urban Strategies, Mpact offers an opportunity to share lessons from projects our team has helped shape while learning from the experience of other cities, transit agencies, developers, designers and community organizations from across North America.
We look forward to welcoming Mpact delegates to Toronto and to continuing the conversation about how major transit investment can be leveraged to create better places and stronger communities.
See you at Mpact Transit + Community, September 14–17 in Toronto.