We are looking ahead to the future of the University of Toronto St. George (UTSG) Campus! We will be reflecting on where we’ve been, where we are, and using that information to guide us where we’d like to go.
We’ve come a long way. With a nearly 200-year history of growth and evolution, the University of Toronto St. George Campus maintains:
- 55.8hectares of land
- 182buildings
- 1,500,000m2of building floor space
We take pride in our important role as a place where people study, gather, learn, and connect in the heart of downtown Toronto.
The new UTSG Campus Plan will set the foundation and guide our campus growth and key improvements towards 2040 and beyond.
A New Vision for the UofT St. George Campus Plan
The 2040 St. George Campus Plan leverages design excellence of its campus through the built form and the public realm as a catalyst for positive change to empower students, foster community, champion urban stewardship, and lead in sustainability.
The UTSG Campus Plan will be a three-part document:
Part 1, The Campus will provide an overview of the St. George Campus, identifying opportunities and challenges, as well as establishing Guiding Priorities & Driving Values to inform the development of the Built Form and the Public Realm Plans.
Part 2, The Built Form will provide an overview of past and current projects, built form guidance, and highlight identified sites for future opportunities and flexible campus development.
Part 3, The Public Realm will provide a forward-looking vision for the public realm, along with design visioning and guidelines, and preliminary conceptual demonstrations. This includes a catalogue of future opportunity sites and pilot projects.
The renewed UTSG Campus Plan 2040 will replace the 2011 St. George Campus Master Plan and further support the urban design direction identified in the 2023 University of Toronto St. George Secondary Plan.
Guiding Priorities and Driving Values
What are the important issues that will shape our campus tomorrow? With the Steering Committee, consisting of students, faculty members, and University staff, the following Guiding Priorities and Driving Values, which will guide the UTSG 2040 Campus plan, were developed.
Guiding Priorities
- Transforming Our Society
- Modelling our Urban Future
- Leading in Research & Education
Driving Values
Environmental Sustainability & Resilience
Upholding our commitment to a Climate Positive future
Health and Wellbeing
Supporting & empowering our community by ensuring Social Sustainability
Indigeneity
Mobilizing our commitment to Truth & Reconciliation
Built Heritage
Leveraging our existing built heritage resources
Urban Campus
Enacting our role as City builder through the creation of high-quality academic, housing and innovation spaces
Mobility & Connection
Navigating and traversing the campus with comfort and ease
Inclusion & Belonging
Embracing our differences and affirming equity
Campus Life
Cultivating community and the University experience
Engaging UTSG
As we develop the new Campus Plan, it is essential that we involve the very people who experience, work, study, and live on and around the campus – which means you!
We are in the early stages of our engagement process and will have lots of exciting opportunities to share in the coming months.
Engagement Process
Phase 1
UTSG Campus Public Space Public Life (PSPL) Study
Led by Gehl Studio, the PSPL study will assess the quality of spaces within the St. George Campus public realm and the identified needs of the university community through a people-first approach. The first observational studies took place in February 2025 (Winter conditions) and April 2025 (Spring Exams conditions). To date over 70 student volunteers have participated. Future Public Life surveys are planned for Convocation, Orientation, and Fall 2025. Sign up if you are interested in participating in the next UTSG Public Life study.
Visioning Workshops
In March 2025, a series of Visioning Workshops were held with faculty, staff, students, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, and Indigenous Elders. The workshops introduced participants to the St. George Campus Plan, and participants shared their unique campus experiences and provided input on the Plan’s Driving Values.
Outreach & Discussions with Indigenous Rightsholders
The University of Toronto is committed to meaningful and respectful engagement and relationship building with Indigenous Rightsholders. Led by Indigenous Community Engagement, outreach to and discussions with Indigenous Rightsholders are taking place throughout the project.
Project Website
The UTSG Campus Plan 2040 website has launched! The website will update throughout the project to provide further information and future engagement opportunities.
Online Survey – Your Campus Experience
Fill out this short survey to help us understand your experiences with the St. George Campus and shape the guiding principles of the Plan. Your input will ultimately help us ensure the Plan reflects the needs and aspirations of the community.
Phase 2
Pop-Ups
Find our Engagement Team on campus! Throughout Spring 2025, we’ll be on U of T’s St. George campus to talk to you about the UTSG 2040 Campus Plan. We recently popped up at the Science Rendezvous Saturday, May 10th, and will be at the upcoming Alumni Reunion on Saturday, May 31st and Spring Convocation. Come find our booth and learn more!
Upcoming Engagement Opportunities
Stay tuned! We look forward to sharing future engagement opportunities throughout the course of 2025 and 2026. In the meantime, we invite you to check back here regularly for project updates.
Future Public Life Studies
Future Public Life surveys are planned for Convocation, Orientation, and Fall 2025. If you are interested in participating in the next UTSG Public Life study, please email: utsg.pspl@utoronto.ca
Phase 3
About the Team
The Campus Plan project is being led by the University Planning department within the University of Toronto.
The project is overseen by a Steering Committee that consists of students, faculty members, and University staff.
The University has retained various experts to help support and inform the Campus Plan work. This project team includes experts in community and Indigenous engagement, as well as urban and public realm design.
Engagement Team
Public Space & Public Life Study Team
Public Realm Plan Team
Stay tuned for the announcement of our Public Realm Plan design team.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Campus Plans are documents that help institutions like the University of Toronto set out priorities and a framework to guide future growth and change. They provide an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been, and where we’d like to go.
- The UTSG CP will create a new framework for future development growth and improvements of its urban downtown campus, for the next 10-15 years, replacing the outdated 2011 Campus Plan and further support the urban design direction identified in the 2023 UTSG Secondary Plan.
- Beginning in 2015, the University of Toronto began the process to submit an Official Plan Amendment to the City to replace the 1997 St. George Campus Secondary Plan. This update shifted the approach of looking at specific sites within the St. George Campus Secondary Plan Area in isolation with great specificity and detail, to an approach that looks at balanced intensification of the area wholistically.
- The new University of Toronto St. George Secondary Plan came into effect in the summer of 2023, replacing its 1997 predecessor. This process included significant University-led consultation within the University, broader community, and the city, followed by City-led consultation once the application was submitted.
- A lot has changed since the 2011 Campus Plan. Institutional needs continually evolve, and lessons have been learned from past and current projects, such as:
- The Landmark Project, where the historic campus core has been reclaimed for the UofT community and pedestrians to enjoy. As part of the Landmark Project, the Ziibiing Indigenous Landscape at Hart House Green embodies a paradigm shift that addresses reconciliation, equity, diversity, and inclusion through space creation and placemaking on campus.
- The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, which integrates itself with the campus edges and well considers the University’s larger role in city-building and innovation.
- These projects exemplify a new way of thinking to guide decisions and investment in built form, public realm, and infrastructure initiatives. The new CP will build on these lessons, and look to transform the campus environment and advance the University’s strategic priorities and its changing needs in a sustainable and resilient manner.
- The “Built Form” refers to buildings on campus and their relationships with other buildings, streets, and open spaces. The built form has many considerations for buildings, including height and scale, heritage, building material, placement of buildings throughout campus.
- The “Public Realm” refers to outdoor spaces on campus which include open spaces, sidewalks, and pathways. The public realm has many considerations, including landscaping (ex. trees, shrubs, plants, flowers), streetlights and street furniture, public art, formal and informal walking paths, and outdoor spaces for play, leisure, gathering, and learning.
- We’re just getting started! We are in the early stages of the engagement process and are excited to share upcoming Indigenous and community engagement opportunities. Throughout the CP process, we will be reaching out to various interest groups and organizing exciting activities to hear from you. Our engagement approach will create opportunities for a wide range of voices and perspectives to participate to ensure the Campus Plan serves the UTSG community for years to come.
- The Campus Plan will take approximately 18 months to complete and will be concluded in May 2026.