In Polemical Landscapes (URD2013), a thesis-prep research studio taught by Angus Laurie and Mariana Leguia, students investigated Toronto's Greenbelt, a vast strip of environmentally protected land on the outskirts of the Greater Toronto Area. The studio's research took inspiration from a question posed by Michael Hough in his book Cities and Natural Process: “Can development enhance rather than detract from the quality of the landscape?”

Ruotian's project is a critique of high-rise development in the Greater Toronto Area. His goal was to carefully examine the state of high-rise planning and construction, with an eye towards proposing more sustainable alternatives.

His precedent study turned up a host of problems with the existing way of doing things. "My precedents showed municipal issues like lack of open space and urban street life, social and land-use segregation, and less eco-friendly architecture design," he says.

In order to locate some potential sites for sustainable redevelopment, Ruotian embarked on a data-driven mapping exercise. He compiled information on rail transit connectivity, policy support for high-rise development, availability of development land, and population growth. He then created a series of maps that display all that information geographically.

This one shows all four factors layered atop one another. The darkest regions are the areas where Ruotian's four criteria are most strongly represented:

Based on this information, Ruotian decided to focus his efforts on the Queensway-Humber Bay area, located near the city's western lakeshore. Ruotian built a physical display — which he calls "the box" — that shows the site's built form, density, and land use characteristics in layers.

The box.

For his thesis project, he'll use this research to develop a detailed design proposal for the neighbourhood.