Montreal’s Gorilla Park Repurposes Defunct Railway Track

The park is part of a global movement to build public spaces that connect neighbors and work with local elements to serve as key parts of a city’s green infrastructure.

1 minute read

February 24, 2025, 6:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Skating rink under freeway in Bentway park in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto's The Bentway offers ice skating in the winter and walking and biking trails year round. | Peter Mintz / Adobe Stock

A new park in Montreal sits atop a disused railway track and features ‘mini-forests’ planted to encourage the quick growth of native plants, reports Kelsey Rolfe in The Globe and Mail.

“The park’s design hearkens back to its previous life: after the tracks were abandoned in the 1990s, trees and vegetation grew wild on the site. It became an unofficial but beloved local park and community space for the part-industrial neighbourhood until a developer cut down the trees without permission in 2013.” Now, thanks to a decade of community advocacy, the city spent $10 million to acquire and redevelop the site.

Gorilla Park, as it’s known, hosts over 1,500 trees and shrubs and seeks to mimic the spontaneous forest that grew on the site previously. According to Rolfe, “It’s just one example of the transformation under way across Canada to make public spaces more sustainable and community focused.” In Toronto, a 1.75-kilometer linear park dubbed The Bentway nestled under the Gardiner Expressway doubles as a recreational space and stormwater infrastructure. “ It now draws hundreds of thousands of Torontonians every year for skating in the winter, free public events and art installations in the other seasons and cycling and walking on its trail network year-round.”

Tuesday, February 18, 2025 in The Globe and Mail

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Entrance to subterranean Hollywood/Vine Metro station in Los Angeles, California surrounded by tall apartment buildings.

Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access

A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.

1 hour ago - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Yellow roadside sign with extreme heat warning: "Danger - Extreme Conditions! - STOP - Do not hike Jun-Sep - HEAT KILLS"

Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills

Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.

2 hours ago - Nevada Current

View of downtown Pittsburgh, PA with river and bridge in foreground at dusk.

Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units

Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.

2 hours ago - Axios