The Shelter Design & Technical Guidelines was released in January 2021, after a collaborative process with a diverse group of stakeholders. The guidelines are a living document, with a commitment to periodic review.
Throughout the fall of 2021, the City began conducting a broad review of the Shelter Design and Technical Guidelines as part of the commitment to periodically re-examine the document. The purpose of the first year’s review of the Shelter Design and Technical Guidelines is to identify gaps and recommendations that facilities, staff, architects and equity deserving groups, and other consultants identified as needing to be refined based on their using or consulting the Shelter Design and Technical Guidelines during its inaugural year, and keeping in mind the original design principles. In Q4 of 2021, three focus groups occurred. In Q2 of 2022, four additional focus groups occurred, focused on equity deserving groups. Please see “2021” Review on the accordion below for more details. The objectives of the review are:
Shelter residents will be invited to provide input at locations that were constructed utilizing the Shelter Design & Technical Guidelines.
Each of the focus groups was related to finding opportunities to identify areas that are working well and areas that may require improvement, taking into account needs of the shelter residents, staff and changes in legislation. Stakeholders participated in the focus group session that were most relevant to their area(s) of expertise and experience. The Focus Group sessions generated discussion on the following topics:
Participants in the focus groups included representatives from:
The sessions were held virtually via WebEx Platform. In advance of the session, each stakeholder group was advised of the Key Sections of the Shelter Design Guidelines that were relevant to their group as well as the questions for discussion to allow them to be prepared for the session. Generally, these sessions followed a format where the facilitator presented a recap of the development of the Shelter Design Guidelines and then the participants were able to participate in break out rooms where they were asked questions and invited to speak in an open forum discussion.
| Session Name | Key Sections for Session |
| Facilities and Architects |
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| Shelter Staff & Operators (non-property staff) |
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| Community groups, partner agencies and health groups |
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| Accessibility Groups |
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| Indigenous community |
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| 2SLGBTQ+ groups |
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| Black community |
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The Shelter Design & Technical Guidelines was released in January 2021, after a collaborative process with a diverse group of stakeholders, including equity-deserving groups who are over-represented in the shelter system. The guidelines are a living document that provides for best practices in the design of shelters in Toronto. It is intended to enhance positive outcomes and experiences for the shelter users, staff and the community in new and renovated shelters through designs that promote dignity, comfort and choice for the clients.
The recommendations include criteria spanning a broad range of areas, from design approaches and principles, through to functional components of the building, environmental design and materials and finishes.
The Shelter Design & Technical Guidelines are of greatest value in the development of new shelters, but may also influence design decisions in the renovation of existing shelters.
Download the Shelter Design & Technical Guidelines .
We would like to thank the many people, agencies and stakeholders who shared their time and expertise in contributing to the Shelter Design & Technical Guidelines. We wish to thank them all for their shared insights.