The whole world is looking skywards. Or so it seems when we take into account the numerous skyscraper projects that have come up or have been approved in the recent years all over the world. Every city wants a shot into the clouds and Toronto is now apparently into this big-time.

Boasting of the world famous CN Tower in its earlier days, Toronto now aims even further or shall we say even higher. Five proposals for skyscrapers of mind numbing height have been recently proposed by its builders. These would contest and aim to win the position for the tallest structures in the entire nation.

Such rapidly has the idea of skyscrapers rooted in the city’s development strategy that these mega structures have already been dubbed as the skyscrapers on steroids. If completed these buildings could put Toronto back on the map, but at what costs? This is the major question that crops up in the town planners minds.

This astounding proposal though initially exciting and bold, brings with itself a lot of myriad aspects into account. In this age where people want to dwell in the concrete jungle, urbanization demands more lofty residential spaces. The craze is all about being settled downtown. With the pressure rising on availability of fresh residential spaces, tall skyscrapers are the need of the hour.

Although the picture is quite rosy, there are several factors being pondered by the local authorities. Foremost problem is how far it is going to cause congestion in the already filled to quite its capacity, downtown Toronto. Again parking becomes a major nightmare when there are lots of residents living in these tall structures in close proximity to each other.

Building plans for these mega structures is further fueled by the lack of any limits prescribed by the rule makers or town planners in Toronto. As per the building codes of the estate, the sky is the limit, provided the structures are stable and safe and engineered to perfection. Another factor that limits the soaring aspirations is the cost of building and other operational costs.

Toronto being the fourth ranked city in the world in the livability field, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's August 2012 Livability Ranking Report, it has much to answer to its residents in the wake of its decision to be among the tallest cities in terms of quality of life. Therefore such propositions are being treated critically and some purists have made an appeal to the sellers in order to prevent them from buying and hence encouraging such developers. Their point of contention is that Toronto shouldn't lose its aesthetic appeal and should remain congestion free and that it shouldn't succumb to this rat race.

Toronto is ranked 9th overall in North America's USA and Canada Green City Index. Everything is being planned both by the architects and builders with an eye for the future. It remains to be seen how Toronto establishes its image after such a large scale restructuring. But it is without a doubt that this news has certainly made people sit up and take notice of Toronto.