Renee de St. Croix

Bluesky is at 40 million and the urbanism community on here seems to keep growing. Here’s my updated Starter Pack of Canadian planners, architects, advocates and urbanists. Some well known faces … and some you should get to know! Give them a follow! go.bsky.app/AEYL7FZ

A global network of urbanists shaping the cities of tomorrow. From sustainability to resilience and fairness, we’re all tackling the same challenges—and we have so much to learn from each other. As climate change and other crises intensify, sharing ideas has never been more urgent.

Canadian Cities Guru Teams Up with Paris Mayor for Groundbreaking New Exhibition Canadian urbanist Brent Toderian teamed up with Paris and, in particular, Mayor Anne Hidalgo on a new exhibition, From Paris to Belém.

Canadian Cities Guru Teams Up with Paris Mayor for Groundbreaking New Exhibition.
momentummag.com/from-paris-t...

I saw this happen over visits during the last 20 years. It’s amazing.

We could have nice things. Paris quickly cleaned up their air, reduced traffic jams while improving mobility and overall livability 💚

‘I worry about the future of my daughter’: the ‘silent majority’ who care about the climate crisis Readers who are part of the 80-89% of the population who want to see climate action tell us their ideas on how to make their voices heard

“Recent studies show that between 80% — 89% of the world’s population wants to see climate action. Members of this ‘silent majority’ come from all walks of life…’” #ClimateChange

Anne Hidalgo: Transforming Paris into a Green Metropolis for a Sustainable Future Pic: Ms Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris (Source: ChatGPT)

“One of Hidalgo’s most transformative achievements has been her push to reduce car dominance in Paris, a city historically shaped by automotive culture. Since 2014, her administration has added over 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of bike lanes, making cycling a viable and safe option for commuters.”

Important piece by Brent—please check it out!

Pic of me with the book!

It’s a challenging and exciting time to be in city-building, and an important time to have these inspiring stories shared! Thank you again Melissa and Chris for such a hugely important contribution to a badly needed conversation!

And buy this book!

@modacitylife.com #UrbanismBookClub

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Prioritize impact over power

NOW as I look back at my own journey and the women who inspired me, while also thinking about the people (and women specifically) I now mentor and encourage in city planning, I see these FIVE traits as absolutely key for opening doors to collaboration, learning, and achieving the best outcomes!

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Lead with empathy

Have a long-term vision

Value the work of care

Build alliances

My FAVOURITE take-away was their highlighting of FIVE traits that helped these women change-makers be successful:

1. Lead with empathy
2. Have a long term plan/vision
3. Emphasize an understanding of “care work” (ie. care giving and family supports)
4. Build alliances
5. Value impact over power

3/

Pic of Barcelona chapter via the Bruntletts.

This special, inspiring book tells the stories of women leaders and change-makers around the world.

Great women role-models like @annehidalgo.bsky.social, @valplante.bsky.social, @clovermoore.bsky.social, @silviacasorran.bsky.social, @lauraballesteros.bsky.social, and many more!

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Photo of book cover

This book is my current transit commute read!

I attended the pre-launch of the book "Women Changing Cities: Global Stories of Urban Transformation", by our old friends Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Vancouver.

#UrbanismBookClub

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A world without traffic? Three urban experts rethink how cities move Gridlock is costing us billions, but bold solutions like bus-only lanes, congestion charges and flexible work hours could get cities moving again

“But urban thinkers see another way: cities designed for people, not cars. It sounds utopian, maybe even naïve, but these three urbanists say it’s achievable if city builders are willing to take bold steps and rethink the status quo.”
www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article...

Picture of me with the book cover “Women Changing Cities”

Really happy to reconnect with old friends Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com back visiting Vancouver from their amazing global work championing smart urban biking. Great fun at the Dutch Consulate special event celebrating their inspiring new book “Women Changing Cities!” #UrbanismBookClub

New Study Shows How Paris Pedaled Its Way to a Cycling Revolution Cycling through central Paris meant weaving between buses and scooters—a bold choice reserved for the fearless few.

“Fast forward to today, and the transformation is astonishing. Paris has quietly—and quickly—become one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world” with pop-up bike-lanes during the pandemic evolving “into a permanent cycling network spanning hundreds of kilometres.” Via @momentummag.bsky.social

Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change. Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes.

“The change shows how ambitious policymaking can directly improve health in large cities. Air pollution is often described by health experts as a silent killer. Both PM 2.5 and nitrogen dioxide have been linked to major health problems, including heart attacks, lung cancer, bronchitis and asthma.”

All the haters who are constantly accusing us of not changing the conversation about better cities must feel pretty stupid right about now.

The bike lane infrastructure in Paris was amazing. I couldn’t get over how many cycle lanes there were. The city is incredibly bike-friendly, with countless protected paths that are fully separated from cars and traffic, making it safe and enjoyable to get around on two wheels.

“The redevelopment plan includes planting more than 225 trees and adding vegetation-covered pits, most of which will also serve as rain drainage. The city will also add more seating along the street and an illuminated canopy, which will be present year-round.”

#Montreal www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Great NEW Starter Pack on Canadian Urbanism and Planning, curated by none other than Toronto’s Chief Planner @jasonthorne.bsky.social! That doesn’t happen every day! #UrbanistShoutOut

A horizontal bar chart titled "Percentage of Global fossil fuel emissions (since 1751) occurring in my lifetime." The chart shows how much of the total historical global fossil fuel emissions have occurred within the lifetime of individuals of different ages, from 5 to 100 years old. The vertical axis on the left lists ages in increments of 5 years, from age 5 at the top to age 100 at the bottom. The horizontal axis represents the percentage of fossil fuel emissions, marked in 10% increments from 10% to 90%. The black bars represent the proportion of fossil fuel emissions that have occurred during each age group's lifetime. The bars increase in length as the age increases, meaning older individuals have lived through a larger percentage of the cumulative emissions since 1751. Three specific age groups are highlighted with red bars and white text annotations: Age 30: "if you are 30 it is more than 50%" Age 50: "if you are 50 it is about 75%" Age 85: "if you are 85 it is about 90%" The source of the data is cited at the bottom: "CDIAC and globalcarbonproject.org." The graphic is credited to "@neilrkaye."

If you think climate change has gotten worse during your lifetime, you're right and there's a good reason.

If you're Gen X like me, more than 3/4 of fossil fuel CO₂ emissions have occurred in your lifetime. Even if you're a Millennial, it's at least half.

📊: @neilrkaye.bsky.social

My street has a huge green canopy of trees now - it makes a huge difference at street level.

"Most recently global top urbanist Canadian @brenttoderian.bsky.social has been contributing to the #FromParisToBelém project, an international effort celebrating urban #ClimatePolicy & connecting it to global #ClimateGoals ahead of the #COP30 climate summit in #Brazil."
[art by #ShepardFairey]

The design of your city can help make you healthier, study finds A new study in Nature found when people moved from less walkable U.S. cities to more walkable ones, they increased their levels of physical activity and saw health benefits.

The design of your city can help make you healthier, study finds.

“A new study in Nature found when people moved from less walkable U.S. cities to more walkable ones, they increased their levels of physical activity and saw health benefits.”

Canadian Cities Guru Teams Up with Paris Mayor for Groundbreaking New Exhibition Canadian urbanist Brent Toderian teamed up with Paris and, in particular, Mayor Anne Hidalgo on a new exhibition, From Paris to Belém.

“Paris, and Mayor @annehidalgo.bsky.social, have been the most inspiring in the world over the last 10 years…Not because they’ve been perfect — no city has been — but because they’ve been strategic, determined, & fearless.” — @brenttoderian.bsky.social interviewed by @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com.

Helsinki goes a full year without a traffic death A city traffic engineer credits the success to lower speed limits and smarter design.

Helsinki goes a full year without a traffic death.

“A city traffic engineer credits the success to lower speed limits and smarter design.” #VisionZero

Seine swimming pool opening gives Paris mayor another jewel in her green crown Making the famed river swimmable is one of the final big projects Anne Hidalgo will inaugurate before she leaves office next year.

“The Seine riverbanks are no longer high-speed roads but instead pedestrian-friendly areas with parks, walkways and cultural spaces. Close to 130,000 trees have been planted on Paris’s streets since 2020 to help create new green spaces…” #Paris

Cities Vs. Climate Change: Global Exhibition In Paris Inspires Action From Paris to Belém: 10 Years of Global Climate Action—celebrates a decade of bold urban responses to climate change since the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“Every city needs to go much further and faster. The powers that city leaders have to decide urban densities, land-use mix, transportation, infrastructure, & more are game-changing for addressing the climate crisis.” — @brenttoderian.bsky.social discussing the Paris Exhibition with @carltonreid.com.

Wildfires and heatwaves grip southern Europe as evacuations ordered Deadly blaze in France and mass evacuations in Spain and Portugal as extreme temperatures fuel fire risk

“Wildfires and heatwaves grip southern Europe as evacuations ordered. Deadly blaze in France and mass evacuations in Spain and Portugal as extreme temperatures fuel fire risk.” #ClimateChange