Renee de St. Croix

On the #seabus and the children line the windows and are excited about the view!

YouTube video by The Urbanist Agenda Podcast How to Actually Improve a City (w/Brent Toderian)

NEW/LISTEN! Been REALLY looking forward to this one — my interview with Jason from #NotJustBikes IS LIVE on many podcast platforms plus YouTube! We cover a LOT of really important ground on how to ACTUALLY ACHIEVE BETTER CITIES IN REAL PRACTICE! I’m looking forward to your thoughts and comments!

Bostonians Wanted More Bike Lanes: Now They Have Them, and Traffic Is Down Mayor Michelle Wu's ran on more protected bike lanes around the city to satisfy a perceived demand for better cycling infrastructure.

More bikes in Boston:

“The Better Bike Lanes project in the metropolitan area of #Boston has led to a substantial increase in bicycle trips and a modest decrease in the number of motor vehicles on the roads at any given time.”

Young families typically leave cities for the suburbs. Here’s how to keep them downtown. Urbanist Brent Toderian explains how Vancouver held onto its families.

Way back in 2018 I did a walking tour of Vancouver with @brenttoderian.bsky.social and he explained how that city overcame this problem. You need family-sized units & also, crucially, *good urban schools*.

No, Defensive Walking Isn't The Solution For Road Deaths - Jalopnik It's victim-blaming, it's bull, and it's not the solution we need.

“In 2023, cars and their drivers killed 8,820 American pedestrians and bicyclists — 7,314 pedestrians and 1,166 cyclists. They injured another 136,281, an increase of over 5,300 injuries from 2022.”

Via @jalopnik.bsky.social

Cities made a bet on millennials — but forgot one key thing Can cities learn to love kids again?

“When families leave, cities lose far more than tax revenue; they lose their highest earners, biggest spenders, and the next generation of workers. Because Gen Z is a smaller generation… they aren’t going to fill the gap left by millennial families.”

Montreal's New Rail Line Is the Future - Macleans.ca Canada has forgotten how to build fast, cheap transit. A new megaproject has the fix.

“…the opening of the REM has vaulted Canada’s 2nd largest city from a transportation laggard to a frontrunner. It’s also provided a low-cost template of quick-to-build rapid transit that every Canadian city struggling with gridlock, long commutes and inflated transit costs can, and should, emulate.”

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

5/end

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!

4/

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!

2/

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

1/

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.