Council for Canadian Urbanism

“cities powering delivery of the Paris Agreement”

I’m going to be sharing an interesting and important collaboration with @mayors4climate.bsky.social shortly. Stay tuned, and please consider giving them a follow, as they’re doing important work. #ClimateAction

I love Toronto but the fact that permitting convenience stores in residential neighbourhoods is an actual debate reminds me of how incredibly conservative the city is. Like, are people okay?

New shops and cafés can open in Toronto neighbourhoods decades after being outlawed | CBC News New small shops and cafés will once again be allowed to open inside some of Toronto’s neighbourhoods, reversing decades of strict planning policy that kept businesses out of residential areas.

“New small shops and cafés will once again be allowed to open inside some of Toronto’s neighbourhoods, reversing decades of strict planning policy that kept businesses out of residential areas.” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

I would bet a LOT of us adults have very fond memories of our neighbourhood corner stores. (Mine was near my grandparents. They'd send me for milk, with plenty left over for some candy, a Mad magazine, and a few of those little Styrofoam airplanes.) Corner stores are wonderful things.

Corner store on Vernon Street

Neighborhood corner stores are good and should be legal.

Toronto unveils blueprint to prepare its buildings for net-zero future The guides translate sustainability targets into actionable, accessible pathways for every building type, including best practices for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy efficiency...

The guides translate sustainability targets into actionable, accessible pathways for every building type, including best practices for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy efficiency.

In the 11 “Village” centres in Vancouver these types of buildings should be able to be built with just a development permit.

Hopefully they’ll allow ground floor commercial, retail & live/work

(Graphic from @cityofvancouver.bsky.social presentation boards)

Looking more at Vancouver's "Pre zoned" R3 apartment areas, with single stair flats on a 66x100 lot.

2.2FSR plus zero emissions density bonus, to 2.6FSR.
6 Storey. 2 accessible parking spaces at grade. Basement bike parkade with elevator access.

Getting to see some of this amazing downtown Vancouver bike infrastructure for myself. It's wonderful!

THINGS ARE PRETTY GOOD HERE 🇨🇦
PeaceLoveCanada.ca

Doug Gordon in baseball cap, blue scarf and brown jacket, Sarah Goodyear and colorful scarf and black jacket, Brent Toders in black jacket and ball cap

Waterfront picture of Vancouver with skyline and mountain

Building courtyard with fountain in Fort ground and two apartment tower

Thanks @brenttoderian.bsky.social for the awesome tour of Vancouver. So great to learn more about the housing and livability of this beautiful city.

A street with a bike lane and over pass with a Costco tucked in

And the thing that breaks many a brains - a Costco underneath a building right in the neighbourhood (terrible picture but you can look it up)

Behold the HORROR of neighbourhood retail. These STRANGERS are lined up for pizza. STEALING business from our main streets. And who knows what DANGER they present to YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?!?!?

Oh no! Not pedestrian Sunday!

Sidewalks should be spacious enough for greetings to become gatherings.

A billboard is a child biking in a painted bike line. Text says there will never be a bell loud enough to helmet, strong enough for clothing, bright enough to make up for support infrastructure.

It’s real! Pretty moving to actually see this in person. 🥲

People riding bikes in a downtown Vancouver separated bike-lane

It’s really important that #Vancouver’s Downtown Business Association, who were originally against bike-lanes, are now among their most vigourous supporters, because of ACTUAL EVIDENCE that they’re better for downtown business than any street parking they replaced.

Safe bike-lanes mean business.

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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I’m in the stage of grief where one criticizes the winning team’s generally bad city planning. #WorldSeries

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.

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

It's Halloween. Everyone post your scariest neighbourhood photos. A coffee shop across from a house. 😱

Important piece by Brent—please check it out!

a man is driving a yellow vehicle that says taylor built ALT: a man is driving a yellow vehicle that says taylor built

By car, we have given up all facets of freedom.

- We frame dependence on cars as *freedom*
- We spend a lot of money monthly on this very individual form of mobility – without questioning it.
- Since ‘everyone’ now drives a car, all the former advantages of driving have been lost for years.

Agree?

Photos of male and female caregivers riding bicycles with small children along dedicated cycling infrastructure in a variety of cities in the Netherlands.

Photos of male and female caregivers riding bicycles with small children along dedicated cycling infrastructure in a variety of cities in the Netherlands.

Photos of male and female caregivers riding bicycles with small children along dedicated cycling infrastructure in a variety of cities in the Netherlands.

Photos of male and female caregivers riding bicycles with small children along dedicated cycling infrastructure in a variety of cities in the Netherlands.

“We need to start considering the role of care in our daily lives—all the unpaid tasks that are the essential foundation of society, and our economy couldn’t function without them. But cities are so focused on the commute to work they forget about the mobility of care.”

biketalk.org/2025/10/2542...

The scariest part of Halloween is drivers — yet police departments blame bikes and kids For pedestrians, the message is common-sense — wear bright and reflective clothing, don’t dart into traffic, watch where you’re going — but in its tunnel vision, the overall impression veers into vict...

My column today, on how police departments' car-first attitude makes them say the darnedest things. Like "leave your e-bike at home."

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces - Film Screening Join us for a screening of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. “Holly” Whyte, followed by a panel discussion.

I’ll be part of a panel discussion following the screening of William Whyte’s classic “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces” hosted by the School of Cities at the University of Toronto. November 4 at the Faculty Club. Details at www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-social...

Elm Street in Winnipeg is crawling with little people. A few projection screens set up along the block showing the ball game.

Why do bike lanes spark such fierce debate, even when the data shows they make cities safer, fairer, and more vibrant? On Episode 3 of Good for Cities, host Matti Siemiatycki, Director of the Infrastructure Institute, sits down with Dr. Shoshanna Saxe, infrastructure expert and researcher, to unpack the politics, perception, and data behind cycling infrastructure. They dig into the evidence that demonstrates how bike lanes benefit cities, like a 44% reduction in car-bike conflicts on Bloor Street and up to a 49% increase in retail sales along some urban corridors, and explore why these clear public benefits still face political resistance and public skepticism. Tune in to hear Shoshanna share her research on the gap between data and perception, and offer practical insights for cities aiming to build data-driven, publicly supported bike networks that make streets safer, fairer, and more vibrant. 🎧 Listen to the full episode and subscribe on Spotify, Apple, Podbean, or directly on our website: https://lnkd.in/gS2QX9jN hashtag#UrbanPlanning hashtag#CityBuilding hashtag#CyclingInfrastructure hashtag#BikeLanes hashtag#GoodForCitiesPodcast

Are Bike Lanes Good for Cities? via @iiutoronto.bsky.social

h/t @shoshannasaxe.bsky.social @uoftcities.bsky.social #BikeTO

🎃 Some lessons from Hallowe’en: 👻

Little kids should be able to walk in the streets, even at night, without worrying about cars.

People who are well-off are expected to give out more candy.

Candy is for anyone who asks — no means-testing.

Whatever else we are, we are each other’s neighbors.