TODERIAN UrbanWORKS Inc. (TUW)

Great to be included among many other informative and transformative groups and people in the urban design sphere!

🤔 Are Cybertrucks as ridiculous and as unsafe (for pedestrians) as they look? Is an electric Hummer really better for the environment?

🏙️ City planner @brenttoderian.bsky.social joins us on The AmberMac Show podcast with some answers.

Get full conversation here; it's a good one: bio.site/ambermac

Paris before and after street transformation

New urban forest planted in front of Paris City Hall

A Paris “School Street” where cars are removed and people space/tree planting are added

According to the City of Paris, in the last 10 years 150K trees have been planted & 45ha of parks created in the already hot city, all intended to not only improve quality-of-life today, but also help the city adapt to & manage summer heatwaves of 50℃ (122F) by 2050.

Just the start.

Common sense.

Much recommended ‘lecture’ on urban mobility and its companion, land use planning.

Love how Brent several times stress the need to call out status quo bias, eg by highlighting that people calling for ‘balance’ in really just want status quo. Which is not fair, but just what we have gotten used to.

Poster adversities exhibit at Paris City Hall

Paris City Hall and entrance to exhibit.

Poster advertising Paris to Belém Exposition

Saw it yesterday and was so moved to see the action many cities around the world are taking. Disappointed that my city of Ottawa as a G-7 capital city is doing crickets!

OCTOBER 9th in Kingston Jamaica! If you’re nearby, register to come hear me speak on better cities, better waterfronts and the future of Kingston city-building. I’ll be meeting and working with local leaders that trip too, helping as much as I can. Spread the word. www.eventbrite.com/e/the-hon-ma...

An outstanding worldwide urbanists - outside North America - pack, curated by the always brilliant Canadian 🇨🇦 @brenttoderian.bsky.social
<< Follow all >>

Pledged to plant a million trees, but that’s not in the budget either.

As aspirational as the goal is, if it’s not in the budget it’s not there. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

@brenttoderian.bsky.social @toderianuw.bsky.social for the image

This one’s going to be INTERESTING!

A FESTIVAL of city-making in Italy and Europe! #UtopianHours

“In the late 1980s, officials set out to add a lot of density to downtown Vancouver’s west end. The city mandated that developers provide family-sized apartments. A quarter had to have two bedrooms. Eventually, a further 10% had to be three bedrooms.” @brenttoderian.bsky.social & others interviewed.

“In the late 1980s, officials set out to add a lot of density to downtown Vancouver’s west end. The city mandated that developers provide family-sized apartments. A quarter had to have two bedrooms. Eventually, a further 10% had to be three bedrooms.” @brenttoderian.bsky.social & others interviewed.

Support public media. Now more than ever.

Communication skill is a rarity in the planning profession, rife with planning lingo and acronyms. Brent is a master at communicating complex ideas.

This is how we design sustainable cities - by prioritizing parks, pedestrians, and pedals. Both human and planet health improve when local leaders step up like this! 💪🌎 #cities #climatepolicy #sustainability #adaptation #RunOnClimate

Self-Generation Incentive Program The Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) helps qualified LADWP residential customers install solar and battery storage systems by providing financial incentives. This program supports clean energy...

This is amazing: @ladwp.com, the Los Angeles utility, has launched a program that will install solar+battery systems on qualifying low-to-moderate-income households, *for free*.

Yes: free.

If you know someone eligible, tell them to apply!

Even better, here’s a starter pack of Australian and New Zealand urbanists

go.bsky.app/NrzWxjT

Here’s a list to follow!
Already 50% of world’s people live in cities, soon it will be 70%
So their design, environmental performance, energy use, social equity & resilience matter - to us all.
& risks of climate change, societal dislocation & conflict will be most felt in our cities.
It matters!

I love cities that punch above their weight! You don’t need to be a big, famous city to make bold plans representing a turning point for you & a model for others. After our game-changing Langford Plan (see below), I’m helping them with their transportation, economic development & arts/culture plans.

Urbanists OUTSIDE North America Worth Following! Join the conversation

NEW STARTER PACK! This time I’m hoping to encourage and support global urbanists from OUTSIDE North America here on Bluesky, so hopefully this will help! Who’ve I missed? Just joined? Let me know! I’ll keep updating, so please keep checking & sharing this pack! And let’s try using #GlobalUrbanists.

YouTube video by Amber Mac Cybertrucks, Bikes, & Our Cities: [The AmberMac Show Ep032]

WATCH: “They’re deliberately misinforming, and I get tired of being asked to rebut the lies as if it’s a good faith argument, or a debate between opinion vs opinion, when it’s really a debate between evidence and deliberate misinformation.”

I get real blunt with @ambermac.bsky.social! Watch & share

For those in the back…

HOUSING FIRST WORKS

YouTube video by Interstellar1977 Adam Conover - Driving cars is insane

You know, when you really think about it, does all that driving and car dependency really make sense? @adamconover.net weighed in.

🚴‍♀️ Why is there so much hate for (and lies about) bike lanes in Toronto? I speak with @brenttoderian.bsky.social about how to design better cities. Here is a sneak peek from our chat.

🎙️ Listen to our full conversation on this week's The AmberMac Show podcast, just released today:
bio.site/ambermac

The District is not going to make serious progress on environmental justice or health justice without directly confronting air pollution from cars. And relying on EV transitions alone is not going to do the trick.

I wish every country had a leader like Jacinda Ardern.

Including New Zealand.

Maybe ESPECIALLY New Zealand.

The world would be a better place.

Watch the interview if you haven’t.

#Leadership @jacindaardern.bsky.social

"If we're not better, more proactive about addressing these lies, mythologies & conspiracy theories we're gonna lose & keep losing. The consequence of that is we continue to not take action that we need. It's going to take a lot more unapologetic, blunt communication. I call it #ConstructiveCandor."

This is the way.

Also re being an urbanist without making it into a divisive conversation.

Understanding this incredibly important point has been one of the most important differences for me between good & bad politicians in my observation over 33 years working in various capacities with politicians. I legitimately cheered when @jacindaardern.bsky.social said it. And Stewart’s reaction!

Trump's war on wind power has one very big exception The president's sons are using scarce clean energy to mine for bitcoins.

President Trump is using his time before the United Nations to once again rail against "the green energy scam" and...windmills.

A good time to read how Trump's war on wind power has one very big exception, by @russchoma.bsky.social.

Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.

“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”

It costs a lot less to house people.