City planner + urbanist at TODERIAN UrbanWORKS. Global advisor on cities. Past chief city planner for Vancouver Canada. Past/founding President of the Council for Canadian Urbanism. Writer for Fast Company, Huffington Post and many other publications. Speaker, thought-leader, city-maker.
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Last Notes npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian BIG NEWS! I’ll be the opening keynote at this year’s Ontario Professional Planners Institute @OntarioPlanners Conference September 25th. “10 Big Elephants In The Room” regarding better city planning at a CRITICAL moment. Expect maximum bluntness! #Hamilton npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “One mile on a bike is a $.42 economic gain to society, one mile driving is a $.20 loss.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian NEW: Ford’s CEO tells the truth, that the automaker needs a “radical change.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Denver gave people experiencing homelessness $1k/month. A year later, nearly half had housing. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Just a reminder that while some cities are still debating whether to transforming a few blocks of 1 or 2 streets into places for people, this year Montreal is transforming 11 such streets across 7 neighbourhoods, equalling 9+kms, from car spaces to people places. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Never forget that when Seoul, Korea removed the Cheonggyecheon expressway in 2003 and replaced it with a restored stream, 1000 acre park and improved transit, not only did it transform the city’s public life & economic success, but the traffic got better. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “They cut speed limits, changed street design, removed space for cars…Now it appears that work is paying off. #Oslo and #Helsinki are reaping the rewards of committed action on making their roads safer, reducing pedestrian fatalities to zero last year.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “Scooters, sidewalk chalk and laughter have replaced idling cars outside a central Hamilton elementary school. It’s called a ‘school street,’ and it’s the city’s first.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Having our Vancouver #Canucks arena in our downtown filled with high density housing & public transit means playoff hockey is a local amenity. Most can’t afford playoff tickets but anyone can join the party for hours outside. Our boys are loving the #StanleyCupPlayoffs next door! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Never forget, a 13-year study found that protected bike-lanes led to a drastic decline in fatalities for all road users. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “We found there’s this perfect one-to-one relationship. If a city increased its road capacity by 10%, then the amount of driving in that city went up by 10%.” Still one of the best articles on why building bigger roads leads to more driving. Via @WIRED https://t.co/mZbJ0vNhsH npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian READ: It’s a pretty big deal when this KEY MESSAGE is in Scientific American. It suggests a bigger tipping point. “We Need to Make Cities Less Car-Dependent: Reducing the need for car travel is better for health, the environment and public safety.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian This part of the Strand in London used to be a congested road for cars. Now it’s a magnetic place for people. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian This is really important. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian I’m still active on Twitter/X because of the audience I’ve built there, & despite the many ways Elon has made the platform so much worse. Now, ironically right after giving me the blue check back (I didn’t pay for it), they seem to be making my account invisible in a number of ways. For instance, my account doesn’t come up in searches, but fake accounts do. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian NEW: Vancouver City Council has passed a motion directing staff to report back with analysis of the benefits and potential funding sources for a citywide speed limit reduction to 30km/h from 50 on local level streets. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “Bankrupting municipal budgets, creating epidemics of preventable diseases, and helping to cause climate change — that’s how you start a conversation about why the suburbs need to change, and why more of our growth should go to infill and transit-oriented development. The argument is not ideological, it’s mathematical.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Never forget, when you’re being asked to prove that safe bike-lanes or pedestrian crossings across unsafe conditions are ‘needed,’ it's hard to justify a bridge by the number of people swimming across a raging river. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “Over the course of a month, a cyclist or pedestrian will spend 40% more than a motorist. Improvements to the public realm that facilitate pedestrian or cyclist access can increase retail sales by as much as 30%.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “Local stores next to the protected bike lane have seen a 49% increase in sales, compared to an average of 3% for Manhattan as a whole.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian The bank of the Seine in Paris. This used to be surrendered space for cars. For several years now it’s been a special place for people. All it took was leadership. Including fighting and winning a court battle when that leadership was challenged. HT @EmmanuelSPV for the great pic. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian What if this kind of change was business-as-usual for cities? It would save lives & reduce crashes for everyone, improve public health & livability, decrease pollution & climate change emissions through increased walkability, & much more. HT @pinoyurbanist for image. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian STUDY: “The findings suggest that E-Bikes not only serve as a crucial alternative to cars but also complement limited transit services.” Via @sciencedirect #EBikes npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “Better” cars just isn’t enough. As I put it recently in my advice to Irish cities, “Your goal SHOULDN’T be to replace a million fossil fuel vehicles with a million electric vehicles. It should be to replace a million fossil fuel vehicles with 250K electric vehicles. The answer HAS to be FEWER cars." npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian BREAKING: Vancouver is announcing the appointment of the new Chief City Planner/GM after many months — It’s Josh White, current Director of Planning for Calgary, Canada. Josh and I go way back, and I think he’s a smart choice. An action-oriented, out-of-the-box thinker. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian LISTEN: Paris’ BOLD bike-centric new climate action plan, profiled by Australian national radio hosted by the exceptional @npub1ln8…kn8p in this NEW interview with me. Deep dive into the Paris bike transformation, new public places, 15-Minute Cities and hosting the Olympic Games! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian QUESTION: If you could sent your city’s mayor, council and senior staff on a study trip to any TWO cities in the world to be inspired and educated on better city-building, which two cities would you choose and why? At least one of your two cities has to be a “less obvious” choice! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian QUESTION: If you could sent your city’s mayor, council and senior staff on a study trip to any TWO cities in the world to be inspired and educated on better city-building, which two cities would you choose and why? At least one of your two cities has to be “less obvious” choice! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian NEW: “We’re going thru growing pains.” That’s an understatement. At 50, Mississauga wrestles with whether it should be a city or a suburb. Important profile of a city at a critical turning point, with @TorontoStar interviewing myself & others. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian READ: “Policies to help people walk & cycle such as low-traffic neighbourhoods can create public health benefits as much as 100 times greater than the cost of the schemes, a long-term study has concluded.” AND the benefits continue to grow even higher over time. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian NEW: Here’s one of the more unusual ways to start a conversation about better suburbs — “Love Is Blind” fans criticizing the “cookie cutter” suburban housing profiled in the show. @BusinessInsider interviewed me and others to write this interesting article. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian You don’t have to be a “cyclist” to support safe bike infrastructure in your city. You don’t have to ride bikes at all. You just have to understand the FACT that bike infrastructure makes getting around safer for EVERYONE, saves everyone public money, and makes cities generally more successful. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “A single unmuffled scooter crossing Paris at night can wake as many as 10,000 people.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian NEW: Quebec City has released plans to build a massive new 150km all-season cycling network over the next 10 years. The 14 new active mobility routes are referred to as “Vélocité corridors.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “Believe it or not, electric bikes offer more exercise than pedal bikes on average. That fact might sound strange, but the science is clear.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian NEW: This year, Dublin will become the latest European capital to bar thru-traffic from its city centre. Private cars & commercial trucks will be allowed access only if their final destination is downtown. The goal is a 60% traffic reduction in the centre. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian It still amazes me that we’ve basically let ourselves be manipulated into buying, and even defending, that THIS is what “freedom” looks like. #cardependency npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian "I've never seen anything even remotely close to 50%, not to mention 76%. I'm amazed…I've never, ever, ever, ever seen anything even remotely close." npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian THIS IS INTERESTING: 12 Ways to Reduce Cars In Cities that have ALREADY WORKED, ranked by effectiveness, identified from nearly 800 research papers. Via @KA_Nicholas in @ConversationEDU. What do u think, Tweeps? Depends A LOT on the specific case studies… npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian IMPORTANT: The Canadian Federal Government will no longer be funding “large new road projects” according to Canada’s environment minister. Rather, funding will favour public transit and active transport (walking and biking) infrastructure. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian THE REAL SOLUTION ISN’T “BETTER” CARS, IT’S FEWER CARS! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “It’s no secret that Canada is facing a major housing shortage. But could the sheer amount of space used for parking vehicles be part of the problem?” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian ‘No one wants to be right about this’: #ClimateChange scientists’ horror & exasperation as predictions play out. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian BREAKING: Paris voters just won referendum 55% to TRIPLE parking charges for SUVs! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian A global study reveals that Dutch residents are the most physically active on earth, getting 12.8 hours of exercise each week. The key—designing activity into daily life. The average #Dutch person cycles about 1,098 kilometers per year. HT @Cycling_Embassy npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Never forget that when Seoul, Korea removed the Cheonggyecheon expressway in 2003 and replaced it with a restored stream, 1000 acre park and better public transit, not only did it transform the city’s public life & economic success, but the traffic got better. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian STUDY: Cars are rewiring our brains to ignore all the bad stuff about driving. “A new study reveals how unconscious bias leads us to neglect negative externalities of driving. You may call it ‘car brain,’ but this research team calls it motonormativity.” https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/31/23579510/car-brain-motornormativity-study-ian-walker npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian It’s estimated that one Skytrain transit line in #MetroVancouver replaces between 20 & 26 lanes of freeway vehicle traffic. And then consider the amount of PARKING it replaces, how much pollution & GHG emissions it replaces, how much public cost it replaces. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “Now #OpenStreets have entered their real-estate amenity era, where they are placed on par with parks & subway stops.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian LAST NIGHT Victoria BC City Council voted 7-2 to approve the Roundhouse At Bayview Place. Almost 2000 new homes, including rental and 215 below-market homes. 40% of land area as neighbourhood-defining public places (not just the left-over spaces!), including a central gathering space framed by the historic roundhouse buildings given new life as local retail. All right next to downtown. 3 long nights of public hearing. Thank you to City Council. I was proud to advise this transformative project. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian What percent of Twitter/X ads are now flagrant and actionable lies about random famous people meant to draw people into clicking on what is actually a trick to get them to buy cryptocurrency? npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian WATCH: Over 600 attended in person, but if you missed my public presentation last week in Mississauga Ontario, and the lively discussion and Q&A afterward with CAO Shari Lichterman, the City of Mississauga has it online now for you to take your time with. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “I’m not saying you can’t drive a car: what I’m questioning is having someone subsidise my decision to drive and park.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian REGISTER TODAY, and note change to BIGGER venue! Mississauga Ontario, I’ll be back in town January 17th & will do A FREE PUBLIC TALK/EVENING to discuss Mississauga’s urban future and the many big challenges cities are facing. Thread below is from my last trip. Please help spread the word! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian READ: “We’re in a housing crisis, a climate crisis, a public equity crisis, a public-health crisis (fuelled by car-dependent sprawl & inactivity by design), & a public-finance crisis (with big tax increases and brutal per-capita suburban infrastructure costs).” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian READ: “We’re in a housing crisis, a climate crisis, a public equity crisis, a public-health crisis (fuelled by car-dependent sprawl & inactivity by design), & a public-finance crisis (with big tax increases and brutal per-capita suburban infrastructure costs).” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian IMPORTANT: “A new cost-benefit study in New Zealand finds that investments in cycling & walking facilities outweigh the costs of building them by 10 to 1. The research found that the most important economic benefits were health gains from use of active transport.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian A new 5 yr Belgian study shows the BIG impact of increasing vehicle weight on road deaths & injuries. When a person on a bike or walking is hit by a pick-up, the risk of serious injury increases by 90% compared to a car. The risk of death goes up by 200%. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian READ: npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian READ: “25 simple #NewYears resolutions you can make to improve your city!” Revisit my @FastCompany article — the resolutions feel just as relevant in 2024 (maybe MORE). I’d probably add a few tho…What would you add? #HappyNewYear #Resolutions #NewYearsEve npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian IMPORTANT: This ranks a bunch of ways we get around cities, using average carbon emissions by transport type in grams per pkm. It breaks emissions down by operation, manufacture etc. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Does your city REALLY want to attract & keep families living in your downtown & urban places? Then your city needs to get real about what it will really take. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian WATCH how a simple idea can add a lot of life to a people-place. A big, internally-lit wooden box with a lot of holes and a bunch of coloured water bottles becomes a giant lite-brite, drawing a big crowd here in central Coquitlam in Metro Vancouver. Had to drag our kids away! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Still our FAVOURITE line in any #Christmas movie: npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Mark your calendars, Mississauga Ontario! January 17th I’ll be back in town working the city’s excellent leadership team on important & challenging things, PLUS A FREE PUBLIC EVENING to discuss the city’s future and the many big challenges our cities are facing. REGISTER NOW! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian How a small Spanish city rejected cars. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “A startling statistic emerged in Paris last month: during the morning and evening rush hours, on representative main thoroughfares crisscrossing the French capital, there are now more bicycles than cars – almost half as many again, in fact.” #Paris npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian NEW: “A North American city planner contracted by European cities — that’s curious.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian LISTEN: What can cities around the world learn from Reykjavík, Iceland? I’m back with @GreenJ on Australian National broadcaster ABC Radio & his great show “Blueprint For Living” discussing cities, cars, competitions, BRT, complete communities, and my really interesting work in Reykjavík! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Posts about urban biking in #Dutch cities are routinely replied to with something like “well, they have the big advantage of being relatively flat.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “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.” https://t.co/EH3reri9lz npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “In Finland, the # 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.” https://t.co/EH3reri9lz npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian There are many versions of this image out there. The good ones illustrate why “better cars” will never be more than part of the answer, and actually help “lock in” the #CarDependency that’s the real problem. They also show why status-quo interests want to focus on the vehicles. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “Compared to self-driving cars, and just about any other mobility mode, e-bikes have flourished…If 2023’s trendline continues, the humble e-bike, not the flashy self-driving car, will be poised to reconfigure American transportation.” — @DavidZipper in @FastCompany npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian NEW: In a groundbreaking bid to transform itself into a more sustainable metropolis, Paris is set to roll out its ambitious 2024-2030 Climate Plan, including an overarching plan to prioritize cycling infrastructure, introducing 180km of additional cycling paths and 130k bike parking spaces by 2026. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian BREAKING: Today Amsterdam introduced 30 kmh (20 mph) maximum speed limits on most streets, citing increased road safety, reduced pollution, lower noise levels, and fewer injuries/casualties. 20-30% fewer accidents, predicts the Vice Mayor. Via @npub1eae…960s #Amsterdam #Dutch npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian READ: This is a very good article, worth reading and thinking about, on a very controversial (and politicized) but incredibly important city-building subject in Bogotá, and many cities around the world. Hat tip @kimmelman and thanks @dhidalgo65 #Bogota #BRT https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/07/headway/bogota-bus-system-transmilenio.html npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian BIG NEWS: Paris is getting a whole new Metro network. It’s huge. And built fast. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian IMPORTANT: Whether or not people bike-ride in winter isn’t determined by winter weather or temperatures. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian IMPORTANT: Whether people bike-ride in winter isn’t determined by winter weather or temperatures. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian As I put it last year in my blunt advice to Irish cities, “Your goal SHOULDN’T be to replace a million fossil fuel vehicles with a million electric vehicles. It should be to replace a million fossil fuel vehicles with 250K electric vehicles. The main answer HAS to be FEWER cars." npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian LISTEN: Referring to crashes as “accidents” or claiming that “speed wasn’t a factor” in a crash, are not random language choices. They’re the result of PR campaigns. Listen to this really important interview with Grant Ennis by @npub1e8k…476f @npub1d2d…qz3k @npub1g45…0ka3 on “Dark PR.” https://thewaroncars.org/2023/10/24/113-dark-pr-with-grant-ennis/ npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian NEW: Paris has released a new 5-Year Pedestrian Plan! npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian This is amazing, and frustrating. The City of Barcelona eliminated 3 lanes of vehicle traffic & converted this street into a 4.7km green pedestrian corridor in the heart of the Eixample grid. Businesses sued, and eventually won in court. Then the businesses admitted they like it. https://citylabbcn.org/the-legal-attack-on-superblock-barcelona/ npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian READ: If you care about how we’ve been “planning” our cities and suburbs, and how we need to plan them much better, this is REALLY important. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian What 6 (at least) ideas should every city steal from BARCELONA? As I prep to reconnect with one of my favourite world cities, Barcelona (as part of my role in Pamplona speaking at the 7th International Congress of Architecture), I’m reminded of one of my fav @Citylab articles: npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian What 6 (at least) ideas should every city steal from BARCELONA? As I prep to reconnect with one of my favourite world cities, Barcelona (as part of my role in Pamplona speaking at the 7th International Congress of Architecture @fundarquisoc), I’m reminded of one of my fav @Citylab articles: npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian It’s time for another big transportation shift in cities. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian "There's always going to be debate in city planning. Always. But there's good faith debate, based on disagreements, and then there's deliberate lies and misinformation." Print article of my @abcnews interview on the truth and lies about “15-Minute Cities.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “A city’s creativity doesn’t depend on cars. That’s the 20th century. We’re in the 21st.” - Paris Mayor @Anne_Hidalgo npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian BREAKING & HUGE: The British Columbia Govt has announced they’ll be ending Public Hearings for housing rezonings that conform with city-wide plans. They’ll also be over-riding municipal zoning to allow up to 4 homes per lot, and 6 near transit, across BC. Also lowering or removing parking minimums near frequent transit. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian Suburban #Sprawl costs 38% more in upfront public costs & 10% more in ongoing costs than compact development, PLUS has only 1/10th the tax revenue per acre, confirms report summarizing 17 studies. Important #citymakingmath via @CityLab & @SmartGrowthUSA: npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian The Dutch invest €595 million annually on urban biking, resulting in €19 BILLION saved in public health care costs alone. That’s how smart govts do the math on investing in better mobility. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “But carrots alone are not sufficient to overcome the entrenched infrastructure & incentives which today favor car use. So to really get people using other forms of transport to reduce emission for climate change, to protect public health to make cities and streets safer and more livable—we have to massively reduce car use along with increasing sustainable mobility.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “There is a large and preventable burden of respiratory health due to current urban and transport planning. Our health and wellbeing should be the core of planning and policy-making.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “There is a large and preventable burden of respiratory health due to current urban and transport planning. Our health and wellbeing should be the core of planning and policy-making.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “There is a large and preventable burden of respiratory health due to current urban and transport planning. Our health and wellbeing should be the core of planning and policy-making.” npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “While Mayor, I was often asked ‘how have you been able to afford this in #Copenhagen?’ I’d reply, ‘how have you been able to NOT afford it? 25 years ago we were a few days away from going bankrupt. So the city invested in the cheapest infrastructure… bicycling.” — @mortenkabell npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian "Adding highway lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity." - Lewis Mumford in 1955. npub1x5nha4vaxattte4r7kf8mq2ey0ezd0ys0d940tv393ytjsw5a39saumul9 Brent Toderian “Amsterdam is preparing to lower its speed limits to 30km/hr [18mph]. The city will install almost 5k new speed signs, adjust 170 traffic lights, and take other ‘infrastructural measures.’ It is also launching the slogan: ‘We drive 30 for each other.’”
