Can we completely change the communication about better cities, while tackling the tsunami of lies and disinformation? The new @urbantruth.bsky.social insists we NEED to! Read this @momentummag.bsky.social profile featuring @brenttoderian.bsky.social @tomflood.bsky.social & @grantennis.bsky.social!

What’s the STATE OF URBAN DESIGN IN CANADA? Mark your calendars for FREE cross-country evenings in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary & Vancouver put on by @canurbanism.bsky.social. I’m speaking on & moderating the VANCOUVER PANEL on April 30th with 3 great urbanists. RSVP HERE: www.canu.ca/speaker-seri...

Meet the moderators and panelists of the Cross Country Check-Up! A national speaker series examining the opportunities, achievements, and ongoing challenges shaping urban design and development across the country. 🔗 More information & register now: www.canu.ca/speaker-seri...

“A taste of Montreal? New Toronto pilot would make part of Church Street pedestrian-only this summer. A new petition calls for closing a couple of blocks of the Church-Wellesley Village to cars from June 19 to Aug. 21 this summer.”

What’s the STATE OF URBAN DESIGN IN CANADA? Mark your calendars for FREE cross-country evenings in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary & Vancouver put on by @canurbanism.bsky.social. I’m speaking on & moderating the Vancouver panel on April 30th with 4 great urbanists. RSVP HERE: www.canu.ca/speaker-seri...

“Doug Ford’s personal vendetta against a handful of bike lanes in Toronto has now mucked up infrastructure planning across the entire province. There are infrastructure projects in Ottawa, Mississauga, Hamilton, etc., that are collateral damage.” — @mbonsma.bsky.social Weakening cities.

“Even as the cost of infrastructure for active transportation is being used as a reason for inaction, evidence is accumulating that when the full economic cost is considered, driving costs society more, while cycling and other forms of active transportation save society money.”— @sflkirk.bsky.social

For 15 years, Canadians have overwhelmingly purchased large SUV’s and pickup trucks knowing the price of gas will always increase and be volatile. Maybe instead of subsiding that, we invest in public transit so people have the option to not drive everywhere for everything.

Just watched TVO's The Rundown about a new book "Saving Toronto: 10 City Builders Tell Us How." Co-editors Ken Greenberg & Ann Golden were interviewed on the show. Can't wait to read it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSFp...

Full council chamber for the launch of Saving Toronto book. Many of the old warriors (laudable) here.

Only nine years ago, #VictoriaBC Canada opened our first protected bike and roll lane (in photo). The City has been transformed in less than a decade, and new crosswalks and bike lanes are under construction in my neighborhood now. Choices, not excuses! #yyj

MONTREAL INSPIRES!

When I was Vancouver Chief Planner and hosted our national Planning Chief Meeting, I did a specific session on planning depts & media (invited @fabulavancouver.bsky.social to join us). And I organized many urbanist/media panels thru @canurbanism.bsky.social. Starts with not being afraid of media.

“While I know that driving is a necessity for some, for me, it has been 1st and foremost a habit. My experience of driving less has reminded me that when we can, it’s worth questioning our habits…because what’s comfortable doesn’t necessarily make us feel happy or free.” — @irishtimes.com

Arup & CanU are hosting Cross Country Check‑Up: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly – Urban Design in Canada, a national speaker series examining the opportunities, achievements, and ongoing challenges shaping urban design and development across the country. 🔗 www.canu.ca/speaker-seri...

A nod of thanks to the folks at @canurbanism.bsky.social for including me on a star studded starter pack (apologize for the late recognition) Make some noise and follow some of the most intelligent voices within the Canadian Urbanism sphere. h/t @uoftcities.bsky.social #UrbanistShoutOut

Not density OR trees. Density AND trees. Better cities are climate action. #UrbanTruth

We’re excited to invite you to join CanUxOPPI for a hands-on one-day workshop. We will examine best practices, tools, technologies and urban design techniques that can be utilized in sustainable community building! Learn more: members.ontarioplanners.ca/mpower/event... @ontarioplanners.bsky.social

Back on CBC this morning. This time I spoke with the Ottawa host about the loss of children’s play spaces.When asked what we can do, I emphasized investing not only in safe streets—but in pedestrian culture: street trees, art, spacious sidewalks, and bringing back a culture of hanging out.

A tsunami of disinformation & lies slams us every day. It can feel overwhelming. But the truth will ALWAYS matter. We CAN take action. @tomflood.bsky.social, @grantennis.bsky.social and I took action by starting @urbantruth.bsky.social. Other great people are now joining. We hope you’ll follow us.

Progress isn't an accident—it’s the result of people like you demanding change. 🚲✊ From the National Strategy to the Active Transportation Fund, your voices made it happen. But now, hundreds of projects are stalled. Write your MP today: ✉️ EN: bit.ly/VCBatfletterEN ✉️ FR: bit.ly/VCBatflettrefr

My column today: Residential streets are where children ride bikes, neighbours walk dogs, and communities gather. Lowering speed limits would align Winnipeg with other Canadian cities and make our neighbourhoods safer and more livable for everyone. www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/anal...

Cities well-designed for children, generally, tend to be well-designed for everybody. And not to forget the positive effects on children's interpersonal and cognitive skills.

On Metro Morning “Priemer wants to build a tunnel under the 401, he’s taking our bike lanes on streets in Toronto , so where does this initiative fit in when it comes to getting people to move more efficiently?” @utoronto.ca’s Eric J. Miller walks through induced demand. h/t @uoftcities.bsky.social

"The evidence shows that restoring lanes for cars will not result in less congestion, as it will induce more people to use cars…”— Court decision If your local government is lying about protected bike-lanes “causing traffic congestion,” you might find this court case in Canada interesting & useful.

Every day it gets harder for me to get around cities and see all these things that make it easy for people in cars to glide along like a hot knife through butter, while carfree people press buttons, give up their rights as they breathe in the exhaust fumes and microplastics from car people.

Had a great time dipping back into the academic literature underpinning AEROTROPOLIS to explain to The Globe and Mail's @alexbozikovic.bsky.social why expanding Toronto's Billy Bishop is purely vibes-based and would be a mistake. #makepearsongreatagain www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

NEW: Watch our own @brenttoderian.bsky.social talk passionately about the creation of our @urbantruth.bsky.social Collective, & how @tomflood.bsky.social, @grantennis.bsky.social & Brent first teamed up but are designed to grow. “Better cities have been held back by the lies — no more.” #UrbanTruth

After a week of fatigue & being under the weather, I am feeling energized this morning as I complete the first article in my upcoming Azure series. In this piece, I look closely at how infrastructure is defined, and apply those definitions to public joy, proving that public joy is infrastructure.

Happy to be included in this great and important Starter Pack, along with a lot of Canadian urbanists and communicators! The @urbantruth.bsky.social keeps knocking it out of the park.

“…persons living in walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods have higher levels of social capital compared with those living in car-oriented suburbs. Respondents living in walkable neighborhoods were more likely to know their neighbors, participate politically, trust others, and be socially engaged.”

What do you think, Toronto? #SoundsGreat

NEW: “We’ve let the lies be far too successful, and that’s significantly hurt our cities. No more.” The brand-new @urbantruth.bsky.social has a blunt op-ed in @usa.streetsblog.org written by Canadians @brenttoderian.bsky.social & @tomflood.bsky.social, & American in Paris @grantennis.bsky.social.

“Shaw Street was busy with bikes, but it wasn’t working for everyone. There were too many motor vehicles using the street for riding to be comfortable…But in 2020, the City of Toronto undertook a project that decreased vehicle volumes by up to 60% and tripled the # of people biking in some places…”

“Travelling five times a year, maxing out her TFSA, building an emergency fund, and having the freedom to see her friends when and how she wants: Those are just a few ways Deeksha Singh [of Calgary] said she can use the estimated $14,000 a year she saves by not owning a car.”

Language matters. @hfxgov.bsky.social has a plan of 'towards zero' deaths on our roads. But behind every statistic is a person, so who lives & who dies in that scenario? Who would you be willing to sacrifice? #RoadSafety #VisionZero youtu.be/GAZ7sI-LDvo?...

check out our recent project mapping street space allocation in Toronto we find that more than 80% of transportation infrastructure in Toronto is designed for cars, far more than how people actually travel w/ @lanrickbennett.bsky.social & Mia Wang schoolofcities.github.io/who-are-stre...

🇨🇦 Bike infrastructure is a low cost, high impact solution for housing & health. But $500M in federal funding is now at risk. If approvals aren't issued now, we lose the 2026 construction season. TAKE ACTION: Email your MP by March 13! ✉️ EN: bit.ly/VCBatfletterEN ✉️ FR: bit.ly/VCBatflettrefr

Not all edge-growth is car-dependent suburban sprawl. But far too much of it is. It doesn’t need to be. #CarDependency #Sprawl

For modern, love the #architecture of #OttCity; its location is tough tho; poorly connected to the city w/little development around it due to generations of ineptitude and poor thinking; is changing w/some new dev underway but it remains a challenge; montreal is excellent from an urban perspective

A BIG thank you to everyone for all the interest and energy during our official LAUNCH WEEK! Trust us, this is just the beginning, as we continue to “build this plane while we’re flying it.” Please keep helping us spread the word, and stay tuned for more details on how to get involved. #UrbanTruth

What say you, Canadian urbanists?

I’m not a fan of politicians trying to make people angry for votes by claiming there actually IS a “war on cars” (there isn’t — if anything there’s been a war on every OTHER way of getting around since the 1960s). A politician just made the claim on LinkedIn. Here’s the reply I posted. #UrbanTruth

They still want us to think cars equal freedom. But car DEPENDENCY is the opposite of freedom. Mobility freedom comes from mobility choices. #UrbanTruth

"Conspiracy theorist relieved that proposed local amenities have been voted against and will now be a 30 min drive away." @urbantruth.bsky.social

Provincial budget fallout begins... The Province is walking away from funding for the student transit pass program. This is creating a $1.2 million dollar hole in HRM's budget and means the program where students get transit passes may not continue

It's just an endless loop of "drivers are struggling with the number of drivers, we just need to make it easier to drive" forever and ever. The province's own commissioned report was like "you're gonna spend a lot of money on this and traffic will get worse."

“Many cities have also begun re-examining right turns on red (RTOR), a vehicle-prioritizing rule that exists in only two countries in the world. You can probably guess which ones.” — @brentbellamy.bsky.social #Winnipeg

Check this out — Canadian urbanist @brenttoderian.bsky.social (who has launched the @urbantruth.bsky.social with @grantennis.bsky.social & fellow Canadian @tomflood.bsky.social) is the guest on @thewaroncars.bsky.social podcast with @sgoodyear.bsky.social! Discussing Vancouver, & better city-making!

Now THIS looks interesting…The Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social is taking on “the truth about cities in an age of disinformation.” And 2 of the 3 originators are Canadian! Our founding CanU president @brenttoderian.bsky.social, and our friend @tomflood.bsky.social. Worth following!