TODERIAN UrbanWORKS Inc. (TUW)

“I think Paris is uniquely positioned to celebrate bold action from cities all over the world. Because in my observation Paris, and Mayor @annehidalgo.bsky.social, have been the most inspiring in the world over the last 10 years, really exemplifying those key words ‘further and faster.’” — BT

“It makes no sense that we should be afraid of places where people can get most of what we need, closer by… Just convenient options that don’t need a car every time. It’s just a normal, ‘common sense’ place to live — as most cities used to be, before we mandated car dependency.” @usa.streetsblog.org

This video camera study showed that less than 5% of people on bikes broke traffic laws while riding bikes, yet 66% of people did so while driving. And perhaps even more importantly, if you REALLY want even MORE bike-riders to obey laws, build more protected bike infrastructure. Via @carltonreid.com

WATCH: Whether you love cars or hate cars, you should watch this new video & better understand the truth about the real costs & consequences of too many cars in our cities, & the car dependency many of us live in. You might find it hard to watch, but watch it to the end anyway. Via @notjustbikes.com

When it comes to actually achieving better cities, here’s something we’re not talking about nearly enough— we’ve moved from eras where it’s hard to get good things done, into an era where even if we manage to get good things done, there’s a real risk it will just be reversed after the next election.

WATCH: If you’re interested in Vancouver’s transportation success story, as a key part of the “Vancouver Model” of city-making that’s so different from most of North America, re-watch this @streetfilms.bsky.social video from years ago. @Brenttoderian.bsky.social etc explain how Vancouver got there.

How do you get a city for people instead of a city for cars? Invest 10 minutes watching this timeless presentation by @brenttoderian.bsky.social as part of the @thewalrus.ca Talks. Still completely relevant, with key ideas like “The Power Of Nearness” more recently packaged as The 15-Minute City.

A REALLY important thread for cities. #UrbanTruth

Oh for such a thing in the UK. There are five sets of traffic lights on my ride to work and sometimes I spend as much time sitting at these as I do riding between them. Often in Newcastle city centre it's a case of 'Ride for 15s, stop. Ride for 10s, stop.' A lot of time and energy wasted!

Cycling really is the answer to so many issues - hiding in plain sight

A war on walking. A war on biking. A war on public transit. A war on better cities. But a war on cars? Hardly. The #UrbanTruth is that #CarDependency is still the norm in far too many cities, and the #RoadLobby will do everything they can to keep it going. Don’t buy the lie. #WarOnWalking

It is a great honour to be listed alongside so many inspiring thinkers and doers who work tirelessly to build happier, healthier, more sociable, liveable, loveable and ultimately more resilient communities. Thank you so much @brenttoderian.bsky.social !

If you haven’t watched this yet, please watch and share. If you care about better or worse cities, transportation, bike-lanes, saving lives, calling out liars, and how to completely dismantle dishonest rage-farming politicians, watch it. Watch it to understand what Doug Ford is doing to Toronto.

We already have flying cars. They're called helicopters. They're really expensive and there are good reasons you have to have a pilot license and work with air traffic control to fly them. Putting jets on a sedan is not going to result in a better vehicle or transportation experience in any way.

Postwar attempts to rebuild American downtowns for the convenience of suburban drivers fail because cities cannot compete with the suburbs on ease of driving and parking; and attempting to do so destroys the vibrant street life that makes cities worth living in or visiting in the first place.

Very happy to be in such exalted company. Tx @brenttoderian.bsky.social for the add! Click through to the pack to mass follow or get great recommendations on global urbanists from outside North America including me...

“Addressing misinformation through pubic literacy is also critical. The Urban Truth Collective, a collective of urban practitioners and marketing professionals who address misinformation about sustainable actions in cities, use their blog to address misinformation…” Word is spreading… #UrbanTruth

If anyone still doesn’t understand why I frequently say that Montreal has been doing the best fine-grained civic city-building in North America, watch and share this video by @streetfilms.bsky.social with @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social. Ped streets, school streets, urban greening, bike-lanes, and more!

“Dutch people cycle an average of 2.6km each per day. If this pattern was replicated worldwide, annual carbon emissions would drop by 686 million tonnes. This mammoth figure exceeds the entire carbon footprint of most countries, including the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Australia.” @euronews.com

LISTEN: How To Fight Back Against The Lies Hurting Cities! This was our viral #UrbanTruth podcast, @brenttoderian.bsky.social @tomflood.bsky.social @grantennis.bsky.social joining top YouTuber @notjustbikes.com! We talked about changing cities thru better communication and messaging, and REPETITION!

Good initiative, Brent. Thanks for including me in the pack, I’m chuffed!

If your downtown still has many wide and fast one-way streets, then your priority is to move cars as fast as possible thru a weak downtown. It’s NOT to create a vibrant downtown, help downtown retailers, keep people safe, support walkability and accessibility, reduce pollution, etc. #TrafficSewers

Montréal fait figure d’exemple en Amérique du Nord, mais il faut poursuivre nos efforts, continuer à réinventer la ville pour les humains, et non pour les voitures.

“The truth is that there is a war on walking, cycling, and transit that has made a one-hour city the norm.”

If you care about CITIES & HOW TO MAKE THEM BETTER, the ability to access many of the best thinkers on the subject has literally never been easier. I sometimes think about how much I would have benefitted from being able to follow folks like me and many others in this STARTER PACK when I was young.

What Ford’s own staff said about bike lanes: Internal records show provincial bureaucrats refuted Doug Ford’s arguments before he ordered Toronto bike lanes removed via @thestar.com

If you’re interested in cities and how they can be better, follow the great people and organizations in this Starter Pack by @brenttoderian.bsky.social. He has several of them, and this one’s specifically for global urbanists from outside North America. Please help share it!

“Paris’ traffic is so uncomplicated because of the City’s enormous recent investment in bike mobility (€250 million for its 2021-2026 cycling plan). Bikes are literally everywhere, both in and out of mixed traffic… Here in Toronto, we are hurtling back toward the Stone Age…” @spacing.bsky.social

ICYMI: “Canadian urbanist @brenttoderian.bsky.social teamed up with the City of Paris and, in particular, its Mayor, @annehidalgo.bsky.social on a new exhibition that shines a light on cities & global climate action.” Thanks for this @momentummag.bsky.social! #Paris momentummag.com/from-paris-t...

Sadly, this is another casualty of the most right-wing government in Finnish history. Homelessness is on the rise again, as is child poverty and so many other measures of societal failure.

“Here's the REAL conspiracy: Too many people are forced into car-dependent lives, with more health harms, crashes, air pollution, social isolation — and less space for everything…” @grantennis.bsky.social @tomflood.bsky.social @brenttoderian.bsky.social in @usa.streetsblog.org. #1HourCityConspiracy

If you’re interested in cities and how they can be better, follow the great people and organizations in this Starter Pack by @brenttoderian.bsky.social. He has several of them, and this one’s specifically for global urbanists from outside North America. Please help share it!

“Someone with a 1-hr car commute needs to earn 40% more to be as happy as someone with a short walk to work. On the other hand, if someone shifts from a long commute to a walk, their happiness increases as much as if they’d fallen in love.” #CityMakingMath 50 reasons for more walkable streets.

If you want to live in a congested and irrelevant city 10 years from now—keep on building freeways to the suburbs. If you want to live in a prosperous and livable city 10 years from now—invest in the best transit you can today.

One of the biggest debates in cities is whether tall buildings are a good idea or a bad idea. Our own @brenttoderian.bsky.social obliterates that debate, while changing the perspective of one of the most vocal tall building opponents. Listen to some badly needed #UrbanTruth about tall buildings.

Victoria and (Metro) Vancouver, because these are the only cities I have really lived in. And Paris because I have been so inspired by the changes since the 1980s, when I fell in love with even the polluted traffic clogged version. So much nicer now!!

@urbantruth.bsky.social @brenttoderian.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gI loved the part where you get interrupted :-)

When it comes to spreading disinformation, dark money buys a lot of repetition, because repetition works. Repetition works. Repetition works. Repetition works. So WE need to be repeating the TRUTH a lot more than we do. (Did we mention that repetition works?) #UrbanTruth

I’m currently discussing 2 new speaking engagements combined with local work, one in Europe in a city I’ve never worked in, & one in Latin America in a city I last worked in 15 years ago or so. I never take for granted the huge learning opportunity that working in diverse global cities represents.

LISTEN: So let’s get right into one of the BIGGEST elephants in the room about cities and how to do them BETTER. A few years back @brenttoderian.bsky.social sat down with old friend @colville-andersen.com for a BLUNT chat about tall buildings & Vancouver urbanism. What do YOU think AFTER listening?

LISTEN: So let’s get right into one of the BIGGEST elephants in the room about cities and how to do them BETTER. A few years back @brenttoderian.bsky.social sat down with old friend @colville-andersen.com for a BLUNT chat about tall buildings & Vancouver urbanism. What do YOU think AFTER listening?

That article is interesting, as the main result are: - Motonormativity as "doublethink" confirmed. - Respondents paradoxically feel more supportive than their governments for both car travel and non-car travel. - Most people felt they support non-car mobility more than other people.

They tried their best to make the idea of having more things we want nearby, more options and choices in our cities and neighborhoods, seem like a conspiracy. But never forget what the REAL urban conspiracy has been — moving everything further away and making us car dependent. #1HourCityConspiracy

Tune in to our MOST POPULAR show ever, featuring one of the world's best Urbanists, Canadian @brenttoderian.bsky.social! #yyc #ClimateChange #Urbanism #CityBuilding #yyccc

WATCH THIS! "There IS life on Earth!" If you haven’t seen this amazing (and prescient) 1964 Oscar-nominated short film via the National Film Board of Canada on car culture, DROP EVERYTHING and enjoy it. Then discuss, and share it. This has been so obvious for SO long! www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2r7...

@marjolainekoch.bsky.social Ne Koch is an excellent French journalist, and she has chosen to interview a close friend and, above all, one of the pioneers and leading figures in 21st-century urban planning, Brent Toderian. Do read it and enjoy it!