Planning

human scale

The Human Scale

Since the 1950s, the number of megacities (areas with a metropolitan population over 10 million) has doubled to 33. Eight of these cities are in developing countries. Monster cities like Dhaka are juggling growth pressures that shape the immediate quality of life of its residents and their future prosperity. As […]

Jayne Engle, Cities for People

Organizing Urbanism

In cities across Canada, people and organizations are finding ways to address complex challenges and creatively shape the future of their communities. They are greening neighbourhoods while producing local food, creating social enterprises to reduce poverty, mentoring immigrants and helping them integrate into their new communities, and using community arts […]

Bike City, Great City by David Chernushenko

Bike City, Great City

City councillor David Chernushenko’s documentary “Bike City, Great City”  showcases the facet of Ottawa transportation that is ready to shine: cycling. With a “silver” rating in terms of cyclist accessibility, designated by the League of American Bicyclists and the Share the Road Coalistion, Chernushenko shows how the nation’s capital can […]

The Province of Ontario's 25-year Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe

Implementing the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe

The Neptis Foundation is well known for its research reports on land use and transportation issues in the Toronto region. It is one of the few outfits currently publishing material at a regional scale of analysis in Canada. So when Neptis releases a new report, it’s a bit of an […]

Toronto transit platform A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Toronto Needs a Public Referendum on The Big Move

I spent last summer researching the issue of rapid transit in Toronto, Ontario, and spoke with 10 locals who work in the transit field about ‘The Big Move,’ the proposal from provincial planning agency Metrolinx for improving transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Metrolinx is an agency […]

Illegal logging during Sochi Olympics road construction.

Sochi Olympics Going For Gold, But Not Green

When Russia bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, they committed to green building standards and a “zero waste” policy that promised not to add to landfills. The $51-billion Sochi Olympics – the most expensive in history – will truly have costly consequences to the environment. The area of […]

Water and Agriculture in Canada book review A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Water and Agriculture in Canada: Towards Sustainable Management of Water Resources

Whiskey’s for drinking and water’s for fighting, or so the old saying goes. There’s no way of conveying the importance of water to agriculture more concisely. Water management is highly divisive and fraught with winners and losers. Given the contentiousness of managing this critical resource, the Hon. Gerry Ritz, federal […]