The Hidden Lessons of Catastrophic Tree Loss

Having a city filled with one type of tree may look pretty, but what happens when pests or pestilence start killing off that particular tree species en masse?

Emma Durand-Wood, Community Stories, Top Story 2Emma Durand-WoodMay 4, 2023trees, street trees, Antifragile, antifragile, fragility, canada, Canada, Manitoba

What “Getting My Steps In” Has Taught Me About Walkability

If cities strive to meet the basic physiological human need to move our bodies, they may be pleasantly surprised at how everything else just falls into place.

Emma Durand-Wood, Safe & Productive StreetsEmma Durand-WoodApril 27, 2023walkability, canada, Canada, Safe and Productive Streets, pedestrians, urban design

Can Expanding Roads Solve Homelessness?

A recent advertising insert in the Winnipeg Free Press would have us believe that road expansion will solve not only homelessness, but crime and addiction, as well. Let's investigate these lofty claims.

End Highway Expansion, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodApril 26, 2023transportation spending, active transportation, transit, End Highway Expansion, canada, Canada, Manitoba, homelessness, Homelessness, highways, highway spending, freeway widening, economic growth

Flushing Success Down the Toilet

This public toilet in Winnipeg, MB, is a case study in why city governments need to pay attention to the power of small bets.

Local Government, Transparent Accounting, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodMarch 24, 2023city government, canada, Canada, public space, homelessness, Homelessness, small bets, little bets, local government, Transparent Local Accounting

A New Tool to Calculate the Lifecycle of Infrastructure

Calculating the 100-year lifecycle costs of new development shouldn’t be an obscure process, and the province of British Columbia, Canada, has created a tool to help its communities do exactly that.

Infrastructure, Incremental Housing, Top StorySeairra SheppardFebruary 23, 2023Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, Maintenance, Incremental Housing, canada, Canada, British Columbia, Development, development pattern

The Largest Mistake of Our Generation

The proposed annual budget for Winnipeg, MB, reveals the true cost of the Suburban Experiment, and the vibrancy that the city (and so many others like it) has sacrificed in many of its neighborhoods.

Transparent Accounting, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodFebruary 22, 2023Transparent Local Accounting, suburban experiment, canada, Canada, suburban development pattern, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, budget, finance, public finance, Growth Ponzi Scheme, transportation, transportation spending

Parking, Pizza, and Apartments at the Mall

The way we build our neighborhoods in North America is nothing like making a pizza. But maybe it should be.

Incremental Housing, Top Story 2Michel Durand-WoodJanuary 31, 2023canada, Canada, Development, development pattern, development, traditional development pattern, mixed use, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, incrementalism, resilience, Incremental Housing

This City Knows How to Talk to Residents!

This video about a recent street redesign project in Selkirk, Manitoba, shows just how cities should be communicating with their residents.

Engagement, Safe & Productive Streets, Van Eeden Petersman, Top Story, Community StoriesNorman Van Eeden PetersmanJanuary 11, 2023Safe and Productive Streets, public engagement, community engagement, canada, Canada, Street Design, public investment

Toronto’s Curbside Patios Made 49 Times More Money Than the Parking They Replaced

A recent study on curbside dining in Toronto found that there are loads of financial possibilities waiting in empty parking spaces.

#BlackFridayParking, Parking, Sheppard, Top Story, End Parking Mandates, NewsSeairra SheppardNovember 22, 2022Parking, parking, parking minimums, End Parking Mandates and Subsidies, #BlackFridayParking, canada, Canada, Toronto, local finance, finance, local business

A Loophole Allowed Me to Flourish

Many older homeowners face a tough choice: Age in a home that’s too large or inaccessible for them, or give up their property and move somewhere else. Here’s how one resident of Delta, BC, found a third option.

The One Ring

Traffic engineers in Canada wear an iron pinky ring as a reminder of their responsibility to public safety. So why, then, do they routinely make street design choices that kill people every day?

Battle of the Business Titans

A small, local, mixed-use business versus a new Amazon warehouse. Let’s put these two business proposals before the Shark Tank (Winnipeg edition).

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Speaking Up to Build Strong Towns

Norm Van Eeden Petersman is the new member advocate at Strong Towns, as well as the leader of a Local Conversation group in Delta, BC.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Top Story, Success Story, Membership, Member Profiles, Van Eeden PetersmanStrong TownsSeptember 15, 2022Podcast, local conversations, Canada

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Planting Street Trees and Neighborhood Connections

Emma Durand-Wood is a Strong Towns member who is a leader in her neighborhood association and a big advocate for street trees in Winnipeg.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Top Story, Success Story, Membership, Member ProfilesStrong TownsSeptember 8, 2022Podcast, street trees, neighborhood association, success, success stories, canada, Canada

Can Hamilton, Ontario, Hold the Line on Development—Literally?

This Canadian city made an unprecedented decision to stop expanding its urban growth boundary. What comes next?

Growth Ponzi Scheme, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 17, 2022Growth Ponzi Scheme, growth, sprawl, infill, Infill Development, canada, Canada, suburban experiment

Henderson Highway Blues

A mother reflects on the fears she faces while navigating a dangerous highway with her children, as pedestrians.

#SlowtheCars, Dear Winnipeg, Walkability, Top Story, Emma Durand-WoodEmma Durand-WoodAugust 5, 2022highways, canada, Canada, Winnipeg, Safety, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, pedestrians, #PedestrianUnfriendly, walkability, children, #SlowTheCars

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Transit Edition)

Don’t be fooled: Winnipeg’s newly proposed “rapid transit” project is actually a road-widening project in disguise. And it aims to borrow money so the City can destroy millions of dollars of its own tax base.

Fixing the Potholes Requires Digging Deeper

When it comes to our places’ roads, we need to start asking: “How much is this gonna cost us?”

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodJune 2, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, #DoTheMath, Winnipeg, canada, Canada, member story

Not Just Bikes: The Only Car-Free Place in Canada (and Why You Can’t Live There)

Just off the coast of Toronto, Canada's largest city, you'll find a group of 15 small car-free islands. But just in case you thought you'd like to live here: you can't.

Video, Neighborhoods, Top StoryJay StangeApril 13, 2022Not Just Bikes, canada, Canada, car-lite, car culture, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, walkability, Homeownership, homeownership

Red Light, Green Light, No Insight

When we hand our whole transportation system to engineers, we shouldn’t be surprised that the values of their profession override the values of the public. It’s time for a new paradigm.

#SlowtheCars, Member Post, Transportation, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodMarch 4, 2022transportation, public transportation, engineers, engineering profession, traffic engineering, canada, Canada, Winnipeg, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, #SlowTheCars

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