The Challenge

Our cities are challenging places in which to live, work and play. They are full of problems with no easy solution. And when we think we know how to fix something, we find ourselves in conflict about what to do.

Pick your challenge. 

• We don’t agree about how to best move around the city.
  There is traffic congestion, conflict between cars, bicycles, trains, busses and pedestrians. And e-scooters. Add to this the coming changes with automated vehicles. 

• We don’t all feel like we belong in the city.
  People in our cities experience racism, violence, discrimination and harm in explicit ways, and also subtle and systemic ways that send the message: you are not welcome here. 

• We are facing challenges that come with a warming climate.
  Fires and hot temperatures, storms and floods are changing our habitat.  

  • How do we adapt for climate resilience? 

  • How do we change how we make our cities? 

• We don’t all have homes we can afford.
  Affordable housing, homelessness. 

• We make running businesses challenging.
  The entrepreneurial spirit is squelched in many, with excessive rules and regulations. 

• We don’t look after everyone.
  People go hungry. People get hurt and killed. People don’t have enough money to pay the bills. 

• We have people who are losing their jobs.
  Truck drivers are going to be replaced by autonomous vehicles. The fossil fuel industry is in decline. 

• We make neighbourhoods that foster social isolation.
  Most parts of our cities are designed to keep people separate from each other. Where we live is separate from where we work, where we shop, where we play. 

• We struggle with many other things not named here… 

Make better cities.

Our cities are in need of improvement. And no matter how hard we work on these things, the problems remain. 

I propose that if we think about — and talk about cities differently we will have a different relationship with them. When we explore this city-citizen relationship, rather than ignore it or fight it, we make better cities. 

Two things drive my work to improve cities: 

1. Learning to navigate the complexities of city systems so we can effectively participate in city life

2. Creating quality social habitats where we face challenges and make room to listen to each other

Cities are messy, full of tension and conflict, and always in demand of improvement. 

Who do our cities need to be to serve us well? Who do we need to be to serve our cities well?