City Makers

Do you ever say this to yourself?

• “People want different things in our city and it’s impossible to find a course of action that we can agree on.”

• “People just can’t agree and we can’t move forward with needed improvements.”

• “It doesn’t seem to matter what we do—people fight when they are in the room together and it stalls our work.”

• “People don’t understand that they make the city better or worse with their actions and beliefs.”

• “I don’t know what to do to get other people to see what I see is possible.”

I’ve heard statements like these more times than I can count. Can you feel the deflation, that “what’s the use” feeling? I’ve bet you’ve felt this way too. Maybe you do right now.

Suspend the belief, for a moment, that it is impossible to work well with other people to make our cities, neighbourhoods, and communities better. 

I’ve learned that when things get tough, it’s time to learn to work together in unusual—and effective—ways. 

When I stopped counting a decade ago, I had spent 17,000 hours in city council meetings, helping elected officials and the public navigate controversial decision-making. (Even to 3 AM.) I thought: It must be possible for cities to make better decisions in a better way than this? 

It is. 

I’ve lead the impossible projects—the ones where everyone expects you to fail because there’s a HUGE amount of disagreement and conflict.

When the titans of global industry and government were watching our every move, I told city council their plan was irrelevant. With paper maps and markers (believe it!), we crafted a unified vision to handle the forces of an economic boom. I told that same city council that we had to stop new development because the sewer pipes were at capacity (don’t worry, we also had the solution). 

I listened to community stakeholders and when my team and I f#@*ed up, asked city council to stop what they were doing, send it back to the community and I to rework the project. A year later we presented the “impossible” solution to city council for their approval. (They did.)

I’ve been working as a freelance city planner for 15 years, still working on projects that people expect to fail. Instead? Widespread support, even from skeptics and cynics. 

As I do this work, I am never standing alone—even when it looks like I am

Here’s the truth: Relationships are the best way to create the conditions for our cities to improve, so they serve us better. The most energizing, creative, and effective work we do happens in a community of relationships.

Instead of feeling the grind of the impossible hanging over your head, you can work with brilliance and curiosity. You can be energized by your work and the results. You can be energized by the people working with you. Even the ones you disagree with.

It’s totally possible.

Ask yourself: What’s possible if I had a thriving community of city makers with me? 

• Could you build relationships with people who can help you with your work in surprising ways? 

• Could you learn about proven, effective ways to work with the ever-present conflict in our cities? 

• Could you network with hyper-efficiency, to find people who know what you need to know to make your project, or your work, a success? 

• Could you give yourself time for reflection, so you can be your best YOU?

I’m going to let you in on a secret I’ve learned over three decades of working with citizens, governments and public institutions, community organizations, and businesses—this is all possible TODAY. 

That's why I've started the City Makers community. Let's be that community of relationships we need to be our best selves at work in our cities, neighbourhoods, and communities.