Curious to get to know a new neighbourhood in Ottawa, I met up with another local blogger to walk his community’s main street.
Category: urban design
After Seven Years, I’ve Bought a Car
After living car-free in downtown Toronto and Ottawa, I thought I could continue my car-free journey in the suburbs. For nine months, it worked fine, but eventually my wife and I caved.
Car Dependency is a Spectrum
A community is not simply car-dependent or not. Understanding the various levels of car-dependency can help us create more resilient and multimodal communities.
How to Build a Bike-Friendly Hospital
Hospitals are major destinations with unique travel demands. In our auto-centric world, the default assumption is that most people will drive there and that cycling is just not possible. But evidence locally and abroad shows that hospitals can be major cycling destinations – we just need to include the right ingredients.
Comparing BRT Designs in Three Cities
Street design is not neutral: every subtle design detail reflects a community’s values, and comparing designs across communities reveals how those values differ.
Side Street Crossings: Where the Sidewalk Ends (But Doesn’t Have To)
Continuous sidewalks centre the pedestrian experience in street design. No longer are pedestrians interrupted at every block to look both ways; instead the onus is shifted onto the motorists who become guests in pedestrian space.
Beyond the Automobile 