"City Design Matters": A Multimodal Transportation View with Brent Toderian

Brent Toderian is the former Chief City Planner of Vancouver, President of Toderian UrbanWORKs in Vancouver, and serves on CNU's Highway to Boulevard Advisory Committee. The following videos focus on the transportation aspect, especially, but not limited to, biking, of designing a city.

Brent Toderian Interview with ECF.

The European Cyclist Federation interviewed Toderian during the the Velo-city 2012 Global conference in Vancouver. When asked what he believes is the recipe to procure more cyclists, he believes there are two factors: fundamental elements and smaller aspects. The fundamental elements include urban form, design, land use, and density; the smaller aspects to be tackled after the fundamentals include bike-lane infrastructure, progressive helmet laws, etc. The 'power of nearness,' or the need for fundamental necessities and added amenities to be within close proximity, Toderian speaks about all stems from the design of a city. Toderian believes the basis for a good biking culture and city all comes down to how a city is designed. We must understand how biking and walking fit into the greater spectrum of transportation.

Brent Toderian Speaks at Vancouver Urban Forum.

Toderian also spoke at the Vancouver Urban Forum, presented in partnership with the Global Civic Policy Society, about his time as Vancouver's Chief City Planner and how the city can achieve its goal of "Greenest City" by 2020. He brings up an interesting point about becoming a sustainable city: the goal needs to encompass the downtown core as well as the complete city and its region. The advantages will follow: safer, healthier, more sustainable, etc. Vancouver needs to focus on "density done well," encompassing three main aspects: land and mobility alignment, consistent high design quality, and amenities. In summary, Toderian believes the complete sustainable city will come from careful design, "density done well," 'the power of nearness,' and an overall focus on the fundamental aspects of cities, followed by the smaller, detailed aspects.