An intro to the Urbanist Evolution - and why you should subscribe.

Ideas from an Elder Millennial Urbanist.

“We have a housing/transportation/downtown/urban/suburban/education/drug/immigration/climate/{fill-in-the-blank} crisis!”                                      - Today’s Media

It seems today every topic is crisis worthy; our society currently lurches from one heavy emergency to the next without realizing that these issues are mostly tied to one another.  We do not discuss these issues in a holistic manner – and when we do, we are only applying traditional economic or political thinking to the solutions without realizing that we as a human society have made up these systems and indeed have the power to change them if they are not working.

This substack is meant to be a gathering place for big ideas to tackle our biggest societal issues.  My intention is to provoke thinking, discuss topics that are important to tackle and offer a viewpoint that is younger and grounded in action.  Rather than thinking “this is the way it’s been done” I want to think “what if we…” to set the tone for moving forward. 

Broadly I aim to speak to four primary themes:

1.       Mobility

2.       Housing

3.       Economy

4.       Design

Why these four themes?  Well as an urban designer/urban planner with over 20 years of experience and as an Elder Millennial I feel these themes frame the interconnected solutions that we can tackle which will succinctly address some of our most pressing challenges.  To be clear, I aim to share my viewpoint on these themes, but my desire is to collaborate with industry leaders, community advocates and other stakeholders that can help provide a viewpoint that I may not be able to express fully.  SO if any of this interests you, if you read a topic and have a difference of opinion or want to add to it – connect with me. 

This is not a space for me to express an idea and you to just consume and move on, but rather a discussion point to build from.

The term urbanist may conjure up ideas that I am only talking about our densely packed cities, or issues that might only matter to the liberal elite.  No – I believe that our society is intrinsically tied to a humanistic ecosystem made up of distinct biomes of our own creation which are interconnected and that requires consideration of different kinds of scales of urbanism – from a rural town to a mega metropolis and everything in between.  The amazing feature of humanity is that we all have a wide variety of opinions of how to live our lives, and there is space for all these kinds of places.  We need to have a serious discussion about the “how” of it all and not the “why”.  The fact is suburbs, rural spaces and bustling downtowns all need each other to survive. 

A bit about me first. 

I am a professional urban designer/planner living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  I currently lead a team at a global consulting firm where we focus on all things transit-oriented.  From station area planning to transit planning and the design of these systems, I am passionate about using rapid transit as a tool to focus our cities and develop communities that serve our next generations.  I am from a rural Indiana upbringing but prefer to live in an urban environment. 

I am an elder Millennial - at age 41 (and counting) I have experienced numerous economic upheavals, a global pandemic, and a wide range of issues that have bubbled up in my lifetime. I feel our leaders and those in power care more about status quo than enacting change that could help everyone - and I want to be part of solutions that can benefit everyone. I believe that my neighbours’ strength is my strength and we should do everything we can to help each other thrive it will be a win-win-win situation.

I have lived in two countries, five cities, three states and three Canadian provinces and while this might not be exotic or vastly different it is enough to know that there is so much that unites us, but we decide to let the little things divide us.  Let’s keep our eyes on the prize here and find ways to tackle the big stuff so that the small stuff stays small. 

You are part of this too.

Think of this as urbanist improv – yes, AND – together we will rebuild our societies that can thrive in an inclusive way, to meet the potential of human capital in ways we have yet to think of, and to advocate to those in positions of power why doing something out of the norm might be the best path possible

I look forward to sharing my thoughts on this journey, no – evolution, with you. 

With you,

C

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