Rural Villages: Tourism Gems, right outside your front door
My dad was obsessed with the no-motor-vehicle vacation. The perfect trip of hiking, biking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing...
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- Jan 6
- 2 min
My Compliments to the Cut-Through
During this past year of attending meetings related to Ottawa’s new Official Plan, I have been introduced to a new term: the “cut-through”.
- Jan 6
- 3 min
It Takes A Village
A much-favoured term in property marketing is “village”... it evokes a cute, low-rise, dense conglomeration of similar buildings...
- Oct 22, 2021
- 2 min
Tree. Human. Car.
Tree. Human. Car. The discussion around Ottawa’ Official Plan suggests that we have room for two, but not all three.
- Oct 12, 2021
- 4 min
Flying Blind: the Value of Simulators
The value of modeling is clear. Simulation and modeling allow us to understand what is likely to happen under certain conditions.
- Oct 8, 2021
- 4 min
The City’s Intensification Strategy is Not Just About Adding Density…. Or is it?
The City’s new Official Plan includes some terrific language that suggest a much-needed revised approach to intensification.
- Oct 6, 2021
- 4 min
Intensification Doesn’t Have to Be So Hard – Just Ask the Locals
Why does intensification have to be so hard? ...Conflict around intensification is rooted in much more than just “resistance to change”.
- Sep 21, 2021
- 3 min
Unfortunately, Betty is Not a Crow
Imagine an elderly lady named Betty, living in a senior’s residence in Heron Park. She just witnessed the first snowfall of the season...
- Sep 21, 2021
- 3 min
A Bridge to Billings Bridge
No business can survive without customers. Most businesses will tell you there’s no such thing as too many customers.
- Sep 10, 2021
- 3 min
I’m Dreaming of a Bikeable Walkley
Walkley Road connects two of Ottawa’s great recreation areas. On the east end, sits the Mer Bleue conservation area....
- Sep 10, 2021
- 3 min
Time to Face the Street
If there’s one thing everyone on the planet can agree on, it’s that we all hate traffic. We hate being in it, we hate being near it.
- Aug 18, 2021
- 2 min
It’s Time We Were Thru with the Drive-Thru
Nothing is as difficult to incorporate into a walkable streetscape as a Drive-Thru. The whole concept is to be served in the car.
- Aug 18, 2021
- 3 min
What We Can Learn from Harry the Dirty Dog
The most difficult part of advocating for walkable communities in this age, is painting the picture of what they might look like.
- Aug 18, 2021
- 3 min
Advertising the Automobile
Up until 1997, it was legal in Canada to advertise cigarettes. The ads that I remember from childhood consistently promised the smoker...
- Jul 7, 2021
- 3 min
The Transformative Power of a Foot Bridge
"A footbridge makes it practical for the non-driving population to work, live or attend school on the other side of the bridge."
- May 27, 2021
- 2 min
Just Who Deserves Those 15 Minute Neighbourhoods?
Of all the arguments put forward against 15 minute neighbourhoods, the most cynical, is that they will be bad for low-income people.
- May 4, 2021
- 3 min
Walking to School: Not as Easy as it Sounds
"...a lot of Ottawa’s school-age population attends school out of range of what would be a reasonable walk on a January morning."
- May 4, 2021
- 3 min
Why 15 Minute Neighbourhoods are Good for Drivers
"...I’ve set myself the task in this blog to present the advantages of a 15 minute neighbourhood from the perspective of a driver."
- Apr 23, 2021
- 3 min
The Thing About Change...
I've become increasingly sedentary. Most of us have... Over the past few months I've come to the dawning realization that I must change...
- Apr 19, 2021
- 3 min
The Useful Walk... To A Neighbourhood Shop
The unrelenting segregation of housing from retail that characterized post WWII planning, left people with no destination for a useful walk.