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City Builder Series: The Elected Official

January 20, 2020 in City Builder Series, Politics

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We’ve released over 40 episodes of 360 Degree City, covering a crazy range of topics – from cycling to public art to urban agriculture and much, much more. 

While we’ve explored issues and topics related to cities, we thought it would be helpful to spend some time focusing on the different actors that impact city building. 

So, we’ve developed a multi-part series where John talks to different kinds of city builders about what they do, why they do it and what unique approaches and challenges they represent. Our hope is that by the end of the series, you’ll have some new perspectives on these actors and how to work with them – whether you’re a seasoned city builder yourself or you’re just starting to explore the complexity of our cities.

The first episode is about The Elected Official. John sits down with Calgary’s Mayor, Naheed Nenshi, to discuss what it means to be an elected official, the best of what they can bring to city building and some problematic practices of those who hold elected office. 

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  • Follow Naheed Nenshi on Twitter: @nenshi

1989

November 4, 2019 in History

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What are some special heritage buildings in your city? Do any spaces in particular reflect important aspects of your city’s history?

A lot of the time, people think of heritage as something that relates to history long ago – highlighting how cities were in previous centuries. Do events and buildings of 30 years ago count as heritage?

John sits down with some folks who have a deep understanding of heritage. So much so that they publish a magazine to tell stories of urban heritage through stunning archival images.

Tune in to hear RJ McCulloch and Megan Faulkner discuss their latest issue of Hindsight Magazine — 1989.

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Vancouverism

April 29, 2019 in Community, Design, History

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Vancouver is often cited as one of the most successful cities in the world. Today, Vancouver’s inner city is filled with glass towers, townhouses, pedestrian paths, mountain views, public spaces and sidewalk cafes. The downtown is widely praised as being livable, sustainable and walkable. Now, this isn’t to say the city is without its challenges — including housing affordability, homelessness and social isolation. 

Overall, with both successes and challenges, downtown Vancouver has changed a great deal since the 1980s. 

Today’s episode explores how this city became the renowned place it is today. So, I thought I’d talk to someone who has been at the forefront of managing and instilling change in Vancouver since the 1970s. 

Larry Beasley is the founding principal of Beasley & Associates. Alongside Anne MacAfee, Larry was the co-chief planner at the City of Vancouver from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Before that, he was a community planner with the City. Since leaving the government in 2006, Larry has been practicing planning around the world. He also teaches at UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning.

In this episode, Larry and I discuss his experiences as the co-chief of planning, his forthcoming book Vancouverism and some of his key lessons learned over his distinguished career.

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