Mention infrastructure, and it's hard not to picture things like public buildings, transit systems and water/power distribution. However, other vital elements of urban society are, or should be, integrated into those things and need to be part of their design. This episode's two featured panels, recorded at CUI's State of Canada's Summit in December 2024, explore those elements - culture and social equity -  in the context of Infrastructure. Some of the featured voices include Isabelle Mondou, deputy minister of Heritage Canada, Brian McBay of Vancouver's 221A and Cathie O'Toole, CAO of the Regional Municipality of Halifax. You can see and hear more from the Summit at citytalkcanada.ca.

The dozen panel discussions recorded in December 2024 on Day One of CUI's State of Canada's Cities Summit revolved around urban infrastructure in all its modern permutations, and how we need to build it better, faster and more sustainably. However, that doesn't preclude its ability to also add beauty and contribute to our collective well-being. The first featured panel in this episode delves into that topic, guided by Alex Bozikovic, architecture critic for The Globe and Mail.  And to wrap up the day's proceedings, host Mary Rowe moderates a panel of blue-ribbon 'distillers' of ideas to summarize the gleanings from this second-annual gathering in Ottawa. You can see and hear more at citytalkcanada.ca.  

The Canadian Urban Institute's mobile podcast studio at the State of Canada's Cities Summit in Ottawa last December offered CUI staff the opportunity to chat with some of the leading voices attending the event.  In this episode, media and communications advisor Anne-Marie Aikins speaks with Carol Bélanger, City Architect for the City of Edmonton... the first such position in Canada.  In a similar vein,  research associate Léandro Santos caught up with Mathieu Grondin, the newly-appointed Nightlife Commissioner for the City of Ottawa.  Later, Anne-Marie returns to chat with Alex Bozikovic, columnist and architecture critic for The Globe and Mail about the relationship between design and infrastructure. See and hear more from the Summit at citytalkcanada.ca.  

More forward-thinking discussions on infrastructure from CUI's State of Canada's Cities Summit, these the first of several recorded by our mobile podcast studio.  Featured upfront, host Mary Rowe shares a pre-lunch chat with Leila Ghaffari, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Planning & Environment at Montreal's Concordia University, and Sarah Rosen Wartell,  president of the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. Later, Sadhu Johnstone, former City Manager for the City of Vancouver, drops by the studio to talk about his current role as a Climate Lead with the Climate Ready Infrastructure Service, a new CUI initiative in partnership with Housing and Infrastructure Canada. You'll find more resources and details on the Summit at citytalkcanada.ca.    

In this engaging discussion, Carolyn Weitzman, a housing researcher, leads a conversation on innovative housing solutions. Former City Manager Sadhu Johnston and Jeb Brookman, both climate resilience experts, emphasize the urgent need for climate-ready infrastructure. Jen Angel, CEO of Evergreen, underlines the importance of community building in this context. Together, they tackle the challenges of integrating public land for affordable housing, enhancing community engagement, and preparing cities for climate change impacts.

Where do you start two days of conversation about the issues around infrastructure in all its modern urban permutations? For host Mary Rowe and her team at the Canadian Urban Institute, the answer was obvious - talk first about the mental health crisis affecting most every community.  This episode recorded in December 2024 at the State of Canada's Cities Summit in Ottawa features a panel discussion titled Mental Health Matters: Building Supportive Main Streets & Downtowns, as moderated by Paul Johnson, City Manager for the City of Toronto.  And CUI vice-president Robert Plitt chats with Andrea Barrack, vice-president of Sustainability and Impact at RBC, the Summit's presenting sponsor, about her takeaways from the sessions. You can see and hear more from the Summit at citytalkcanada.ca

More highlights from the morning plenary session of the State of Canada's Cities Summit, presented in Ottawa last December 2024 by the Canadian Urban Institute. CUI CEO and event host Mary Rowe presents two featured panel discussions: fhe first is titled Infrastructure for Growth and is focused on innovative solutions for local economies of every size; and the second looks at AI and whether it can serve these same communities in processing the data needed for smart, future-proof management.  You'll fine more info and resources from the Summit at citytalkcanada.ca.

As the past few episodes of CityTalk:The Podcast have previewed, hundreds of city builders and place makers met in Ottawa on Dec.5th/6th for the 2024 State of Canada's Cities Summit, presented by the Canadian Urban Institute... and where the core topic explored was infrastructure in all its iterations.  Host Mary Rowe introduces highlights from the plenary sessions and other special events in this and upcoming episodes, beginning with the keynote presentation on Canada's infrastructure gap from Karen Chapple, director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto...followed by a 'continental context' discussion on Making Canada Matter More, moderated by Andrea Barrack, VP of Sustainability and Impact at RBC. You can see more about the Summit at citytalkcanada.ca.  

Infrastructure - hardly a stimulating concept, but one that's mission-critical on multiple levels to our daily lives, and to the communities we share.  For this third and final preview of CUI's State of Canada's Cities Summit, host Mary Rowe speaks with Don Iveson, whose civic and public sector career touches on the many components of urban infrastructure requiring healthy measures of investment and innovation. Don will also be a featured guest at the Summit, which you can learn more about here.

As the clock counts down to doors opening at the Canadian Urban Institute's second annual State of Canada's Cities Summit, the CityTalk Podcast offers another preview to the topics topping the agenda in Ottawa on December 5th and 6th. This episode features host Mary Rowe in conversation with Fanny Tremblay-Racicot,  professor at l'École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP) in Québec and expert in local governance models. They discuss many of the innovative solutions emerging around Canada's infrastructure challenges.  Learn more about the State of Canada's Cities Summit here.