#citymakers

Gordon is someone I have always admired as a local urbanist. He is an engaging speaker on transportation, climate change, and city life in general. Whenever I have chatted with him or heard him speak at events, he always offers compelling arguments on sustainable urbanism and doesn't sugarcoat issues. You can follow his thoughts and interesting urbanism tidbits at his popular blog, Pricetags. 

Who are you ?

Director of the SFU City Progam (and, once upon a time, a city councillor in Vancouver ('86-'02)

What motivates you to get involved in city life?

Initially: curiosity about the environment that surrounds me.  Now, fascination with its evolution (having been around long enough to see cycles of change).

Why Vancouver?

 As a Victoria boy, I started to travel east.  It didn't take long to figure out that, 30 miles later, this was as good as it was going to get.

Vancouver would be better if____(fill in the blanks)  

Cliché I know: breaks of better weather in the winter - those moments of sun that bring everyone outdoors to share in our collective places.

Favourite public space?

Second Beach.  Love the outdoor swimming, the seawall, the beach and the views of the city.  (Gosh, Third Beach too, and English Bay.  Hey, Kits Beach has all that.  And then Jericho, Locarno ... )  All right, so I choose the Seaside Greenway, that joins it all up.

Must have Vancouver souvenir?

Which memory, you mean?  Cause the trinkets don’t count.  I'd guess, that as a tourist, it might be the final few steps at the top of Grouse Grind.  Then the beer that follows.

Favourite local hangout?

Second Beach pool.  (Okay, I'm in a rut - but it's a nice rut. Unfortunately, it's only a summer rut.)

Local inspiration (person, place or thing)?

Those with extraordinary disabilities who do extraordinary things: Terry Fox, Rick Hansen, Sam Sullivan - and the many others who have transformed this place and the sense of ourselves.  (Urban example: I was watching work crews rebuild an intersection on Robson Street, putting in the curb cuts that allow for seamless accessibility.  The able-bodied may not realize how accessible this city is for the disabled, but it's another manifestation, backed with budgets, for that priority.)

Worst thing about Vancouver?

Affordability.  Then the whining.  (A fear of losing paradise, I suppose, but it becomes so very FWP*.)

Favourite Vancouver memory?

A single favourite memory?  No such thing.  But thanks for asking; it made me think of so many.

Emily grew up in and loves Chicago. She has also lived for various stretches in Portland, Cleveland, Orlando, Tallahassee, Paris, Norfolk and Atlanta. So far, she has been sitting still in the D.C. area for three full years – "a personal adult record" – while working on a Master's degree. 

I wanted to feature her in my Citymakers series because she is a great writer on topics that will have a significant impact on the future of cities.

Who are you ?

I'm a staff writer for The Atlantic Cities, where I write about a lot of wide-ranging topics that each touch in some way on cities and urban life. Some days I write about affordable housing and racial segregation. Other days I write about how climate change could impact cities, or how open data is changing the relationship between residents and City Hall. I also love to write about maps, parking, and people (like myself) who rent their homes instead of owning them. It's a pretty great job.

What motivates you to get involved in city life?

I grew up in Chicago (always telling people, "yes, the actual city, not the suburbs"). And I think that's a great place to learn to love cities. Chicago has amazing architecture, and really interesting urban history (both good chapters and bad) and some wildly different and fascinating neighborhoods. When I was a kid, my mother also worked for the city as the parking commissioner. As a result, we somehow had a parking meter in our apartment.

Why Washington, DC?

In a word: jobs. My husband is a defense contractor, and when we moved to town I was primarily writing about public policy. Washington is pretty much the best and only place to do either of these things. But we also love that the city is so close to an amazing national park, Shenandoah. It's often hard to find a major city so close to such beautiful nature.

Washington would be better if____(fill in the blanks)  

Washington would be better if it were more affordable. Housing costs here are pretty ridiculous, and I often wonder how all of these summer interns and non-profit employees get by paying $1,500 a month to sleep in someone's basement.

Favourite public space?

The courtyard inside the National Portrait Gallery is great, as are the gardens outside the U.S. Botanic Gardens off the Mall.

Must have city souvenir?

Edible souvenirs are my favorite. So I go for deep-dish pizza in Chicago, maybe a half-smoke in Washington.

Favourite local hangout?

The Mount Vernon Trail bike path along the Potomac. That may not quite be a "hangout," but I spend a lot of time there, and it's a great place to experience a sense of Washington with the monuments across the river, the rowers on the Potomac, and airplanes landing right overhead at DCA.

Local inspiration (person, place or thing)?

The Saturday morning farmer's market in Old Town, Alexandria. 

Worst thing about your city?

The summer heat. It's awful. And so humid. And lasts forever.

Favourite city memory?

I have a lot of great memories of going to White Sox games as a kid in Chicago with my family. When I was young, I could not imagine how anyone could live in a city without a baseball team (let alone two of them to pick from).

Citymakers is a column to profile people who positively contribute to the city (socially, artistically, environmentally, etc.). Who else should be profiled here?

Jennifer Pahlka

Cameron Booth

Candy Chang

Harriet Tregoning

Norman Garrick

Ben Miller