The Plangineers engage experts Sven Beiker and Gary Hsueh to explore the world of autonomous vehicles. Dr. Sven Beiker is Managing Director of Silicon Valley Mobility Gary Hsueh is Director of Mobility Programs at Prospect Silicon Valley In part 2 of this 2-part interview, Michelle and Rob continue their conversation with Sven and Gary to discuss s…

The Plangineers engage experts Sven Beiker and Gary Hsueh to explore the world of autonomous vehicles. Dr. Sven Beiker is Managing Director of Silicon Valley Mobility Gary Hsueh is Director of Mobility Programs at Prospect Silicon Valley In part 1 of this 2-part interview, Michelle and Rob engage with Sven and Gary who break down the basics of "Aut…

A powerful interview with three Hamilton Councillors on the role elected leaders play in combatting hate, racism and bigotry. Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson, Ward 3 Councillor Nrinder Nann and Ward 9 Councillor Brad Clark. ___________________________________________________________________ Host, Graham Crawford Alex Zafer, producer…

In an ongoing series discussing Hate in The Hammer, we feature two very special guests, Cameron Kroetsch and Lyla Miklos discussing the relationship between our 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and our civic institutions. Both Cameron and Lyla are active and engaged citizens of Hamilton as well as the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Police, Power, Politics are on the …

Listen to Graham's audio op-ed on Cardus. Our City Council is about to vote to enter into negotiations with Cardus on their use of Balfour House, and blocking any other groups from consideration. If you haven't looked at some of the content Cardus publishes on their website, you should. Here's Graham's thoughts on what he found. The Graham Crawford…

After a hiatus, Producer Alex Zafer and Host Graham Crawford introduce the return of the Graham Crawford Show. Have a listen. Enjoy! Podcast produced by Alex Zafer with your host Graham Crawford

YES we are back after a long hiatus. Please listen to Producer Alex Zafer's preview to the upcoming episodes of The Graham Crawford Show, including his insightful perspectives on standing up to hate in Hamilton. Enjoy.

Indy Johar, Visionary, is co-founder of Project 00, Dark Matter Labs, as well as multiple social ventures in England. While doing all of this, he also works with large global multinationals and institutions to support their transition to a positive Systems Economy. In this discussion, Indy explains the necessity of the "boring" revolution to equip …

Olivia Labonte, Executive Director of Young Diplomats of Canada, talks about grassroots youth engagement. Olivia, an economist with a passion for global youth advocacy and sustainable cities, distills ideas from the Canada at 100,000,000 panel. She shares insights from her work as Executive Director of Young Diplomats of Canada, a national non-prof…

Derek brings his extensive experience in the development and management of housing to answer our questions on the topic. We talk about the merits of piloting policy in real-life versus the pitfalls of policy from the boardroom, and discuss takeaways from the Future Cities Canada Summit 'Housing for All' panel.…

Fang shares insights from her experiences leading workshops and meetings that aim to tackle diverse social issues. The aim of her work is to deal with cross-government issues and enhance a better organisational culture from inside to outside of the government.By Muneef Ahmad, Michelle Berquist and Rob Muir

Claire Hicks, Program Manager for Future Ready at WSP Canada, shares successes in sustainability. Future Ready is WSPs global innovation program, encouraging staff and clients to see the future more clearly and design for it today. Claire strives to support teams to deliver resilient, sustainable and people-centred project solutions that are prepar…

Leah Lawrence is a lifelong advocate for engineering, entrepreneurship and the environment. The President and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) shares behind-the-scenes insights on technology and how 'change management' can be about 'change expectation.' Check her out in 'The Future of Business' panel discussion at the Future …

Geoff Cape, is the founder and CEO of Evergreen. Since being founded in 1991, Evergreen has evolved into a national organization focused on integrating people, natural and built worlds, turning spaces into great places. On-site at the inaugural Future Cities Canada Summit, Geoff talks about how lessons learned at the Evergreen Brick Works site can …

Desmond Cole, award-winning journalist, activist and author, speaks to the Plangineers on the heels of his opening keynote at the Future Cities Canada Summit, held November 7-9, 2018 at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto. Click here to see his intriguing presentation. He points to segregation within the City of Toronto and encourages city builders to…

Jo Flatt, Senior Lead of Policy & Partnerships at Evergreen speaks to us about the Future Cities Canada Summit. Future Cities Canada is a new national collaborative that aims to accelerate urban innovation to transform cities for the benefit of us all. The Summit takes place from November 7-9, 2018 at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto.…

Alex Lenarduzzi, Water Resources Engineer at Conservation Halton shares her thoughts on the role of the natural environment and how it co-exists with the urban environment. We talk about: Differences and similarities between practice in the public and private sector The lingering impacts of extreme weather and the human stories around such events A…

In our second episode ever, “Good, or good enough?” Michelle and Rob discuss how paradigms were broken for the revolutionary Deep Lake Water Cooling system. Our ancestors first form of “district energy,” sharing fire in a cave Vancouver’s Olympic village district energy system Sustainable development at the Regent Park Revitalization Discussing Enw…

The Plangineers talk about the illusions and realities of public consultation. Rob explains the methods by which we gather and consider various points of consideration when undertaking city-building initiatives. Dialogue revolves around engaging early and often. Michelle shares the pizza analogy of consultation. We talk about change management and …

Sheila Boudreau, Senior Landscape Architect at Toronto & Region Conservation Authority, shares stories of teaching, engaging and opening up opportunities for indigenous youth. Sheila speaks to us about: How her experiences have been interwoven to shape what and how she teaches Taking care of the forest in a free-range upbringing Why she has embarke…

The Plangineers, Michelle & Rob, share how their professional fuel often comes from outside their professional lives. We talked about: Voracious reading Understanding people How Ray Dalio's "Idea meritocracy" resonated with Rob Thinking Fast & Slow, in Rob’s case about Floods and Flow Finding the strength to put down a book Michelle’s reflection ab…

Helen Noehammer, Director of Transportation & Infrastructure Planning at the City of Mississauga shares her take on pink-handled tools and how soft skills help alongside the hard skills in the engineer’s toolbox. Helen talks to us about... How "a little bit of everything" adds up to a lot What happens when "life happens" Changes in the representati…

A special edition of the Cityist. Civic Panel regular, Maureen Wilson, joins Graham to discuss the future of the Discovery Centre on our waterfront. City Council is considering selling this public building and the 8 acres on which it sits to a private developer. We think there are ways to re-imagine the building’s use and keep it in public hands. J…

Our Civic Panel sinks their teeth into 3 very current topics on this edition of the podcast. 1. Downtown Densification - High Anxiety Link from The Hamilton Spectator: "Beasley neighbours back development, but not at any price Hamilton’s new downtown plan makes arbitrary changes without adequate consultation" https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/8…

Lesley Pavan, Director of Design and Development at the City of Mississauga shares her insights into the lifestyle choices on offer in the rapidly urbanizing city where she both works and lives. Lesley speaks to us about... Her path from humble roots on the farm, to geographer and through a municipal journey to her role as Director. Mississauga's e…

There was a time when all members of the senior leadership team at the City of Hamilton were men. What was the most recent year that was true? Was it 1990? 2000? 2005? If you picked any of those years, you’d be wrong. The correct answer is 2018. That’s right, the unstoppable City of Hamilton is once again run by men. Next to the City Manager, the m…

On this edition of the Graham Crawford Show we talk with Paul Wilson about the bright neon lights of Hamilton, those that once were and those that still light the night sky. Cultural Heritage is defined as an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation, including customs, practices, places, …

We’re very pleased to have Jason Thorne, General Manager of Planning & Economic Development for the City of Hamilton join us for an in-depth, one-on-one discussion about urban design in Hamilton, from how demographics affect planning, to what is excellent urban design, to how the Planning Department contributes to the achievement of our Vision, to …

The Plangineers talk about ingrained falsehoods and the challenge of living up to our professional duty Factual review of engineering data is found here relating to the fact that storm intensities have not increased Rob shared data and engaged specific outlets to expose falsehoods. In this article from Canadian Underwriter, editors consulted Enviro…

On this edition of the Cityist, like many boys and girls throughout Hamilton, I sent Santa a note that began: Dear Santa, I know you’re a pretty busy person, but I’d really appreciate it if you could take a look at my list of 8 Civic Gifts I’d love for you to bring to my town….. Listen to what I asked for from Santa for Hamilton. __________________…

"Driving us Crazy" - A very lively discussion from several points of views. Our featured panelists Peter Graefe, Maureen Wilson and Tom Flood discuss with Graham the attitudes around urban design and roads. Do drivers in Hamilton own more than the road? _________________________________________________ The Graham Crawford Show, with your host Graha…

Architectural gems on Wentworth sit empty Paul Wilson discusses two boarded up beauties on Wentworth Street South, one a mansion, the other a lovely apartment building. Both in need of some attention. The original link to the Hamilton Spectator article can be found here: https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/7563034-paul-wilson-architectural-gems-o…

A “Millenial” is defined as someone born between 1981 - 1997. Our Millenial Planner, Michelle, and Gen X-er Engineer Rob, share their perspectives on the topic of the “Millenial experience,” and challenge the current narrative. Age-ism is a recurring and troubling theme as is the reality of how it may be ever-present, but simply being dealt with di…

The City of Hamilton spent half a million dollars on a proposal to Amazon for Hamilton to become the site of its second headquarters for up to 50,000 employees. I hate to be the party pooper, but I think our senior bureaucrats and elected officials need to have a drink of reality. Chasing expensive rainbows is one way to spend our money and our ene…

Mark Richardson joins us to talk about his experience challenging the City of Hamilton about their decision to ignore the recommendations of the consultants they hired to redefine the 15 Ward boundaries to create a more balanced distribution of Wards and population. Problem is, when Watson & Associates presented their findings and their recommendat…

After a long summer break The Graham Crawford Show returns with our regular Civic Panel where we discuss a melange of topics. Our featured panelists include Ryan McGreal, Peter Graefe and Maureen Wilson. Pier 8 Design Competition - The Process & the Results Redefining Ward Boundaries - How we got to where we are now Assigning resources (time, money…

The Plangineers talk about how the input of technical experts can help round out storytelling to add the "why" to the "who cares?" (Sorry for the confusion in the intro...this is actually episode #5, you're right.) Reporting on the GO Train flooding of 2013 may have exaggerated the frequency of this occurrence Check out Rob's CityFloodMap blog post…

Like many others have, I’ve accused Councillors of being tone deaf on these sorts of issues that are completely within their control to remedy. Why is it that they try to ignore us? I have a theory. I think they ignore us for as long as possible because they don’t really want to be seen as reacting to feedback about their own behaviours. You got a …

First of all, a small confession. I’m a member of the Board of Directors of the Westdale Cinema Group, the non-profit organization that has purchased the old Westdale Theatre and that will be restoring it to its 1935 glory. That makes me, and this edition of the Cityist, less than objective. But this project is so exciting that I feel more than com…

We talk to Paul about a column he called: New mayor can’t sit on this throne that appeared in the Hamilton Spectator on October 21, 2014.It’s a story about the City of Hamilton’s secret warehouse full of Hamilton artifacts the City has been collecting throughout its history that it doesn’t have the space to put on permanent display. While Paul does…

Just when you didn’t think it was possible for Councillors to be more tone deaf, they prove us wrong. I’m talking about the recent recommendation by Councillors at a Governance Review Subcommittee to spend $5000 for service rings for themselves. Apparently, rings have been given in the past to Councillors who are either retiring or who have died. N…

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This time, we talk to Paul about a column he called: Harmony’s proud, but sad, story to be unveiled that appeared in the Hamilton Spectator on September 2, 2014. It’s about the Harmony Apartments at Bay and Barton. If you haven’t been by the building, it’s worth taking a look if you’re in the area. Located on the west side of Bay Street, one buildi…

One year, and tens of thousands of downloads after this adventure began, I sit down with the mastermind of The Graham Crawford Show - Executive Producer Alex Zafer to discuss the original vision for the show, what we’ve accomplished and where we go from here. And we talk about Dave Beatty, the owner of QED Media in Hamilton where we record the how …

I’m joined by an artist and satirist I’ve admired for years. I admire his wit. His artistry. His ability to boil oceans of issues to their essence and to present what he sees in ways that leave us smiling or even, dare I say, LOL’ing. His name is Graeme MacKay and he’s the editorial cartoonist for the Hamilton Spectator. I think you’ll really enjoy…

Episode #4: Dancing About Infrastructure Michelle and Rob reflect on the artistry that reveals our invisible services and why these reminders are an important part of our urban existence Talking about music, is like dancing about architecture. But we’ll try dancing about infrastructure anyway Older underground sewers are brick works of art like the…

We talk to Paul about a column he called: Storied House Amid Highrises Has a Future Again. It appeared in the Hamilton Spectator on May 17, 2016. It’s a story about tenacity. In this case, the tenacity of a beautiful house and the tenacity of a dedicated owner. The house was built in 1860, just 7 years after Central School was built on Hunter. Toda…

This edition of the Cityist is called Dithering, Blithering & Slithering. It’s a three word summary of the last City Council meeting about LRT. We may be relieved and thankful that the LRT Environmental Assessment 2.0 was approved in a 10 to 5 vote by Council. But, there’s more to this than simply getting enough votes to keep LRT moving. That meeti…

We’re calling this edition of the Civic Panel Some Counsel for Council. If you're a regular watcher of Hamilton City Council, you’ll probably agree that Council’s behaviour is questionable at times. And, at other times, downright appalling. Our panelists each provide some advice to Council based on problems they see happening. And they provide some…

It was telling that Spectator columnist Andrew Dreschel began a recent column by saying, “City Manager Chris Murray’s face may not have been sickly green, but he has rarely looked as crestfallen and crushed.” Chris Murray was down because an internal audit about how consulting dollars were spent had just been shared with Council. It was a damning r…