MEET BRENT TODERIAN

Brent Toderian is a nationally and internationally respected practitioner and thought-leader on cities and city-building, with over 30 years of experience in advanced urbanism, city planning, urban design, transportation and change management. Over the last 10 years since returning to consulting practice,  he has advised and collaborated with cities, states, agencies and best-practice developers around the world, including the cities of Auckland, Brisbane, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Gold Coast, Goteborg, Groningen, Helsinki, Limerick, Medellin, New York, Oslo, Perth, Rotterdam, and Sydney, and in Canada the cities of Abbotsford, Burlington, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Kingston, London, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Ottawa, Regina, Surrey, and Vancouver.

Brent’s establishment of TODERIAN UrbanWORKS (TUW) in early 2012 followed 6 years of significant achievement as Vancouver, Canada's Chief Planner (2006-2012), with accomplishments that included the 2010 Winter Olympics-related planning and design; the EcoDensity and Greenest City Initiatives; new waterfront and skyline-shaping strategies; new visions and strategies for the city’s viaducts, multi-modal mobility and active transportation (walk, bike and transit); place-making, public place design and street activation strategies; next generation transit-oriented development (TOD) initiatives; the Laneway Housing program and other affordability/housing strategies; and inventive strategies at the downtown, city and regional levels emphasizing a “complete city”, not just a livable one. Brent also oversaw all development, design and architecture in Vancouver, known internationally as a “city by design.” 

Brent was Manager of Centre City Planning + Design, and Chief Subdivision + Neighbourhood Planner in Calgary, Canada (2001-2006), where he pioneered innovative approaches to planning, policy and design in the downtown, inner city and suburbs. His Calgary work included the creation and leading of the award-winning Centre City Plan, and real progress toward more integrated neighbourhood models in all contexts. Before that, Brent was an award-winning Ontario-based city planning, design and development consultant (1992-2001), with projects from Toronto to Yellowknife.

Brent’s current consulting work with TUW is extremely diverse, including “out-of-the-box” change-making involving civic and organizational culture; improved community conversations & engagement; inspirational and educational speaking and workshops; teaching; writing; and creative media (social and mainstream).

A passionate practitioner and advocate for creative, vibrant city-building, Brent was the founding President of the Council for Canadian Urbanism (CanU), Canada’s only regular radio columnist on “City-Making” with CBC Radio, and a regular writer with Fast Company, the Huffington Post, Planetizen, CityLab and SPACING. He is a highly sought-after international speaker, teacher and thought-leader on cities and issues of advanced urbanism, and in recent years was voted one of the 100 most influential urbanists in history by Planetizen.