Unlocking the Potential of Cities in a Time of Change
Cities are where many of society’s biggest challenges are felt most acutely—housing affordability, climate adaptation, economic shifts, and social fragmentation all play out in real-time in our streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces. But cities are also where solutions emerge.
Unlike abstract policy debates, cities make challenges tangible. They are deeply physical places, shaped by design, infrastructure, governance, and daily human experience. They don’t just reflect the society we have; they can manifest both vision and examples of what we want.
Right now, we’re in a period of profound transition. But while cities are changing, the systems that guide their evolution—planning processes, zoning laws, and regulatory frameworks—haven’t kept pace.
Larry Beasley’s recent OAA keynote, Shaping Cities, underscored this dilemma: our urban planning and governance systems were designed to ensure stability and orderly growth, but in many cases, they now stand in the way of progress.
To move forward, we need to rethink not just what we build, but how we make decisions, who is involved, and how urban development aligns with the realities of people’s lives.
The Five Urban Challenges Cities Must Solve
In Canada and beyond, five interconnected challenges define our cities today:
Environmental Degradation from the Human Footprint – Climate risks are escalating, yet many regulatory systems slow down projects that could make cities more sustainable, resilient, and energy-efficient. We must move from compliance-driven processes to innovation-driven outcomes that prioritize long-term environmental benefits.
Economic and Social Exclusion – Rising costs and restrictive policies make it harder for people to live in thriving, connected communities. Zoning that prevents multi-use developments, cooperative housing, and multi-generational living limits affordability and isolates people from opportunities.
Breakdown of Stable Communities – Short-term, speculative development often displaces long-standing neighborhoods while failing to provide housing models that foster long-term social cohesion.
Personal Alienation – As cities densify without adequate public space or human-centered design, people feel increasingly disconnected. Good urbanism isn’t just about housing units—it’s about creating places where people feel at home.
Breakdown of Civic Dialogue – Polarization in public discourse means that many engagement processes reward opposition rather than solution-building, leading to a grow
These are not abstract problems. People feel them in their daily lives. Rising rents, long commutes, uncertainty about the future, and a sense of fraying social connection all add to the pressure. Cities must become places that don’t just absorb these pressures but provide concrete solutions of what's possible.
Breaking the Gridlock: Moving from Process to Progress
Despite widespread consensus on the need for action, cities remain trapped in bureaucratic cycles that slow down even the most urgent projects. The problem is not a lack of solutions—it’s the inertia of decision-making itself.
Zoning laws still prioritize outdated, low-density patterns that don’t reflect modern housing needs, limiting innovative housing solutions like co-housing, modular developments, and purpose-built rental communities that provide social connection and affordability.
Environmental review processes, meant to protect, now delay climate-positive development for years. This has led to rising cynicism, where people who challenge environmental policies often reject the entire premise, throwing out progress alongside regulation. We must shift the conversation from compliance to outcomes that reward sustainable innovation.
Public engagement processes favor the most oppositional voices, making it harder to build projects that serve broad public needs. More collaborative engagement models that focus on co-design, not just feedback loops, are key to regaining trust.
Construction costs are inflated by regulatory inefficiencies, but the biggest issue is uncertainty and delay. In increasingly volatile economic times, the risk of indeterminate approval timelines kills projects before they even break ground.
The planning and development process today moves at the speed of bureaucracy, while the crises we face demand the speed of innovation.
Beyond NIMBY vs. YIMBY: Reframing the Debate
Discussions about urban growth have become trapped in a binary: NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) vs. YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard). But this framing is limiting. The real issue is not whether we build, but how we build, who benefits, and whether growth strengthens communities rather than displacing them.
Rather than zero-sum battles over development, we need more collaborative, outcome-driven models:
Community-Led Development – Cities like Vienna and Helsinki have pioneered participatory planning models where residents, developers, and policymakers work together to align new development with long-term community well-being.
Reforming Zoning to Focus on Form and Function – Many cities are shifting from rigid, use-based zoning toward performance-based codes that allow for more flexible, mixed-use, and community-supporting housing options.
Expanding Missing Middle Housing – Instead of forcing a choice between single-family sprawl and high-rises, cities need a broader housing spectrum, including mid-rise apartments, laneway housing, infill, multi-generational units, and live-work spaces that support diverse lifestyles and incomes.
Leveraging Innovation: Cities as Platforms for Change
While policy debates stall progress, technological and design innovations are advancing rapidly. Cities need to embrace a more adaptive, experimental approach to unlock these opportunities.
Modular and Off-Site Construction – Prefabricated housing could dramatically reduce costs and timelines, but outdated building codes and procurement models prevent scalability.
AI and Data-Driven Planning – Cities that integrate real-time data into zoning, permitting, and infrastructure planning can anticipate needs rather than react too late.
Smart Infrastructure – Next-generation urban systems—such as renewable energy grids, advanced water management, and predictive analytics—can transform how cities function if regulations shift from rigid compliance to incentivized innovation.
Cities like Singapore, Tokyo, and Stockholm have demonstrated that when regulations enable rather than restrict, innovation can drive affordability, livability, and sustainability.
A New Urban Coalition: Who Needs to Be at the Table?
If we are serious about making cities more inclusive, resilient, and responsive, we need a shift in who gets to shape them. The traditional model—where government regulates, developers build, and communities react—is no longer working.
Instead, we need a more integrated coalition of stakeholders:
Designers and technologists who can bring ambitious, scalable solutions to the table.
Developers willing to innovate on housing models and financing mechanisms.
Community organizations that prioritize co-creation over opposition.
Policymakers who move from risk aversion to enabling well-regulated experimentation.
The cities that successfully navigate this moment of change will be those that embrace cross-sector collaboration, experimentation, and adaptive governance.
Final Thoughts: Cities as a Catalyst for Change
Cities are more than just the backdrop for society’s challenges. They are the most powerful platform we have for driving systemic change.
They are where climate adaptation becomes real.
They are where affordability solutions take shape.
They are where social connection is either reinforced or eroded.
Urban change is inevitable. The real question is whether we shape it intentionally or let outdated systems dictate the outcome.
This moment demands bold action. Not just from planners or policymakers, but from all of us.
Because ultimately, the debate isn’t just about density—it’s about whether we are building the kind of cities that create the kind of society we want to live in.
And if we get this right, our cities won’t just reflect our challenges—they will lead the way toward solutions.