Are Current Community Consultation Practices Good for Cities?

Are Current Community Consultation Practices Good for Cities?

Do Current Community Consultation Practices Work for Urban Planning and City Building? Community consultation is a key part of public participation in urban planning, but is it working as intended? In this episode of Good for Cities, Matti Siemiatycki is joined by Crystal Legacy to explore the growing crisis of consultation in city building and infrastructure planning. They discuss the limitations of formal engagement processes, including public meetings, stakeholder consultations, and advisory panels, and how these approaches can exclude informal participation and community knowledge. The conversation introduces the concept of structural gaslighting to examine how planning systems can marginalize certain voices while appearing inclusive. This episode also looks at major challenges in public engagement today, including polarization, trust in government decision-making, and the tension between delivering projects quickly and ensuring meaningful community input. The discussion questions who gets to participate in planning processes - current residents, future residents, or both - and how cities can move beyond binary debates like YIMBY vs NIMBY. Tune in to learn how to improve community consultation, strengthen public participation, and create more effective, equitable approaches to urban planning and development.

Is Mission-Driven Design Good for Cities?

In this episode of the Good for Cities podcast, Matti Siemiatycki speaks with Nyasha Harper-Michon about community-led architecture, urban planning, and building more inclusive, sustainable cities. They explore how architects can integrate community engagement into design, align development with local needs, and navigate challenges like affordable housing, climate change, and urban inequality. Nyasha shares lessons from working beyond traditional architecture practice and advancing equity in city-building. This episode is ideal for architects, urban planners, and students interested in architecture careers, community-driven design, and the future of sustainable cities.

Are Financial Landlords Good for Cities?

Financial landlords claim to contribute to the housing stock, but they also have higher rates of eviction and above guideline rent increases than other housing providers. Since the 1990’s, ownership of rental housing by financial firms has drastically increased, with more financial landlords, such as investment trusts and asset managers owning more apartment buildings than before. This has contributed to a shift that’s turned housing into an investment product for third-party investors, who have increasingly consolidated ownership of rental properties across the country. In this episode, Martine August, affordable housing advocate and financial landlord researcher, explains how financial firms are changing the rental landscape, often at the expense of low-income communities. We unpack data on rent increases, eviction rates, and maintenance issues, and discuss why rent control and non-market housing are crucial tools for protecting tenants.

Are Community Land Trusts Good for Cities?

As housing costs rise and neighbourhoods change, many communities are asking a fundamental question: how can current community members help shape the future of their neighbourhoods?  Community land trusts are increasingly part of that conversation. While often framed as a tool for permanent affordability, CLTs also represent a broader shift in how land is owned, governed, and stewarded. In this episode of Good for Cities, Matti Siemiatycki speaks with urban planner Chiyi Tam, about the growing community land trusts movement. They examine what development without displacement can mean in practice, explain how CLTs differ from housing co-ops, and dig into how governance models can bring residents into meaningful decision-making to build long-term stability. The conversation asks what CLTs reveal about civic engagement and imagination in city building, and how different ownership models can shape more inclusive urban futures.

Are Self-Driving Cars Good for Cities?

Autonomous vehicles, or self-driving cars, are often seen as the future of urban mobility, promising safer streets, smoother traffic, and more efficient transportation. But how autonomous vehicles are governed and regulated will ultimately determine their impact on cities. In this episode of Good for Cities, Matti Siemiatycki speaks with Andrew Miller about autonomous vehicles policy, safety regulation, and the evolving frameworks shaping self-driving cars in urban environments. They examine how automated driving systems operate in complex conditions, and what accountability looks like when technology replaces human drivers. The conversation also touches on mobility data governance and data privacy concerns, as autonomous vehicles generate and rely on large-scale transportation data. Andrew reflects on the broader transportation system impacts: will autonomous vehicles reduce congestion and complement public transit, or increase vehicle kilometres travelled and intensify gridlock? As cities across Canada and beyond prepare for greater automation, the episode considers how today’s regulatory and infrastructure decisions could shape urban transportation systems for decades. Tune in to explore the intersection of self-driving cars and urban policy and the question of whether this technology will actually make our cities better.