Tehmina A Chaudhry’s Post

How Toronto is winning the public transport pursuit. I really love this piece of reportage blending powerful individual story-telling with the story of the city's #transit policy the key decisions that shaped it along the way, as told by Jonathan English. Spending a lot of time recently thinking how we can draw on this style to help policy and campaigns to break-through the noise. #communications #localgovernment #planning

Australian Lord Mayors, take note! Maintaining a vibrant city means making it inclusive for everyone. Unfortunately, many of Australia's capital cities have become enclaves for the wealthy residents only. However, there's a solution to this problem. The Mayor of London has a social responsibility to make up to 50% of London Council surplus land sold off for residential use affordable housing. In contrast, Australia's approach to selling surplus "public land" for residential use is disappointing, with only a small percentage set aside for affordable housing. This has led to the worst shortfall in affordable housing in Australia's history. In the wake of the pandemic, many Australian cities are facing a similar problem and becoming "Tuesday to Thursday" CBDs. With the trend of working from home, with discounted many American cities office towers are being priced at 10 cents in the dollar. Eastern Seaboard cities in Australia, like Melbourne and Sydney, are experiencing the same issue with devaluation of office towers. This lack of occupancy in office buildings is causing a shortage of foot traffic, which is hurting small businesses. Despite the drop in foot traffic in Melbourne's CBD, one of my previous major urban projects Melbourne Central is still a vibrant hub. The project, which I worked on, is achieving around 40 million annual visitors, up from the pre-pandemic era of around 36 million visitors. This highlights the importance of creating inclusive spaces that can beat economic challenges, creating a "sense of place" is hard to achieve. #Australia #CapitalCities #footfall #affordablehousing #vibrancy #Melbourne #Sydney

Have your voice heard as the City of Toronto develops its 10 year economic development plan.  Do you live in Toronto? Do you own a business in Toronto? Toronto is a city I love; my home for 34 years.  Serving as Co-Chair of the Economic Advisory Panel panel, along with Councillor Shelley Carroll, aligns with where I want to make impact in my #PurposefulThirdAct - in building inclusive prosperity.  The Panel is providing advice to support the development of “A New Action Plan for Toronto’s Economy.”  This will set a 10-year vision for Toronto’s economy and propose actions that the City and partners across sectors can take to enhance Toronto’s #competitiveness, while supporting more #inclusive and #sustainable opportunities and investments across Toronto.    The City wants to hear from more people - Torontonians and businesses - via a quick survey, which closes on February 29.  Your feedback will help support decision-making and shape priorities for the City’s new strategy. Take the short survey here: https://lnkd.in/g2Expaxs

Spotlight on UK Top Cities 🇬🇧 When considering property investment in the UK, certain cities are consistently surfacing as the top destinations. Birmingham, celebrated for its urban regeneration, is attracting a surge of interest from both property investors and young professionals. This city is a prime example of how insightful UK property investments can yield substantial returns due to the high demand for housing driven by regeneration projects and economic growth. Read More: https://lnkd.in/gSKKnRbq #gladfish #tipsinpropertyinvesting #ukproperty #solidfundamentals #propertyinvesting #propertyinvestmentUK #buytolet #propertyeducation #propertyinvestmentcompany #bestareastoinvestinproperty #buytoletpropertiesforsale #investinginrealestate #offplanproperty #buytoletuk #ukproperties #bestplacestoinvest #birminghampropertyinvestement

Canadian cities are facing an infrastructure deficit which threatens our global competitiveness and the strength and resilience of our local communities. Challenges like water main bursts in major cities like #Montreal and #Calgary, and burgeoning opportunities like the development boom underway in #Halifax remind us that Canadian cities are being forced to adapt. Will we rise to the occasion? The theme of the second annual State of Canada’s Cities Summit, "Stepping Up: Investing in Infrastructure for Canada to Compete Globally and Thrive Locally", is a call to city builders across the country. In partnership with our Presenting Partner, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), our Lead Sponsor and Research Partner, The School of Cities at the University of Toronto, along with numerous other urban stakeholders, we invite you to join us this Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 in Ottawa for the preeminent urban event in Canada. A limited number of Early Bird tickets on sale now for a limited time. Expires Sept 9th Link: https://buff.ly/46PAYKW

Toronto is the greatest city in the world and of course it can always be improved. When folks critique the city they do it from their lived perspective - which for many folks is from households living in houses, with 2 cars and high incomes. Step back for a second and remember: - 1/3 of toronto households don’t have a vehicle (and lots don’t have cottages) - neighbourhoods built before the 1950s purposely integrated low rise buildings with single family homes and then we stopped that which is a big issue now - kids growing up in Hong Kong, NYC and London generally don’t have backyards and they turn out just fine - the only chance you have of moving into an old folks home in the city near where you live is if we actually build them in the city - unless you want minimum wage to be $60 an hour we need affordable and rent geared to income builds in the actual city - even households with cars rely on transit and cycling to get downtown cause $45 a day parking and traffic is stupid which is why transit and bike lanes matter - EVs don’t help with congestion - transit and cycling does - just cause you drive your car everywhere alone doesn’t mean you should be prioritized in city planning - tolls and congestion taxes are super common in large cities and it’s wild we don’t have them here (yet) - walkabikity, accessibility, commute times and community safety are all intertwined (see Jane Jacobs) - we need more subways and LRTs - Tehran has way more than us - all of the best food is outside downtown but we all know that lol - if we want to continue to live in the greatest city on earth we need to think outside of the box on housing and change a bunch of the rules that have impeded any chance like stairwells, doors and other various limiting rules that other cities have figured out We need to try harder to use everyone’s input, not just those with the loudest voices, to continue to keep toronto the greatest city in the world ❤️

Curious about how 'City Deals' can revolutionise regional development? David Jones, Senior Associate at TSA Riley and Property Council New Zealand Wellington Committee member, shares his insights in this PCNZ article. Reflecting on his experience with the Manchester City Deal, David reconnected with old colleagues to discuss the valuable lessons and opportunities that City Deals present for Wellington and beyond.   Read on to discover:   What is a City Deal? Discover how this innovative mechanism integrates key projects, policies, and governance reforms to drive regional economic growth.   Lessons from Manchester: From setting up the right skills and governance to fostering regional collaboration, Manchester's journey offers invaluable insights for New Zealand.   Opportunities for New Zealand (and beyond): Could City Deals help address NZ's infrastructure and growth challenges? David explores how we can leverage this model to benefit regions across the country.   Read the full article to discover how David's insights could help shape the future of urban development. #TSARiley #TSARileyAotorea #PCNZ #CityDeals #UrbanDevelopment #RegionalEconomy #InfrastructureDevelopment #GovernanceReform #ManchesterCityDeal #UrbanPlanning #PlanWithTR #ConnectedIntelligence #TransofrmativeImpact

🏡 Some cities are now so expensive they’re labeled “impossibly unaffordable”! 🌍 - US cities like San Jose, LA, SF, and Honolulu top the list 📈 - Hong Kong is the least affordable globally 🏙️ - Australian cities Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide are also highly unaffordable 🌏 - Causes: pandemic-driven demand, restrictive land use policies, and investor activity 🏠 #HousingCrisis #RealEstate #CityLife 🔹 Affordable cities: Pittsburgh, Rochester, St. Louis in the US; Edmonton, Calgary in Canada; Blackpool, Glasgow in the UK; Perth, Brisbane in Australia 🌐 🔹 Hong Kong has the lowest home ownership rate at 51% due to high costs 🏢 🔹 New Zealand’s policy of zoning for 30 years of housing growth is suggested as a solution for affordability 🌿 https://lnkd.in/gntHVZQJ

Exploring the Top UK Cities for Property Investment 🌆📈** If you're looking to invest in UK property, consider these top cities: 1. **Manchester**: Experiencing significant population and job growth, with average rents around £1,100/month. 📊 2. **Birmingham**: Undergoing massive redevelopment, with a 6.2% growth in 2023 and rents at £950/month. 🏗️ 3. **Liverpool**: Attractive due to affordable property prices and a 5% growth rate in 2023, with rents at £850/month. 🏙️ Investing in these cities could be a smart move for your portfolio. 💡✨ 👉 Where are you planning to invest? Share your insights! 🌐👇 #PropertyInvestment #UKRealEstate #InvestSmart #Manchester #Birmingham #Liverpool

Did you know that Calgary maintains more roads per capita than Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal? While this may seem like a boast-worthy fact, it actually comes at a significant cost to taxpayers. These sprawling roads absorb resources that could be spent elsewhere, making it difficult to fund other important initiatives. One potential solution to this problem is to focus on "missing middle" and established area re-development. By encouraging recentralization and making more efficient use of land, we can reduce sprawl and the associated infrastructure costs. This approach can help us to prioritize smart development and ensure that our communities are sustainable for years to come. It's time to start thinking about how we can make our cities more efficient and reduce the burden on taxpayers. By prioritizing missing middle solutions, we can take a first step in the right direction. Join us mddl as we explore how we make cities more inclusive, sustainable and accessible.