Speaking on Family-Friendly Cities and the Future of Abbotsford
Next month I will be joining Charles Montgomery, urbanist and writer of The Happy City, to talk about how Abbotsford, BC, can build a family-friendly city as they move forward with their new Official Community Plan.
I am very excited to have the opportunity to speak about this groundbreaking plan. If you have been following the process, ‘Abbotsforward,’ the draft plan, involves transforming the traditionally suburban community to include a downtown core with abundant public spaces, bike lanes, and sidewalks to encourage people to drive less.
The plan is meant to guide urban planners on developing the city until its population reaches 200,000. Abbotsford is currently home to about 140,000 people. City staff are also suggesting that 75 per cent of new city growth happen in existing urban areas.
Henry Braun, the Mayor of Abbotsford, calls the plan a “game changer.”
“We’ve had a lot of sprawl in this community. We want to make this a more walkable, livable, walking city. That’s what the public has told us.”
If you want to learn more, or you live in the area, come join us!