TCAT’s first-ever ‘Planning Active Transportation’ course wrapped up on May 3rd, with the students presenting neighbourhood portraits to a panel of experts. The course was a resounding success in meeting an important professional need. Even before it began, five extra spots needed to be added due to the high demand.
Students came from a wide range of professional backgrounds including engineering, urban planning, public health and sustainability. The course was a blend of urban design, community engagement, partnership development strategies and policy discussions, all around the goal of creating better cities for walking and cycling. The course instructors, TCAT consultants and former Project Managers, Mikey Bennington and Car Martin, drew on lessons learned from TCAT’s last 10 years of research and more specifically from the neighbourhood case studies from the Active Neighbourhoods project over the past 5 years.
Students were tasked with developing ‘Portraits’ of neighbourhoods of their choice for the final project. These documents borrow from the Active Neighbourhood participatory planning methodology, using a blend of first hand observations and secondary data to make an assessment of the needs of each community. Judging by the student feedback collected, the course was a huge success and we look forward to future partnerships with the Ryerson School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) and the Chang School of Continuing Education to advance the professional knowledge of active transportation and co-design.