The Small City Shift: Planning for People

Beyond the Metropolis: A New Focus

While large cities like Montreal and Vancouver often dominate conversations about sustainable transport, a quiet revolution is taking place in Canada's smaller towns and mid-sized cities. For decades, urban planning in these communities often mimicked car-centric suburban design, resulting in sprawling subdivisions, wide arterial roads hostile to pedestrians, and a near-total dependence on private vehicles for daily trips. This has led to social isolation, poor public health outcomes, and significant local emissions. Recognizing this, a growing number of smaller municipalities are now pivoting towards people-first urban design, championing active transportation as a key to creating more vibrant, healthy, and sustainable communities.

These cities are discovering that what works in a dense metropolis can be adapted to their unique scale. They are leveraging their more compact downtowns and closer-knit communities to implement changes more quickly and with greater resident buy-in than their larger counterparts. From Kelowna, B.C. to Halifax, N.S., we are seeing a wave of Master Transportation Plans and Official Plans that explicitly prioritize walking, cycling, and public transit. This analysis focuses on the common strategies and successful projects emerging from these forward-thinking smaller communities.

The 'Complete Streets' Playbook

At the heart of this shift is the concept of "Complete Streets." This is a policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated, and maintained to enable safe, convenient, and comfortable travel for users of all ages and abilities, regardless of their mode of transportation. Instead of designing roads solely for vehicle throughput, a complete street considers pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and motorists as equally legitimate users. Key tactics from this playbook include:

• Road Diets: Reducing the number of vehicle travel lanes on a street (e.g., from four lanes to two plus a centre turning lane) to free up space for wider sidewalks and protected bike lanes.
• Traffic Calming: Implementing physical measures to slow down vehicle speeds, such as raised crosswalks, curb extensions (bulb-outs), chicanes, and mini-roundabouts.
• Enhanced Pedestrian Crossings: Making intersections safer with high-visibility crosswalks, pedestrian refuge islands, and countdown timers.
• Building Connected Networks: Focusing on creating a connected grid of safe cycling and walking routes, rather than isolated, disconnected paths. This ensures people can complete their entire journey safely.
• Supportive Land Use: Linking transportation planning with zoning changes that encourage mixed-use development, reduce setback requirements, and increase density in core areas to make walking and cycling more practical.

Success Stories: From Coast to Coast

The results of these policies are tangible. In Victoria, BC, the build-out of an all-ages-and-abilities (AAA) cycling network has resulted in the highest rate of bike-to-work commuting of any major Canadian city. In Halifax, the Argyle and Grafton streetscape project transformed two downtown streets into a shared, pedestrian-priority space, leading to a boom in patio culture and local business activity. In Guelph, Ontario, a comprehensive Active Transportation Network study is mapping out a city-wide plan with over 16 targeted infrastructure projects to connect every neighbourhood.

These initiatives, while varied, share common threads. They almost always begin with temporary pilot projects (e.g., using paint and planters) to test designs and gather public feedback before committing to permanent construction. This iterative, low-cost approach helps build community support and ensures the final design meets local needs. Furthermore, these cities are effectively leveraging federal funding programs, such as the Active Transportation Fund, to turn their plans into reality.

The Path to People-Centric Places

The shift towards active transport planning in smaller cities is more than just an infrastructure trend; it's a re-evaluation of what makes a community a great place to live. By prioritizing human-scale design, these municipalities are creating more equitable, resilient, and economically competitive places. They are demonstrating that a future less dependent on the automobile is not a sacrifice, but an upgrade. As these projects mature and their benefits in public health, local economic vitality, and community connection become even clearer, they provide an inspiring and replicable blueprint for communities of all sizes across Canada.