Prior to the Industrial Revolution, cities were compact, limited by how far a person could walk or a horse could travel in a reasonable period of time.  The automobile brought a second urban revolution that has permitted the almost-unlimited growth of our cities.  This auto-based city is characterized by very low density, single-use neighbourhoods (housing here, stores there, offices someplace else).  There have also been technological improvements in mass transit, but these alone will not solve the fundamental challenge of how to maintain and improve quality of life, economic productivity, and environmental sustainability as our urban areas continue to grow. Today, cities are becoming increasingly dysfunctional.

We need a third revolution in how we build our cities and in how we travel within them.We need to design cities for people rather than cars.

This presentation briefly sketches the evolution of urban form and transportation and then explores issues and options for evolving 21st Century cities into more sustainable, attractive homes for people and firms.