I’ve officially been a sitting board member of the Convent Glen Orleans Wood Community Association for 6 months now. I’ve also lived in the community for 5+ years and have family with deep roots here. As I was sitting down to put together the April edition of the newsletter, I thought to myself: “What have …
Category: Urbanism
Permanent link to this article: https://cgow.ca/my-6-month-review-of-our-community
Mar 18
Strong Towns Video Series – Watch Party
I first came across this 5-minute video (linked below) shortly after it came out nearly 5 years ago (with the rest of the videos in the series following that). It’s not an exaggeration to say that these videos have changed my life. I’ve spent a lot of time talking *about* this concept, but I figure …
Permanent link to this article: https://cgow.ca/strong-towns-video-series-watch-party
Mar 12
Pedal and Play 2025
What is Pedal and Play? The concept is quite simple. If you’ve heard of a bike bus (a group of young cyclists and some parents riding in a group to get to or from school), this is almost the same thing. The only difference would be that the bus that Pedal and Play is emulating …
Permanent link to this article: https://cgow.ca/pedal
Feb 25
Bike Activism Explained
Photo by Team EVELO on Pexels.com People who use a bike for transportation can sometimes be annoying…based on comments from my wife. I have been reflecting on my journey and my interactions with other people like me to try and help people understand why many people who bike for transportation care about bike-ability …
Permanent link to this article: https://cgow.ca/bike-activism-explained
Feb 25
Why I’m Obsessed with My Community
Photo by David McBee on Pexels.com Over about the last 2-3 years, I have become VERY interested in urban design. In addition to leading me on a straight path to joining the board of our community association last fall, it has also helped me to learn a LOT about the way cities work …
Permanent link to this article: https://cgow.ca/an-introduction-why-im-obsessed-with-my-community-part-1
Feb 19
What a Difference Accessible Infrastructure Makes
I want to give a massive shoutout to the city of Ottawa for continuing to maintain the parts of this path system that they’ve committed to, to the best of their ability (and it has really been solid!). This has made school drop-off every day this winter on foot way easier (not to mention getting …
Permanent link to this article: https://lesscar.ca/2025/02/19/what-a-difference-accessible-infrastructure-makes/#new_tab
Jan 27
CA is for Change Agent
Photo by Jopwell on Pexels.com Matthieu Gagnon, Vice-President Since I joined the community association, I have been thinking about what role we should take when it comes to advocating for our community needs, which is one of the elements of our new strategic plan. The community association is in a weird spot …
Permanent link to this article: https://cgow.ca/ca-is-for-change-agent
Jan 27
New Urbanism in Troubled Times
Photo by Michael Tuszynski on Pexels.com Matthieu Gagnon, Vice-President I am currently writing this in the wake of Donald Trump’s inauguration. The tableau made it clear that our closest neighbour has been captured by oligarchs who do not have the best interests of their citizens in mind let alone the interests of foreigners …
Permanent link to this article: https://cgow.ca/new-urbanism-in-troubled-times