Imagine you are a friend from Brazil and I’m writing to you to share the wonders (from my point of view) of North American cities in my first year back in 2016. I don’t name the city I live in (although it is easy to find that out) because this little story applies to many … More Cultural Shocks in a Built Environment
In 2014, hundreds of people came together to literally rebuild a small park in the downtown of a big city. In 2018, an art hive experiment welcomed hundreds of people to share a space where they were encouraged to express themselves, make art for free as a community and improve individual and collective mental health. … More Urban Literacy: a place-making tool
Cycling is the most energy-efficient form of transport ever used by humans, requiring between one third to one half of the energy required for walking the same distance. Which transport is the fairest of them all? – The Conversation The book Bicycling Science (published by MIT press) shows that in ideal conditions (mild temperature, low … More Bicycle: The Apex of Energy Efficiency
You probably saw many “No Exit” signs in your city. And if you pay closer attention, there are quite a few of them that actually have exits. … More There is a path, we just need to see it
We are living in a world with overlapping crises and challenges. Many of us, most of us care a lot about that and are actively doing something to make things better for ourselves and for others. I am deeply grateful to know many of those people and to be able to call them friends, colleagues, … More Oxygen Mask Community Project
On November 9th, 2021 I was granted my Canadian citizenship. This is the closure of a cycle that started nine years ago. A big milestone for me. Even though the ceremony was virtual, I wanted it to be a meaningful experience and I reflected on what it means to be Canadian and what are the … More On Becoming Canadian
My two parents had lifelong careers at the same university in Brazil (that’s actually where they met!). Both of them went above and beyond their role as professors. My mother, a philosophy teacher, was a local and national leader of a movement to include philosophy in the curriculum of elementary and high schools all over … More Getting ready for a Ph.T.
This post is simply a teaser for the video below. Prof. Julian Agyeman’s lecture is thought-provoking. I just want to share a few things that stood out for me: One of his core ideas is the concept of spatial justice. If you think about social justice, it means that everybody has the same opportunities and … More Just Sustainabilities
What do urban governance and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) have in common? How does it impact citizen engagement and city building? Those were some of the questions I had in mind when I was invited to give a guest lecture in the Governance Leadership & Ethics (GLE) course at Huron University. GLE goal is … More Sustainable Development Goals and Urban Governance
A city with a high urban literacy rate is a regenerative city. In other words, when you have people collectively engaged in the process of shaping the places they want to live, you build a thriving place. That is why citizen participation is an important topic in city building. The European Association of Cities in … More Shift to the Middle in Urban Planning
Luis Patricio 