“Climate readiness must be the foundation of how we design our cities, not just another item on the list.”
In this conversation, Craig speaks with urban designer Ken Greenberg about the long arc of city-building in the age of climate crisis. A former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto, Ken has spent decades shaping cities across North America and Europe, working at the intersection of architecture, landscape, mobility, and public life.
From his early career designing a master plan for Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, to leading major urban transformations in Toronto, New York, and beyond, Ken reflects on the experiences that shaped his thinking about cities as living, adaptive systems.
“Sprawl is the leitmotif that touches every challenge – environmental, economic, and social.”
A central theme of the conversation is the deep connection between land use, transportation, and climate change. Ken argues that low-density, car-dependent sprawl is the single most powerful driver of urban emissions and that walkable, mixed-use “complete communities” are among the most effective climate solutions available.
He shares lessons from transformative projects like the Lower Don, where flood protection, ecological restoration, and new public space were integrated into a single vision. These kinds of projects, he suggests, point toward a new model of city-building – one where environmental systems are not add-ons, but the organizing framework.
Along the way, the conversation explores the growing importance of shade, green networks, and microclimate design as cities adapt to extreme heat, flooding, and other climate impacts.
“The most dangerous decisions are made by focusing only on the immediate short term.”
Ken also reflects on the political and institutional challenges facing cities today, from provincial interference to the difficulty of sustaining long-term vision in a short-term political cycle. Yet despite these obstacles, he remains optimistic about the resilience and adaptability of cities themselves.
Drawing on lessons from projects in Toronto, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and New York, he emphasizes the importance of humility in planning and the need to design cities as flexible frameworks that can evolve over decades.
“Cities have survived nation states. They keep reinventing themselves.”
The episode closes with a call to action: resist fatalism, focus on positive change, and work together on the projects that can make cities more resilient, equitable, and climate-ready for future generations.
Key Projects and Ideas Highlighted in This Episode
Lower Don Lands, Toronto: A landmark project integrating flood protection, new parks, and mixed-use development into a climate-ready waterfront district.
The Bentway, Toronto: A reimagined public space beneath the Gardiner Expressway, transforming underused infrastructure into a shaded, connected urban landscape.
Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York : A waterfront transformation that brought together diverse communities around a shared landscape vision.
Downsview Runway Project, Toronto : A proposed pedestrian-focused public space linking multiple new neighborhoods while addressing microclimate and stormwater.
Pickering Lands Vision : A large-scale proposal combining farmland protection, ecological restoration, and community revitalization across thousands of acres.
Book Recommendation from Ken Greenberg
The Death and Life of Great American Cities: Jane Jacobs
A foundational book that introduced the idea of cities as systems of “organized complexity” and the power of close observation in understanding how cities actually work
Bio
Ken Greenberg is an urban designer, teacher, and writer, and former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto. He is the principal of Greenberg Consultants and has played a pivotal role on public and private assignments across North America and Europe.
His work focuses on the rejuvenation of downtowns, waterfronts, and neighborhoods; campus master planning; regional growth management; and new community planning. His practice sits at the intersection of urban design, architecture, landscape, mobility, and social and economic development, with a strong emphasis on sustainability.
Ken is the recipient of the 2010 American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Design Excellence and the 2014 Sustainable Buildings Canada Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the author of Walking Home, Toronto Reborn, and Exploring Toronto, and co-author of the forthcoming book Saving Toronto.
He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2020 and was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Toronto for his outstanding service to the public realm.
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