Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 1415

One of the most interesting things about cities is that as they grow their “ urban metabolism ” also tends to increase. People become more productive. Economic output increases. It becomes easier to hail a cab (which is a test I like to use). And, according to this recent article by CityLab , people walk faster.

Yes, research has shown that there’s a correlation between population size and the speed in which people walk. And some of the studies go as far back as the 1970s – like this one from psychologists Marc and Helen Bernstein :

In many ways, this makes intuitive sense. Life in the big city is a fast paced one. But why exactly do people start literally walking faster? The most probable answer seems to be, quite simply, that time is money. Subsequent research from the 1980s and 1990s  has revealed that the best predictor of fast walking is economic output.

When a city grows larger, they wrote, wage rate and cost of living increase, and with that the value of a resident’s time. As a result, “economizing on time becomes more urgent and life becomes more hurried and harried,” Walmsley and Lewis suggest. (Source: CityLab )

The first thing that crossed my mind when reading all of this is that there must be some sort of upper limit. Humans don’t just keep walking faster and faster as the city in which they live in grows bigger. If that were the case, the mega cities of the world – such as Tokyo – would have people sprinting around all the time. But that’s obviously not the case.

So this is a topic that could probably use some more data. And I would imagine it would be a lot easier to collect today given that we all now walk around with mobile sensors in our pockets (our smartphones). And pretty soon we may have mobile sensors on our wrists (smart watches).

I would certainly like to see more data on this. The idea of an “urban metabolism” has always interested me.

Image: Dundas Square, Toronto via Flickr

This video of Toronto has been making the rounds online over the past few days ( click here if you can’t see it below ):

//player.vimeo.com/video/112944154

It was created by 25-year-old filmmaker Ryan Emond and the aerial shots were filmed using a drone.

He also made this one a few years ago called Toronto Tempo ( click here if you can’t see it below ):

//player.vimeo.com/video/30788720

I love his passion for this city. 10 years ago, it felt like it was almost fashionable to hate on Toronto. Young people would always talk about moving to some other more exciting city. But that has completely changed. Today there’s a real passion for this city. And I love that.

A few weeks ago I wrote about showcasing the Architect This City community . The idea was that there are lots of interesting and talented people who subscribe to this blog, but that there’s no scalable way for me to connect with everyone.

So I wanted to provide an opportunity for you to share a bit about yourself on this blog. I could selfishly learn more about the kinds of people who read ATC; you and/or your company could benefit from a bit of exposure; and you all could get the opportunity to connect with one another.

I didn’t get quite as many responses as I thought I would — which is partially why it has taken me so long to write this post — but I did get a lot of positive feedback on the idea. So I’m excited to share 5 of the people and companies that did respond.

Darren Davis  @ Auckland Transport (Auckland, New Zealand)

Proudly car-free Principal Public Transport Planner, and arch transit nerd, at Auckland Transport. Auckland Transport is in the midst of the biggest redesign of the city’s public transport system since the introduction of electric trams in 1902. We are taking a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine public transport by going back to first principles, in an exercise inspired by Human Transit and strongly influenced by its author, Jarrett Walker. 

Travis Goodhand @  Entuitive  (Calgary, Canada)

We are a consulting engineering practise — structural, building envelope, restoration, and special projects & renovations — bringing together engineering and intuition to enhance building performance. Entuitive is creative, collaborative, and advanced.

Taya Cook, Development Director @ Urban Capital (Toronto, Canada)

We develop forward thinking condominiums with a focus on urban location, fantastic design and superior customer experience. I work there. Really B, do you need more reasons for awesomeness?

Sara Parratt-halbert @ South Yorkshire Forest Partnership (Sheffield, UK)

Currently managing a Europe-wide €4m ERDF funded project, ‘Stimulating Enterprising Environments for Development and Sustainability’ (SEEDS).  SEEDS is working with 8 partners across 6 countries towards establishing acceptance of the temporary use of abandoned places and spaces as an integral part of longer term planning.

Cynthia Mykytyshyn @  Urbanspace Gallery  (Toronto, Canada)

Urbanspace Gallery is a unique venue, dedicated to diverse exhibitions and events that explore how cities work and how we might improve them. Our purpose is to present issues related to community, public space, housing, transportation, planning, governance, and sustainability (among others) in order to further the discussion about our own city and others around the world, while fostering a space of learning and reflection.

Most of the people who responded were from Toronto and Canada. And that’s not surprising given how local a lot of my content is. Half of the ATC reader base is currently from Canada.

But I did also get emails from many other places all around the world. It always amazes me to see where people are reading from. My only wish is that I could learn more from them (you). So drop me a line . I hope to do another community profile sometime soon.

Many thanks to everyone who responded!

Image: How Does Your Neighbourhood Grow? ( Urbanspace Gallery )