Brent Toderian

Brent Toderian is a practitioner and thought leader in urban planning, city-building, and urban design, with more than 34 years of experience in city planning, transportation, and change management. Toderian began his career as a city planning consultant in Ontario, completing 14 strategies for cities and towns and becoming the first Canadian practitioner to be a Certified Main Street Manager by the National Main Street Center in Washington, DC. He later served as Manager of Centre City Planning and Design and Chief Subdivision and Neighbourhood Planner in Calgary, where he led planning, policy, and design initiatives for downtown, inner city, and suburban areas. His work included the creation and leadership of the Centre City Plan, which received recognition such as the Canadian Institute of Planners Award of Planning Excellence, the AACIP Award of Planning Excellence, and a Mayor's Urban Design Award.

Toderian became the youngest city planning director in Canada when he was appointed to lead Vancouver's planning department. During his tenure as Chief Planner, his work included planning and design for the Winter Olympics, the EcoDensity Initiative, the Greenest City Initiative, skyline and public view corridor strategies, active transportation and public street use approaches, the Cambie Corridor Plan, transit-oriented development actions, and the Laneway Housing Initiative. He also oversaw all development, design, and architecture in Vancouver, which is recognized internationally for its urban design.

After his time as Chief Planner for Vancouver, Toderian established TODERIAN UrbanWORKS, a consultancy that supports cities, agencies, and developers in city-building projects worldwide. He has advised cities and regions including Oslo, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Groningen, Reykjavík, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Medellín, and numerous North American cities. His consulting work covers civic and organizational culture change, community engagement, educational speaking and workshops, teaching, writing, and media.

Toderian was the founding president of the Council for Canadian Urbanism for nearly 10 years, a regular columnist on "City-Making" with CBC Radio, a contributing writer with Fast Company and other publications, and an active participant in global organizations focused on urban issues. His downtown planning work has been featured in international media, including Discovery Channel, CNN International, and The New York Times. Toderian has twice been recognized by Planetizen as one of the 100 most influential urbanists of all time, reflecting his impact on urban planning and city design globally.