Mention infrastructure, and it's hard not to picture things like public buildings, transit systems and water/power distribution. However, other vital elements of urban society are, or should be, integrated into those things and need to be part of their design.

This episode's two featured panels, recorded at CUI's State of Canada's Summit in December 2024, explore those elements - culture and social equity - in the context of Infrastructure. Some of the featured voices include Isabelle Mondou, deputy minister of Heritage Canada, Brian McBay of Vancouver's 221A and Cathie O'Toole, CAO of the Regional Municipality of Halifax.

You can see and hear more from the Summit at citytalkcanada.ca.

The dozen panel discussions recorded in December 2024 on Day One of CUI's State of Canada's Cities Summit revolved around urban infrastructure in all its modern permutations, and how we need to build it better, faster and more sustainably. However, that doesn't preclude its ability to also add beauty and contribute to our collective well-being. The first featured panel in this episode delves into that topic, guided by Alex Bozikovic, architecture critic for The Globe and Mail.

And to wrap up the day's proceedings, host Mary Rowe moderates a panel of blue-ribbon 'distillers' of ideas to summarize the gleanings from this second-annual gathering in Ottawa.

You can see and hear more at citytalkcanada.ca.

The Canadian Urban Institute's mobile podcast studio at the State of Canada's Cities Summit in Ottawa last December offered CUI staff the opportunity to chat with some of the leading voices attending the event.

In this episode, media and communications advisor Anne-Marie Aikins speaks with Carol Bélanger, City Architect for the City of Edmonton... the first such position in Canada. In a similar vein, research associate Léandro Santos caught up with Mathieu Grondin, the newly-appointed Nightlife Commissioner for the City of Ottawa. Later, Anne-Marie returns to chat with Alex Bozikovic, columnist and architecture critic for The Globe and Mail about the relationship between design and infrastructure.

See and hear more from the Summit at citytalkcanada.ca.