ISL Book Club: Walkable City
The ISL book club is an initiative starting in a few BC offices and coming soon to others to introduce staff to new ideas in the industry, help them meet their continuing professional development, and ultimately make our staff better at their jobs, and better able to serve our clients. But it’s better when we share, Part of this initiative in providing these books to staff is that they think carefully about what they learn and share it with others. Alex Pym, our Innovation Coordinator, read Walkable City by Jeff Speck and found some great insights worth sharing.
What is it about Walkable City that caught your attention,
and why did you want to read it?
A few years ago, prior to joining ISL Engineering and in the heat of the global pandemic that gripped us all, I found myself drawn to Victoria, on Vancouver Island. I packed up my car, rented out my condo in Ottawa, and drove across the country, only stopping throughout the trip for work calls and restroom breaks.
To this day, folks often ask me why I chose Victoria and I don’t have a clear answer that easily slips off the tongue. I have felt drawn to the city over the years and it has served as a hub for coastal hikes including the West Coast, Juan de Fuca, and North Coast trails. In my brief and often rushed stays in the city, I was oft-inspired by all of the activity and smiling faces bustling around the streets: children being taken to school by their parents in their bicycle buggies, young professionals walking to work through the many alleys and along streets surrounded by brick buildings rich with history, and locals of all ages walking along Dallas Road after work, soaking in the golden glow of sunset to let go of their busy days.
- What are the challenges that the community has had to overcome?
- Are there benefits of active transportation that I am not already aware of?
These are the questions I wanted to find answers to in these data rich pages.
Multi-modal streets, water access and views make Victoria something special
What were your biggest takeaways from Walkable City?
One of my biggest takeaways from Walkable City is that when cities are designed to be walkable for residents, more economic prosperity is realized. Walkable cities mean fewer people are forced to spend their income on cars, gas, insurance, and parking. Instead, that disposable income stays in the community—flowing to local businesses, restaurants, arts, culture, and entertainment. This, in turn, strengthens the city’s identity, creates a vibrant atmosphere, and makes it a more desirable place to live, work, and visit.
When people can comfortably walk through their downtown and stumble upon live music, public markets, bustling cafes, and street performances, the city itself becomes an attraction.
It’s not just about getting from point A to point B; it’s about the experience in between.
Victorias decision to pedestrianize parts of Government Street as a great demonstration that not all streets need to allow vehicles as a priority.
How do you think you could apply those lessons in the work you do?
I feel very grateful for my professional role and responsibility as ISL’s Innovation Coordinator. I am constantly working on finding new ways of solving old problems throughout the company, with a strong focus on remote sensing, AI, immersive technologies, automation, and low code citizen development. My hope is that I can support the amazing teams at ISL with their delivery of infrastructure solutions. Through innovation, I aim to help these teams and individuals deliver better products in less time and to even greater client and community satisfaction.
After this read, I am inspired to continue to explore and share technology within the AEC ecosystem and outside of it which can help our sustainable transportation teams as they work with clients to engineer vibrant, healthy communities a challenging endeavor that requires a lot of energy to make a reality.
The expanding bike network in Victoria has given more people in the community a new way to get around
Questions I asked myself:
- Can I help our teams find better technology to create conceptual design options?
- How can we leverage AI to create more human centric designs?
And perhaps most importantly and outside of my professional realm, how can I evangelize the healthy and long-lasting benefits of active transportation in my city’s ecosystem, so that the councilors and city staff know their hard work and care are seen and recognized?
Connect with Alex
We’re excited to have Alex’s focus on his passion at ISL, and encourage you to connect with Alex via LinkedIn.
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