Around the world, more than 4 billion people live in cities. That’s just over 50 percent of the global population. The United Nations projects that by 2050, it will be 68 percent. In Canada, 82 percent of people live in urban areas and that number is on the rise, too. 

Alongside the growth in urbanization is growth in the number of problems cities and their residents face. The list is long and getting longer. Housing. Transit. Policing. Parks. Infrastructure. The drug poisoning crisis. Safe streets for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. And more.  

Tackling numerous and overlapping urban challenges requires political courage and a commitment to doing things differently. To understand just what that entails, we ask: What can be done about the biggest issues facing our cities?

On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Gil Penalosa, founder of 8 80 Cities and former mayoral candidate in the City of Toronto.