Looking Back at the Olympic Experiment

During the 17 days of the Winter Olympics, Vancouver significantly beefed up its transit offerings and reduced lanes for automobiles. Did the experiment work, and what would happen if these temporary changes were made permanent?

1 minute read

April 6, 2010, 12:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur


During the Games, road capacity was cut in half downtown and 20% throughout the city.

John Calimente writes, "Remarkably, with an average daily ridership of 1.6 million over the 17-day event, Vancouver temporarily had the third-highest transit usage in North America behind only New York and Mexico City. While this is an amazing accomplishment, it is also staggering to think that much, much larger cities in U.S. have such low transit ridership."

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 in re:place Magazine

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

November 11, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

People walking in downtown St. Louis, walking past shops.

Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment

The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.

November 1, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

Construction in Dallas. An aerial shot of a wooden frame of an apartment building.

Dallas releases zoning code overhaul to officials

The drafted overhaul is over 400 pages long.

November 11 - Dallas Morning News

Canal street, where pedestrians are packed shoulder to shoulder.

NYC renovations for dangerous, ‘mercilessly crammed’ street delayed until 2027

Construction was supposed to begin this fall.

November 11 - Gothamist

A rendering of Midway Rising that shows people mingling in a green space between apartment buildings.

San Diego’s Midway Rising project gets greenlight from city council

The project looks to become the largest affordable housing development in California's history.

November 11 - KPBS

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.