Episode 19 - Alex Smiciklas
From Plannerama by School of Urban and Regional Planning Alumni Association
April 5, 2026 · 53 min
About this episode
Alex Smiciklas discusses the importance of community engagement in urban planning and shares insights from his experiences during the pandemic.
We sit down with planner and community engagement specialist Alex Smiciklas (MPl 2020) for a wide-ranging conversation on what it really means to engage people in shaping cities. From graduating into the uncertainty of the pandemic to working on the front lines of public consultation, Alex shares why meeting people where they are matters (and where planning gets it wrong). Along the way, we get into the great Toronto vs. Vancouver debate, the reality behind 15-minute cities, and why some of the best parts of urban life are the ones we barely talk about.
People in this episode
Guest: Alex Smiciklas
Topics covered
- community engagement
- urban planning
- public consultation
- 15-minute cities
- Toronto vs. Vancouver
Keywords
- urban life
- planning challenges
- public engagement
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Toronto, Vancouver
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