Within a week, Paris will know, with near certainty, who its next mayor will be. (The first round of results will be announced this evening.) The two frontrunners are Emmanuel Grégoire (on the left) and Rachida Dati (on the right). Grégoire is the status quo vote, and Dati is the "I want change" vote.
From a city-building standpoint, one of the ways that this is being presented is as a battle between bikes and cars. Not surprisingly, the current mobility approach has been criticized for creating a divide between wealthier residents in transit-rich central Paris (where only about a quarter of households own a car) and residents in the more car-oriented suburbs.
Because after 12 years under Mayor Anne Hidalgo it's pretty clear that "the bike beat the car in Paris." From 2002 to 2023, car traffic fell by more than half, dedicated cycle lanes expanded sixfold, and today, bike trips outnumber car trips by more than 2 to 1 in the city.
As an outsider to the city, I can only read about what's going on, but what I find interesting is that this particular mobility issue doesn't appear to be as political as the headlines might suggest.
Dati has softened her initial criticism of popular cycle lanes and instead focused on concerns over dirty streets.
“We’re not fighting an ideological battle on [transportation] issues,” Dati told news agency Reuters while greeting shoppers in northern Paris. “We just want things to be organised.”
And:
She [Dati] has promised not to reverse the left’s flagship policy of transforming a once traffic-clogged dual carriageway into a car-free pedestrian walkway along the banks of the Seine, but will renovate those pedestrian spaces.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but what this tells me is that Parisians actually like the city's transition away from the car. I'm reminded of last summer in Paris when I was in an Uber and the driver surprised me by saying that these mobility changes needed to be done — bikes are a more efficient form of urban transport and they have greatly reduced pollution within the city.
General public sentiment also seems to reflect my anecdotal evidence. A recent Keolis-IFOP survey found that more than one in two French people (~56%) would like to see cars play a smaller role in the cities of tomorrow. Importantly, this response also seems to transcend geography and socio-economic divides. The same sentiment is found in Paris and in rural areas.
This month's mayoral election will certainly tell us something about Parisian preferences for the status quo versus change. But I'm always encouraged when issues can become less about ideology and more about whether we are accomplishing productive objectives based on, you know, facts and information.
Cover photo by Irina Nakonechnaya on Unsplash
Regular readers of this blog might remember that last "summer" (it was still chilly), I biked for brain health here in Toronto.
I rode 75 km, raised $3,800, and helped Multiplex Construction Canada raise over $14,000, with 100% of these donations going directly to the Baycrest Foundation to fund work related to dementia, Alzheimer's, and other brain-related illnesses.
This summer I'll be riding again on Sunday, May 31, 2026, except with a few changes:
They've moved the starting location to the Aga Khan Museum (architecture by the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki).
They've increased the longest circuit to 90 km.
We've created our own Globizen team! If we're feeling really ambitious, maybe we'll even create our own cycling bibs. (This strikes me as a low probability scenario.)
If you're up for it, I would encourage you to join our team and ride for brain health. Alternatively, you can always just participate with your wallet.
Full disclosure caveat: Bianca and I are expecting our first child (a girl) in June. This ride is closeish to the due date, creating at a minimum three possible scenarios for the day:
Scenario one is that she is not yet born on May 31 and I ride as one would expect.
Scenario two is that she is born early, and I then spend this Sunday morning at home in some kind of sleep-deprived state. (Or, the "vibe" is that I should probably stay home.)
Most of us have heard of the so-called "Blue Zones." These are the parts of the world where there is an exceptionally high number of centenarians — people over the age of 100. We've talked about this topic before, covering the importance of things like diet, community, and constant moderate physical activity. But I would like to reiterate just how impactful our physical environments can be on our overall well-being.
The island of Sardinia is one of the world's Blue Zones. But it's not actually the entire island of Sardinia; it's a specific inner mountain region that is the Blue Zone. And in this region, at least two things are fascinating: First, the men have some of the longest average life expectancies in the world and second, the men live just as long as the women do. This is unique. Ordinarily, women outlive men. But not here.
The data overwhelmingly suggests that this outcome is the result of topography and employment. Because it is a mountainous region, the built environment is filled with steep inclines and staircases everywhere you go. The result is that even walking down the street to go to church or the grocery store results in organic moderate physical activity.
At the same time, the men in this region have historically worked as shepherds. This meant that work also involved walking up and down hills all day. Again, more organic moderate physical activity. Because of this, research has found very significant correlations between longevity and pastoralism, the average slope of the territory, and the average daily distance required to reach work. The steeper the better.
There's little mystery here. We know that more activity is better for us than less. The challenge is that we can't all live in bucolic mountain towns and chase sheep around all day. Modern society demands a lot of sitting and typing and vibe coding. We also have a market economy that is constantly looking for ways to make our lives more convenient so that we're able to do even more sitting around.
We try to compensate for this with gyms and other fixes (“
Within a week, Paris will know, with near certainty, who its next mayor will be. (The first round of results will be announced this evening.) The two frontrunners are Emmanuel Grégoire (on the left) and Rachida Dati (on the right). Grégoire is the status quo vote, and Dati is the "I want change" vote.
From a city-building standpoint, one of the ways that this is being presented is as a battle between bikes and cars. Not surprisingly, the current mobility approach has been criticized for creating a divide between wealthier residents in transit-rich central Paris (where only about a quarter of households own a car) and residents in the more car-oriented suburbs.
Because after 12 years under Mayor Anne Hidalgo it's pretty clear that "the bike beat the car in Paris." From 2002 to 2023, car traffic fell by more than half, dedicated cycle lanes expanded sixfold, and today, bike trips outnumber car trips by more than 2 to 1 in the city.
As an outsider to the city, I can only read about what's going on, but what I find interesting is that this particular mobility issue doesn't appear to be as political as the headlines might suggest.
Dati has softened her initial criticism of popular cycle lanes and instead focused on concerns over dirty streets.
“We’re not fighting an ideological battle on [transportation] issues,” Dati told news agency Reuters while greeting shoppers in northern Paris. “We just want things to be organised.”
And:
She [Dati] has promised not to reverse the left’s flagship policy of transforming a once traffic-clogged dual carriageway into a car-free pedestrian walkway along the banks of the Seine, but will renovate those pedestrian spaces.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but what this tells me is that Parisians actually like the city's transition away from the car. I'm reminded of last summer in Paris when I was in an Uber and the driver surprised me by saying that these mobility changes needed to be done — bikes are a more efficient form of urban transport and they have greatly reduced pollution within the city.
General public sentiment also seems to reflect my anecdotal evidence. A recent Keolis-IFOP survey found that more than one in two French people (~56%) would like to see cars play a smaller role in the cities of tomorrow. Importantly, this response also seems to transcend geography and socio-economic divides. The same sentiment is found in Paris and in rural areas.
This month's mayoral election will certainly tell us something about Parisian preferences for the status quo versus change. But I'm always encouraged when issues can become less about ideology and more about whether we are accomplishing productive objectives based on, you know, facts and information.
Cover photo by Irina Nakonechnaya on Unsplash
Regular readers of this blog might remember that last "summer" (it was still chilly), I biked for brain health here in Toronto.
I rode 75 km, raised $3,800, and helped Multiplex Construction Canada raise over $14,000, with 100% of these donations going directly to the Baycrest Foundation to fund work related to dementia, Alzheimer's, and other brain-related illnesses.
This summer I'll be riding again on Sunday, May 31, 2026, except with a few changes:
They've moved the starting location to the Aga Khan Museum (architecture by the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki).
They've increased the longest circuit to 90 km.
We've created our own Globizen team! If we're feeling really ambitious, maybe we'll even create our own cycling bibs. (This strikes me as a low probability scenario.)
If you're up for it, I would encourage you to join our team and ride for brain health. Alternatively, you can always just participate with your wallet.
Full disclosure caveat: Bianca and I are expecting our first child (a girl) in June. This ride is closeish to the due date, creating at a minimum three possible scenarios for the day:
Scenario one is that she is not yet born on May 31 and I ride as one would expect.
Scenario two is that she is born early, and I then spend this Sunday morning at home in some kind of sleep-deprived state. (Or, the "vibe" is that I should probably stay home.)
Most of us have heard of the so-called "Blue Zones." These are the parts of the world where there is an exceptionally high number of centenarians — people over the age of 100. We've talked about this topic before, covering the importance of things like diet, community, and constant moderate physical activity. But I would like to reiterate just how impactful our physical environments can be on our overall well-being.
The island of Sardinia is one of the world's Blue Zones. But it's not actually the entire island of Sardinia; it's a specific inner mountain region that is the Blue Zone. And in this region, at least two things are fascinating: First, the men have some of the longest average life expectancies in the world and second, the men live just as long as the women do. This is unique. Ordinarily, women outlive men. But not here.
The data overwhelmingly suggests that this outcome is the result of topography and employment. Because it is a mountainous region, the built environment is filled with steep inclines and staircases everywhere you go. The result is that even walking down the street to go to church or the grocery store results in organic moderate physical activity.
At the same time, the men in this region have historically worked as shepherds. This meant that work also involved walking up and down hills all day. Again, more organic moderate physical activity. Because of this, research has found very significant correlations between longevity and pastoralism, the average slope of the territory, and the average daily distance required to reach work. The steeper the better.
There's little mystery here. We know that more activity is better for us than less. The challenge is that we can't all live in bucolic mountain towns and chase sheep around all day. Modern society demands a lot of sitting and typing and vibe coding. We also have a market economy that is constantly looking for ways to make our lives more convenient so that we're able to do even more sitting around.
We try to compensate for this with gyms and other fixes (“
And I suppose scenario three is that I don't finish the ride and I end up at the hospital in head-to-toe lycra, clicking and clacking around in my cycling shoes.
Scenarios one and two feel more optimal, in my humble opinion.
Cover photo: Len Abelman (Principal at WZMH Architects) and me completing the Bike for Brain Health end-of-summer follow-up ride in September 2025.
But the better and more fundamental solution is organic moderate physical activity. Meaning, moderate physical activity that we don't have to actively seek out, and that is organically embedded throughout our everyday lives. It's best when it's a lifestyle. And this is one of the reasons why I view cities where walking and cycling are ingrained as a great luxury. All else being equal, these places are destined for better health outcomes.
If I look up my Apple Health data for 2025, there are very clear spikes in steps whenever I'm traveling. This makes sense. It's because I like going to places where I can walk around all day and be physically active. I can only sit on a beach for so long. But it's also ironic that modern life dictates that I have to go on vacation in order to be more active. That's not how Blue Zones work.
There is no greater luxury than our health. Without it, nothing else matters. And so I think it behooves us to make it a fundamental component of city building.
Cover photo by Valentina Uribe Posada on Unsplash
And I suppose scenario three is that I don't finish the ride and I end up at the hospital in head-to-toe lycra, clicking and clacking around in my cycling shoes.
Scenarios one and two feel more optimal, in my humble opinion.
Cover photo: Len Abelman (Principal at WZMH Architects) and me completing the Bike for Brain Health end-of-summer follow-up ride in September 2025.
But the better and more fundamental solution is organic moderate physical activity. Meaning, moderate physical activity that we don't have to actively seek out, and that is organically embedded throughout our everyday lives. It's best when it's a lifestyle. And this is one of the reasons why I view cities where walking and cycling are ingrained as a great luxury. All else being equal, these places are destined for better health outcomes.
If I look up my Apple Health data for 2025, there are very clear spikes in steps whenever I'm traveling. This makes sense. It's because I like going to places where I can walk around all day and be physically active. I can only sit on a beach for so long. But it's also ironic that modern life dictates that I have to go on vacation in order to be more active. That's not how Blue Zones work.
There is no greater luxury than our health. Without it, nothing else matters. And so I think it behooves us to make it a fundamental component of city building.
Cover photo by Valentina Uribe Posada on Unsplash
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