News

When a 13-year-old girl stops riding her bike to school, the reasons usually extend far beyond the bike path. During their initial on-campus residency week for the Master of Future Cities (MFC) program, student teams analyzed municipal transportation data and developed practical strategies to address why women and young girls opt out of cycling networks. Using Waterloo as a primary case study, one team introduced "Bridging the Cycling Gap," mapping the transition into early adolescence through a fictional persona named Maya and proposing a gamified social app to reward riders for using municipal cycling routes.

The Future Cities Institute founded by CAIVAN partnered with Velocity to host the Future Cities Innovation Challenge. The high-intensity, two-week sprint brought interdisciplinary student teams together to build data-backed business concepts targeting the Canadian housing crisis, modern infrastructure demands, and municipal service systems.

Graduate students from the Master of Future Cities (MFC) program recently returned from an intensive, two-week field course in Singapore. Organized by the Future Cities Institute founded by CAIVAN, this experiential learning trip allowed students to step out of the classroom and see how long-term foresight, multi-purpose infrastructure, and high-density housing strategies are deployed in the real world.

The Future Cities Institute founded by CAIVAN has appointed veteran planner and transportation researcher Clarence Woudsma as Co-Director, Academic. Bringing three decades of applied expertise in logistics and mobility policy to the leadership team, Woudsma will steer the institute's academic direction and oversee the Master of Future Cities (MFC) graduate program, where students learn to develop data-backed approaches for building resilient communities.

FCI researchers attended the Nunavut Economic Development Association Conference in Iqaluit to present and pilot an AI-powered Community Economic Development Planning Tool with community leaders and administrators. Workshops surfaced real challenges around fragmented planning, connectivity, and language access, and reinforced FCI's grounding principle that responsible, effective tools are built only after listening closely to the people they are meant to serve.

That’s a wrap on World Cities Week 2025!

This year’s program brought together students, researchers, and practitioners for a dynamic mix of panels, workshops, and hands-on sessions exploring how cities can adapt, connect, and thrive in an ever-changing world.

Each conversation reflected the energy and creativity that define the University of Waterloo and the Future Cities Institute, where ideas move from research to real-world impact through collaboration across disciplines.

The Future Cities Institute gathered at the University of Waterloo for a fast-paced hackathon exploring how AI and agentic technologies can support the cities of tomorrow.

Co-sponsored by the Future Cities Institute and ElevenLabs, the day brought together students, researchers and builders to design tools for housing, mobility, and community services, with a strong focus on voice and co-pilot applications.

A huge thank you to guest judges from Google, NVIDIA, and ElevenLabs.

FCI member Dr. Jeff Casello joined CTV News for a live interview on the use of AI-powered traffic lights, highlighting both the promise and the practical realities of bringing this technology to different urban contexts. 

Reflecting on a Quebec town’s success using AI to ease gridlock, Dr. Casello noted that adaptive systems can meaningfully improve traffic flow when supported by the right infrastructure. Larger cities like Toronto, he explained, face additional layers of complexity that make implementation more challenging. Higher traffic volumes, layered governance, and older infrastructure make it more difficult to replicate Kirkland’s dramatic success. As Casello noted, while Toronto could benefit from adaptive signals, it won’t see the same “really large increases in performance.” 

In a CTV News feature, Future Cities Institute member Dr. Jeff Casello shared his perspective on Metrolinx’s plan to expand GO Train service to Kitchener, emphasizing the need for timely action and clear government commitment. 

“I would hope that would be less than a two-year project. I think that’s really reasonable,” he told CTV News. “The construction companies that know how to do that work, we have that. What it really is about is a government priority to moving this forward and dedicating the resources in a meaningful way.” 

The Future Cities Institute was in attendance on October 15, 2025, at Bold Urban Futures: How to Build Healthier, More Resilient Communities, a packed evening of dialogue, connection and future-focused thinking in downtown Vancouver. 

Hosted at the TELUS Garden and part of the University of Waterloo’s Global Futures series, this special event brought together city-builders, University of Waterloo Alumni and partners working at the edge of change. 

FCI Director, Dr. Leia Minaker, joined an inspiring speaker lineup alongside Lisa Helps (Executive Lead, BC Builds at BC Housing) and Dr. Joyce Kim (Assistant Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering and Cluster Lead on Housing at FCI) to explore how collaboration, innovation and evidence can help reimagine Canadian urban life.