We are pleased to partner with the University of Alberta Sustainability Council and Councillor Michael Janz to support an upcoming keynote speaking event: City Hall Talks #3.
CSU 52 has secured 50 complimentary tickets specifically for our members. Members subscribed to our e-Newsletters received an email on April 1 – find the complimentary discount code in the email. Once the 50 complimentary tickets have been claimed, early bird tickets are available for $25 each while supplies last.
Mikael Colville-Andersen: Urbanism in Times of War and Crisis
Friday, May 1, 2026
6:00 to 8:00pm
Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, University of Alberta Campus
Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mikael-colville-andersen-urbanism-in-times-of-war-crisis-tickets-1985868193224
- Do not register on this page. Use the above Eventbrite link to get your tickets.
In this keynote, Mikael Colville-Andersen draws on his urbanist observations about pandemic response and from living and volunteering in Ukraine during the full-scale invasion to explore what cities reveal about themselves when systems fail. When the power goes out, when supply chains fracture, when missiles fly, it is not the smart dashboard that keeps a city running; it is the sidewalk, the bicycle, the local food network, the neighbour who knows your name.
Blending global observations from COVID-19 with frontline dispatches from wartime Ukraine, this talk examines how urban life contracts, adapts and rebuilds under pressure. It challenges our reflex toward techno-optimism and argues that true resilience lies in human-scale design, walkability, proximity, and low-tech infrastructure that cannot crash or be hacked.
As the climate crisis accelerates, prevention alone is no longer enough. The urgent question is how we mitigate its impact on daily urban life. This keynote offers a clear, provocative framework for future-proofing our cities; not through complexity, but through fundamentals.
See you there!