As the COVID pandemic began to take hold in Canada in March of 2020, the City of Calgary’s transportation department initiated several streams of work to manage the short- and longer-term impacts.

One of these streams involved the use of strategic foresight to create a set of plausible scenarios for Calgary after the pandemic. Based on a mix of research and quantitative modelling, the scenarios explored plausible impacts on the transportation system and urban growth patterns that may be triggered by the pandemic.

A series of short-term actions were developed to address the risks and opportunities that emerged, along with key indicators to track going forward.

This presentation will provide an overview of strategic foresight, the scenarios that were developed in 2020, and how they track compared to real-world conditions in late 2021. Highlights from the recommended actions and monitoring program will also be discussed.

Eric MacNaughton has just over 20 years of experience in transportation engineering and urban planning, including 15 years working at The City of Calgary. He has worked on a variety of projects at The City, including leading development of the 2009 Calgary Transportation Plan, creation of Calgary’s Electric & Low-Emissions Vehicles Strategy, and supporting The City’s COVID Executive Response Group in coordinating non-emergency response actions to the COVID pandemic. Following on the completion of the Transportation COVID Recovery Scenarios, Eric also became a member of the Association of Professional Futurists and is continuing to develop his strategic foresight skills.

Presented by University of Toronto ITE Student Chapter, UT-ITE.

Free. All are welcome.

If any specific accommodations are needed, please contact ite@utoronto.ca. Requests should be made as early as possible.

Join link: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/87624482177. Please note that the same Zoom link will be used for all of the UT-ITE fall semester seminars.