Age: 35
Occupation: Mobility Initiatives Lead, City of Calgary
As a third-generation Calgarian who is passionate about urban planning, Andrew Sedor is dedicated to making Calgary a more vibrant city. As the City of Calgary’s Mobility Initiatives Lead, Sedor recognized early on the potential of e-bikes and e-scooters as a way for Calgarians to get around. Sedor ran the City’s pilot program, which ultimately led to Neuron and Bird being named the local providers. As part of its proposal for selection, Bird Canada relocated its Canadian headquarters to Calgary, creating approximately 50 jobs. Calgary has since become one of the top cities globally for e-scooter ridership, with 1.4 million riders annually.
Sedor’s impact extends beyond mobility; he has also helped create vibrant communities by overseeing programs that facilitate sidewalk and street-side patios for hospitality businesses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sedor led the charge in securing patios for approximately 200 restaurants and upgrading them from pylon-enclosed sections to platforms surrounded by protective barriers. He took things a step further by organizing a collaboration with BUMP (Beltline Urban Murals Project) to have local artists paint the barriers. “When you care about a city, seeing people enjoying it is so important,” he says.
Sedor also established Living Labs at the City in 2017, a program that provides City infrastructure to individuals or businesses that want to test and try new ideas and products in a real-world setting.
And, he is influencing the next generation of urban planners as an industry advisor for the University of Calgary’s Civil Engineering Capstone program, and by teaching the Urban Studies 451 course for the past six years. “It has been really cool teaching all these undergrads,” Sedor says. “It gives me hope for the future, because they’re all super-keen and wanting to make an impact.”
Thank yous
“My parents for being role models and teaching me how to teach; my wife Angela for supporting me, sharing a passion, and being a sounding board for my ideas; and Mac Logan for being my mentor, supporter and friend.”
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