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For Andrew Sedor, cities are ultimately about people.

As a planner with the City of ��֦��Ƶ and a sessional instructor at the ��֦��Ƶ, Sedor spends much of his time thinking about how urban spaces shape everyday life, from transportation systems and public spaces to the ways communities connect.

A graduate of the Faculty of Art’s Urban Studies program, Sedor completed his degree in 2010 and has spent his entire professional career working with the City of ��֦��Ƶ. Along the way, he has helped develop initiatives ranging from policy planning to public-space projects, while also mentoring a new generation of students interested in city planning.

“It’s been really rewarding,” he says. “You get to see the impact of your work in the city around you.”

Discovering cities

Sedor did not initially plan to study urban planning. After graduating from ��֦��Ƶ’s Henry Wise Wood High School, he entered the university in general studies while exploring different subjects.

“All I knew was that I wasn’t very good at math,” he says. “But I really liked English and social studies.”

Everything changed after he enrolled in an introductory urban studies course taught by Dr. Byron Miller, PhD. The course introduced students to the ways cities are designed, governed and experienced. For Sedor, it immediately resonated.

“That course really clicked,” he says. “I started thinking about how cities are built and planned and how that shapes the way people live.”

Another pivotal moment came during a field school in Europe during his second year of university. Travelling abroad for the first time, Sedor encountered urban environments very different from those he had known in North America. Walking through European cities with their dense neighbourhoods, transit systems and public spaces sparked new ideas about what cities could be.

The experience left him inspired and determined to contribute to shaping ��֦��Ƶ’s future. He came back thinking, “How can we make positive changes in our own city?”

From student ideas to civic engagement 

Back on campus, Sedor and fellow students founded the Urban ��֦��Ƶ Students Association (UCSA), a group dedicated to exploring urban planning ideas and engaging with city issues.

The organization allowed students to move beyond classroom discussions and into real-world civic dialogue. 

One early project involved proposing policies to allow more secondary housing near transit stations in order to improve access to student housing. The group presented their ideas to members of city council and municipal planners.

To their surprise, city officials welcomed the conversation.

“We thought these were people who were far away and inaccessible,” Sedor recalls. “But they were incredibly open to hearing from students.”

Those experiences helped shape Sedor’s understanding of how young voices can contribute to planning decisions and they helped establish connections that later supported his own career.

Shaping ��֦��Ƶ’s mobility

Since joining the City of ��֦��Ƶ, Sedor has worked on a range of initiatives focused on mobility, public space and urban innovation. Today, he serves as the city’s Mobility Initiatives Lead, helping guide programs that explore new ways for residents to move through and experience ��֦��Ƶ.

One of the most visible examples of this work is ��֦��Ƶ’s shared micromobility program. Sedor helped lead the city’s e-scooter pilot project, which introduced shared electric scooters and bikes as alternative transportation options. The initiative ultimately resulted in companies such as Bird Canada and Neuron Mobility operating in ��֦��Ƶ and helped establish the city as one of the most active e-scooter markets in the world, with more than a million rides annually.

For Sedor, projects like these demonstrate how small interventions can transform the way people interact with their city.

“When you care about a city, seeing people enjoying it is so important,” he says.

Activating public spaces

Beyond mobility initiatives, Sedor’s work has also focused on supporting local businesses and creating more lively public spaces. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped lead ��֦��Ƶ’s emergency patio program, securing outdoor patios for roughly 200 restaurants and hospitality businesses across the city.

The initiative later expanded through a partnership with the Beltline Urban Murals Project (BUMP), which invited local artists to paint the protective barriers surrounding many of the patios. The result was both a safety measure and a public art program that helped animate streets across ��֦��Ƶ.

Sedor has also championed experimentation in city planning through the creation of ��֦��Ƶ’s Living Labs program, which allows companies and innovators to test new technologies and ideas using real city infrastructure.

“It’s really cool to drive around the city and see something you helped create,” he says.

In 2024, he was named to the Top 40 Under 40 list, recognizing his leadership in advancing mobility initiatives and mentoring emerging planners.

Returning to the classroom 

In 2020, Sedor returned to the ��֦��Ƶ as a sessional instructor, teaching Urban Studies 451: Planning the Canadian City, a course he once took as a student.

“It was my favourite class when I was in university,” he says. “Being able to teach it now is a full-circle moment.”

Alongside his work with the City of ��֦��Ƶ, Sedor also serves as an industry advisor for the university’s Civil Engineering Capstone program, helping students connect classroom learning with real-world planning challenges.

In his course, he emphasizes hands-on learning and civic engagement. Students develop proposals addressing real planning issues in ��֦��Ƶ and often present their ideas directly to municipal leaders, sometimes even in city council chambers.

The experience gives students practical skills and confidence, and occasionally leads to unexpected outcomes.

“One of my former students turned a class project into a company that eventually appeared on Dragon’s Den,” he says.

For Sedor, moments like these highlight the importance of encouraging students to think beyond the classroom.

“It gives me hope for the future,” he says. “Students are incredibly creative and motivated to make an impact.”

Advice for students 

Reflecting on his own path, Sedor encourages students to take advantage of opportunities while they are still at university. Joining student organizations, participating in field schools and engaging with community issues can all help build valuable experience.

“You actually have a lot of freedom as a student to explore ideas and connect with people,” he says. “Once you graduate, it’s harder to create those opportunities.”

He also encourages students to focus on building community during their time at university.

“University isn’t just about getting a degree,” he says. “It’s about meeting people, creating experiences and building friendships that last.”

For Sedor, those connections, along with a curiosity about how cities work, continue to guide his career today.

“At the end of the day,” he says, “cities are about people.”