All countries have distinctive urban regions, but Canadian cities especially differ from one another in culture, structure, and history. Anthony Perl, Matt Hern, and Jeffrey Kenworthy reveal that despite the peculiarities and singular traits that each city embodies, a common logic has guided the development of transportation infrastructure across the country. Big Moves analyzes how Canada's three largest urban regions - Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver - have been shaped by the interplay of globalized imperatives, aspirations, activism, investment, and local development initiatives, both historically and in a contemporary context. Canadian urban development follows a distinct pattern that involves compromise between local viewpoints and values and the pursuit of global capital at particular historical junctures. As the authors show, the success or failure of each city to construct major mobility infrastructure has always depended on the timing of investments and the specific ways that cities have gained access to necessary capital. Drawing on urban mobility history and global city theory, this book delves into the details of the big moves that have affected transport infrastructure in major Canadian cities. Knowing where urban development will head in the twenty-first century requires understanding how cities' major mobility infrastructures were built. Big Moves explains the shape of Canada's three biggest cities and how their mix of expressways and rapid transit emerged.

Anthony Perl is the Director of Urban Studies at Simon Fraser University. He has acted as a government advisor in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France and the US on transportation and environmental research. He has co-edited and co-authored four books including The Integrity Gap: Canada's Environmental Policy and Institutions. He lives in Vancouver.

Anthony Perl's profile page

Matt Hern is the director of the Purple Thistle centre, an alternative youth program in Vancouver, BC. He holds a a PhD in Urban Studies from the Union Institute. An accomplished writer and public speaker, he has written three books: Deschooling Our Lives, Field Day: Getting Society Out of School and Watch Yourself: Why Safer Isn't Always Better. He lives with his partner and two daughters in East Vancouver.

Matt Hern's profile page

Jeffrey Kenworthy is emeritus professor at Curtin University and guest professor at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences.

Jeffrey Kenworthy's profile page

"Big Moves is an original and long-overdue examination of mass motorization and rapid transit development in Canadian cities. The book's focus on the intersection of global forces and local visions and politics is critical to understanding how cities develop and shape transportation infrastructure and density." Byron Miller, University of Calgary