John Sewell is a pretty famous guy around Toronto. He's been an activist, a city councillor, mayor, and most recently a very outspoken commentator in Eye Weekly, bringing up issues that city planners and urban developers often forget.

Turns out he's a cyclist too. All the cool people are.

Tonight at the Gladstone Hotel (7:00 pm), Sewell starts a four part series on Toronto's suburban growth from 1945 to 2000. Tonight's talk is entitled "The Real Story Behind the Superhighways" and continues in upcoming weeks with:

• Feb. 13 - Servicing the Fields of Dreams
• Feb. 20 - Jigging Government Structures to Promote Suburban Growth
• Feb. 28 - Glorious 905, and the Way Ahead

I've become a lot more in urban planning issues since I started cycling a couple years ago. I suppose I'm intrigued to learn about why some spaces are people (and bike) friendly and some aren't. On the surface, it's because they aren't designed for people (and bikes), but Sewell's talks will delve more into the reasons behind this.

Oh, and DarrenJ at BikeRefugee posted a great entry about the Budget Advisory Committee Community Meetings that are going on this week. If you're interested in going and inquiring about funding for cycling (or anything else) in Toronto, his post provides a good primer on the meetings.

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