A test train sits at Sloane Station on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (Line 5) in Toronto on Sept. 21, 2025.GABRIEL HUTCHINSON/The Globe and Mail

Craig Sklenar is a design principal in Arcadis’s Canadian placemaking practice. The firm has been involved in the Edmonton Valley Line, Line 5 Eglinton, and King George Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit.

Across Canada, rapid transit systems are reshaping how cities grow. From Edmonton’s Valley Line and Toronto’s Line 5 Eglinton to Surrey’s upcoming King George Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit Corridor, new investments are transforming the urban form. Yet as billions are spent to improve mobility, the greater opportunity lies not only in building transit infrastructure but in creating adaptable, transit-oriented communities.

They take the concept of transit-oriented development a step further, emphasizing a broader ecosystem that integrates housing, employment, public space and social infrastructure so cities can thrive around mobility networks. The distinction is critical: Transit-oriented communities are not just about proximity to transit but about complete, connected and resilient communities.

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