Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Cassie Smith (she/her)

@cassiesmith.bsky.social

4.3K followers 1.3K following 1.2K posts

Feminist geographer and cargo bike mom. Volunteer: Bike Ottawa VP, For Our Kids, Kidical Mass championing safe, sustainable, fun, and equitable spaces especially for kids. Work: Transportation strategy and solutions with EnviroCentre. Views my own.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · Nov 15

What a week BlueSky! Welcome new followers! 👋🏻 I mostly post about kids, bikes, & kid-carrying bikes along with climate action and local happenings in Ottawa.

This all ramped up 3.5 years ago, when (in the span of ONE month) I:
- had a (2nd) baby
- got a cargo bike
- was accepted into grad school

A spiffy new Urban Arrow bucket style e- cargo bike with a family standing beside it. Cassie has a baby bundle under her sweater, her male partner wears a helmet, and their small child stands in front.

1 3 39

Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)

Discontented Bike Person @b1kes.bsky.social · 18h

-use a bicycle when possible
-eat meat one less day a week
-apply a 1.5% wealth tax on net worth over $10,000,000
-grow a pollinator garden

2 10

Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)

Jim Mike @whatfuntimes.bsky.social · 16h

-buy durable clothes made from ethical and sustainable fibres instead of fast fashion brands
-buy fewer items of clothing
-restructure society to be less obsessed with consumption
-learn basic sewing skills to repair your clothes when they’re damaged

1 5

Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)

Michael Druker 🇨🇦 @mdruker.app · 18h

Tips for being more eco-friendly:
-turn down your thermostat when you can
-use low-flow fixtures
-legalize medium density single-stair apartments near transit, with low parking requirements
-sort your recyclables

5 5 45

Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)

Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 15h

I saw my first Mercedes Econic garbage truck in Newcastle the other day and was so excited! This is the kind of vehicle we should be demanding in Canada to stop the killing of pedestrians and cyclists. Canada has hewed to the USA safety standards, but now is the time to go our own way.

Canada should make side guards on trucks mandatory; the usual excuse no longer works

Now that we are plotting an independent course from the USA, it’s time to develop our own safety strategies and standards.

lloydalter.substack.com

4 16 68

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 11h

"If you want to normalize walk-friendly, bike-friendly infrastructure, then you need to start by visualizing wildly different scenarios."

Andy Boenau @urbanismspeakeasy.com · 12h

Normalizing good urbanism requires culture change, and culture change requires an advocacy long game that makes space for ideas that seem impossible today.

www.fastcompany.com/91415749/how...

How unthinkable ideas can reshape our cities for the better

Civilizations advance when we ask the big "What If" questions that sometimes fall outside of the mainstream.

www.fastcompany.com

1 7

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 23h

Great piece Jordan.

The more I've thought about this project (and others), clarified by what you've outlined here, is that real effort to make low-stress residential streets actually low stress would go a long way. Modal filters, chicanes and changing culture and social norms.

Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)

Jordan Moffatt @jordanmoffatt.bsky.social · 1d

My newest newsletter post over at Ottawa 3 Speed: A review of the proposed bike lanes on Gladstone Avenue and Gilmour Street.

Westbound contra-flow lane on Gilmour! Protected intersection at Rochester! Weird, convoluted crossing of Bronson! #ottbike

jordobicycles.substack.com/p/gladstone-...

Gladstone-Gilmour bikeway will boost cycling in Centretown...

...But bike lanes all the way down Gladstone are still needed

jordobicycles.substack.com

1 2 8

Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)

Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 2d

Yale researchers didn't stop there. They also identified what people most need to know to catalyze action and support climate policy; and it's not about global temps, ice sheets, or ocean currents.

What people most need to know about climate change is that (1) others care, and (2) there is hope.

Understanding six “key truths” about climate change predicts policy support, discussion, and political advocacy

Social norms and collective efficacy are strong predictors

climatecommunication.yale.edu

4 77 180

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 1d

I'm looking forward to cycling over to Parliament Hill tomorrow to connect with many amazing people working hard to build a bike-friendly Canada. Bring your bike to the hill for a big group photo at 5pm!

#OttBike #VeloGat

Vélo Canada Bikes @velocanadabikes.bsky.social · 28d

🇨🇦 Join parliamentarians, local and national leaders, and fellow cyclists in for a non-partisan celebration of everyday cycling in Canada. Let us know if you can be there in Ottawa on Wednesday, October 8th at 5 p.m. for Bike Day on the Hill 2025!

Register here: simpli.events/e/bikedayont...

Bike Day on the Hill 2025 | Simpli Events

Bike Day on the Hill is back! Join parliamentarians, local and national leaders, and fellow cyclists in a non-partisan celebration of everyday cycling in Canada. This year we will be highlighting cycl...

simpli.events

1 4

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks for participating & sharing! Me time on the bike is one of my favourite benefits too 😎.

A reason #WeekWithoutDriving is more binary is that for many (~1/3 of the population) driving is not an option. The campaign is to build empathy, understanding & action about that experience.

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 1d

😢😢😢

1 2

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 2d

There was a story from Guelph a few weeks ago about a mom being killed by a driver and her last act was pushing her child in their stroller out of the way hopefully saving their life. Absolutely heartbreaking and a sign of how parents are always aware of road danger.

globalnews.ca/news/1144001...

Family pushing stroller hit by pickup truck in Guelph, Ont., mother dead | Globalnews.ca

Guelph police say they are investigating after a woman died when she and her family were struck by a pickup truck Friday afternoon.

globalnews.ca

4 16

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 2d

I was (not actually) nearly crushed because I was walking slightly behind him because he was sluggishly crossing after a long day. The driver was mad that an 8 year old was tired and not rushing out of his way. I am always using my body to protect my kids.

1 15

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 2d

Love a walk home with my kid where an aggressive driver causes him to ask "what should I do if you get crushed by a car?"

3 4 32

Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)

Jason Thorne @jasonthorne.bsky.social · 2d

The Venn diagram of urban density and average household GHG emissions is pretty much a circle. Interesting study on “Mapping household GHG emissions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe” from the University of Toronto School of Cities schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/mapping-hous...

5 78 220

Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)

Share The Cities @sharethecities.bsky.social · 3d

Sound Transit with the amazing marketing.

Break a mindless habit. Zombie with gas pump.

2 21

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 4d

Same, man, same. Her vision of abundance is the kind of world I want to live in.

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · Apr 4

Can 'the discourse' be about Robin Wall Kimmerer's insights about abundance instead?

The cover of "The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World" by Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass. The cover is a light beige with an illustration of a cedar waxwing eating a serviceberry from a tree with another bird in the background going for another.

1 4

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 4d

Access to nature for nondrivers is often a challenge. We are very lucky in Ottawa-Gatineau to have natural spaces available by both public transit and free public shuttles. Always room for improvement but this is something worth recognizing 🍂🍁🌳🌲

1 1 10

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 4d

Today's #WeekWithoutDriving:

- walk with kids to the small local grocer 💗
- bike to do a few errands
- about to get picked up in a vehicle for a night away at a cottage with friends for a 40th birthday party 🎉. There's 6 adults carpooling and could include involuntary nondrivers. But... 1/2

A tiny grocery store. There's only three aisles. A woman with a white coat is standing at the cash register and a man is preparing to pay. Another customer is behind him looking at shelves.

2 13

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 4d

Thanks for sharing Hans!

Hans on the Bike @hansonthebike.bsky.social · 4d

How would life be without the option of driving yourself somewhere? A week without driving challenges people to not use the car and use other means of transportation instead. Logically, I biked for a week. Here's how it went. @nondriver.bsky.social #Ottbike #Ottawa #BikeTooter

A Week Without Driving

I wanted to participate in the week without driving (#WeekwithoutDriving) because I was impressed with a talk I attended last year by Anna Zivarts, author of ‘When driving is not an option’.

hansonthebike.com

1 4

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 4d

Don't listen to the rhetoric - most Canadians and even most conservatives support action to address climate change. We can and must do more better and faster.

Conservative Leaders are Failing to Respond to the Climate Concerns of their Base - Re.Climate

More conservatives support climate action than are opposed to it. So why isn’t anyone talking to them about it?

reclimate.ca

1 10

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 4d

This is fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 4d

Next week we will have a special bike bus ride starting from this rally for better routes for our kids and everyone else. #OttBike please join us for the rally and ride to school. bikeottawa.ca/2025/10/01/r... 3/3

Rally for a safe cycling route on Gladstone

Guest post by concerned citizens of Dalhousie neighbourhood When: Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 7:45 a.m. Where: Bronson and Christie Event: Join Bike Ottawa and neighbourhood cyclists on the mornin…

bikeottawa.ca

2 7

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 4d

Bike buses value safe and active mobility for kids. Part of our ride is on wonderful infrastructure, but other parts are dangerous and adults have to use our bodies to give our kids protection and allow them to build cycling skills in a safe and age-appropriate way. 2/3

1 2 9

Cassie Smith (she/her) @cassiesmith.bsky.social · 4d

100% of people under age 16 are nondrivers. They live in every community and they deserve to be able to get around as much as anybody else.

My only #WeekWithoutDriving trip today was the #DevonshireBikeBus. 1/3

Cassie takes a selfie on her bike wearing sunnies, a purple helmet, and a safety vest. She is riding on a multi-use path that has construction scaffolding around it. A number of kids and adults on bike are behind her

3 34 170