Transit Oriented Development – Planning for the Future of Transit in the Lower Mainland

Join us for an evening of insights from industry leaders, who will discuss the challenges and successes of designing around, and, for the Greater Vancouver transit system with approaches to land use and delivery of transit systems.

Speakers Yehia Madkour (Associate, Perkins + Will), Mark Hodgson (Partner, Asset & Economic Advisory, Deloitte), and Guy Akester (Director, Real Estate Programs and Partnerships, TransLink) as well as moderator Jane Pickering (former Deputy Director of Planning and Acting General Manager of Planning and Development Services, City of Vancouver) will bring a range of perspectives to best practices for building high-density, Transit-Oriented Development in and around rapid transit stations and concentrating growth in urban centres.

Light refreshments will be provided to support what promises to be a lively discussion about the challenges and solutions to building successful transit-oriented communities.

Following the panel discussion, join us for networking over light canapés and beverages.

Speaker Bios:
Yehia Madkour

Yehia’s work spans architecture and urban design, with a focus on transportation, research, and a particular interest in the intersection of technology and design process.

Yehia plays key leadership roles on major transportation projects for Perkins+Will. Most recently, Yehia led design teams across Perkins+Will offices to design transit stations on the new REM line in Montreal, the Confederation Line in Ottawa, the BRT line in Riyadh, as well as a multi modal transportation hub in the middle east. Yehia’s focus on these projects was on developing a line-wide system identity, engaging the stations within their urban context, and creating positive passenger experiences to connect and move people through the cities.

Yehia sits on Perkins+Will’s Research Board, provides strategic direction to the research and innovation agenda across the firm. He a member of the firm’s Building Technology and Mobility research labs, and is founder and past director of the firm’s Computational Design Integration, where he facilitated a platform to advocate for digital design and fabrication across offices.

Mark Hodgson

Mark Hodgson is a Partner who leads the Infrastructure Advisory group of Deloitte in Western Canada. Mark has over 25 years’ experience as a business advisor on large capital projects and related studies. Mark is a proven leader in Canada’s infrastructure market having advised governments on the financing and procurement of some of the largest and most complex capital projects in the country. Mark’s expertise is in developing and implementing public-private partnership (“P3”), alternative service delivery and divestiture transactions. His experience with major projects spans all infrastructure sectors including highways, roads, water, power, transportation, marine, solid waste, and public buildings including health care facilities. Mark is a civil engineer with over five years municipal engineering experience. Following a career in engineering, in 1993 he obtained an MBA in finance and strategy from McGill University

Guy Akester

Guy is responsible for the real estate portfolio at TransLink which includes retail, parking, telecom, commercial partnerships, acquisitions, development, and surplus land sales. In addition to this, he has responsibility for development approvals for projects with close proximity to SkyTrain and transportation assets. He has lived and worked based out of Vancouver, Toronto, London UK, Edinburgh, Hong Kong and Shanghai doing the real estate for a wide range of companies including Telus, FedEx, CIBC and Goldman Sachs. Guy has over 18 years of experience in Real Estate across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific.

Jane Pickering

Jane is former Deputy Director of Planning and Acting General Manager of Planning and Development Services at the City of Vancouver. Jane has worked in municipal planning for over 30 years and is currently a Senior Manager with the Development Services group at Translink.