Let’s start a new conversation about cities.

It has been said that the book The JOY Experiments offers the pattern language for new urbanism.

Given the nature of today’s social divisions, it makes sense that this new pattern language should start with a new conversation—and that is exactly what the book and Paul’s work set out to do. 

As a keynote speaker and consultant, Paul Kalbfleisch presents a narrative that focuses on the condition of the collective human spirit within our cities and offers a new city building priority: the connection of citizens to each through a new Play, Live, Work framework.

In this new conversation, public spaces become “Infrastructure for the Human Spirit”, and collective joy becomes a tool for building a collaborative community capable of tackling the issues of our times.

Join the conversation on Substack.

Watch Paul in Action

Paul at the United Nations’ 2024 World Urban Forum

Paul at TedX Stratford 2024

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The LIVE - WORK - PLAY city building model is changing:

  1. Today’s affordable housing crisis is systemic to our economic reality and not within full control of cities. This means cities will continue to struggle to offer an appealing definition of LIVE to citizens.

  2. WORK is less of a determining factor in how people choose where they live due to new post pandemic flexible work models.

  3. We are in a Social Recession in which loneliness and isolation are at epidemic levels. The social infrastructure that once supported human interaction has been stripped away in favour of efficiency. Society is now divisive and distrustful, which threatens the societal resilience of cities and efforts at collaborative city building.

In this context, PLAY now represents the opportunity to reframe a relevant city/citizen relationship.

Cities that facilitate social interaction and collective joy between citizens can become the destination of choice and improve social and economic prosperity.  Best of all, a strategy that prioritizes PLAY is completely within their control.

PLAY means understanding and prioritizing how a city:

  • Acts like a community.

  • Connects citizens and make them feel they belong.

  • Creates moments of collective joy as a strategy for social resiliency.

  • Celebrates its uniqueness and identity.

  • Supports an innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem that can deliver social and economic prosperity.

  • Fosters trust and compassion.

PLAY + LIVE + WORK = Great and joyful cities that thrive.

FREE WHITEPAPER

How Does Your City Play?

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Speaking

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

On the stage or virtually, Paul Kalbfleisch’s talks create a path to civic optimism and societal resilience by describing cities as the Habitat of the Human Spirit and championing the connection citizens have to each other as a city building priority.

His keynotes give audiences a reason to care more about their cities and provide a new hope embedded in the idea that changing cities changes the world.

For city builders and planners, Paul’s strategic talks present a new urban prioritization framework of Play, Live, Work and a Design For JOY toolkit.

Does the social and economic prosperity of your city require an injection of civic optimism? Does your urban project need a different starting point to achieve a different result? It could all begin with asking: How does your city play? The new conversation starts here!

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Consulting

CONSULTANT

PAUL Consulting works with cities, city builders, planners and designers to grow their opportunities to create great urban environments.

This form of consulting involves developing “societal mission” strategies that expand the scope of urban projects beyond traditional quality of life measures to include the social and economic benefits of the collective human spirit.

This work also includes activities that provide an optimistic framework for the public to express their values and desires for better urban environments.

CLIENTS

Projects

Here is a sample of previous PAUL Consulting projects:

  • Creative Intersections

    Paul created a strategic planning report outlining how Waterloo Region could use public art and public space to shape its brand and bring a community identity to life. The Creative Intersections strategy focused on four key elements: space and place, engaging productions, curated content, and public and private partnerships.

  • Garment Street

    Paul articulated a vision for an urban project with three condo towers, an office building, and a pedestrian-friendly retail streetscape in Kitchener’s Innovation District. Garment Street pays tribute to the way industry shapes life, both in the past and today. The vision manifests itself through an ever-changing visual design pattern.

  • Guelph, Gather Here

    Paul facilitated a workshop with the City of Guelph inspired by the book. They uncovered the unique way the community comes together, or "gathers", to tackle problems, have fun, and celebrate itself. That attribute, and the way it manifests in events, became the basis for the city's destinations brand "Guelph, Gather Here".

  • CHORUS

    Paul created CHORUS, a public art installation for the Garment Street development. Inspired by the foot pedal of sewing machines, which powered much of Waterloo Region’s industrial reputation, its 12 panels reinterpret that artifact and celebrate the collaborative efforts that made the community an industrial powerhouse.

  • Meander

    In the City of Cambridge, Paul developed a vision of cultural storytelling focused on the Grand River for HIP Developments. Meander was part of that vision: the largest permanent living architecture sculpture in the world. Inspired by the community’s river, Meander teaches how we can learn about diversity and sustainability from nature.

  • River Lines

    In partnership with Montreal studio Daily tous les jours, Paul consulted on River Lines, an award-winning permanent interactive art installation at The Gaslight District in Cambridge. Designed to foster community through public play, River Lines tells a story of the city using the Grand River and and the historic 100-year flood of 1974.

  • Serendipity

    U2 wrote “The Streets Have No Name” and in Kitchener-Waterloo, the streets have no sense of direction. Rather than a song, the Zehr Group invited Lucy Bilson and Paul to create art reflecting the abstract nature of KW's streets - turn it into a story and celebrate the city's uniqueness. Serendipity now lives in Belmont Village in Kitchener.

 

Book

A new perspective on shared joy in urban spaces.

In The JOY Experiments, real estate developer Scott Higgins and creative mind Paul Kalbfleisch use their own mid-sized city-building experiences to present a new way for citizens to engage with their city and an urban planning strategy that prioritizes infrastructure for the human spirit.

Here’s what people are saying:

“… [the book] invites us into the authors' intimate extended conversation about how to make urban places welcoming, sustainable, inclusive, but most of all, joyful.”

Ken Greenberg
Principal at Greenberg Consultants Inc.

"The book … engages in new ways of thinking about designing cities and a future that might have a plausible relationship with the rest of life and the next generation."

Bruce Mau
CEO of Massive Change Network

About

Paul writes, speaks, and consults on the societal importance of cities as the habitat of the human spirit. His work elevates the role of urban space in healing societal divisions and building creatively collaborative environments for social and economic prosperity. 

He also co-wrote, along with real estate developer Scott Higgins, The JOY Experiments: Reimagining Mid-Sized Cities to Heal Our Divided Society, which was published globally by Dundurn Press in May 2024.

Prior to his work in cities, Paul was a senior executive focused on understanding how trends, social change, and culture work. He took that knowledge and used it to shape brands—some of which such as BlackBerry, helped shape the world and society we live in today.

In 2013, Paul went out on his own, merging his old love of pop culture, art, and strategic thinking, with his new love of cities. Today, he continues to help city builders become society builders.

Media

For press inquiries, or to receive a copy of the book for review purposes, please contact Lori Blahey at lori@loriblahey.com.

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Contact

519-497-9844

Paul regularly shares insights and ideas, poses questions, and encourages debate on LinkedIn. Join him so we can start a new conversation about city building.