I’m behind the news curve on this one as I was out of the office for much of September, but if you missed the headlines elsewhere, Sadhu Johnston, Chicago’s point person for sustainability, has taken a job with Vancouver, B.C.

Beginning in November, he will become Vancouver’s deputy city manager, according to the Seattle PI’s Strange Bedfellows Blog. His goal? To make Vancouver the region’s very greenest city, a goal that Mayor Greg

Sadhu Johnston

Nickels has constantly touted for Seattle and a title Portland hopes to claim as well.

Johnston was Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s chief environmental officer, a post Daley created for Johnston two years ago according to the Chicago Reader. More info on the switch here.

I heard Johnston speak at GreenBuild in Chicago two years ago. Not that it effects his ability to help lead a city but he seemed to be a pretty charismatic and interesting guy with  many, many ideas for how an urban area should work.

I’m interested to see what Johnston can do with Vancouver, and how he will work with Brent Toderian, the city’s development manager. There’s a great profile of Toderian and how the city’s development attitude has changed in recent years here. It’s fascinating to see how much power Toderian has in Vancouver, compared to how development is done here in good ole’ Seattle.

Tags: Chicago, Vancouver BC

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