Brisbane's urban sprawl and the over-reliance on cars is slowly killing us, an international expert in urban planning warns.

One-time Vancouver chief city planner Brent Toderian said Brisbane's planning is average — at best — and the city needs to lift its game.

Mr Toderian is in the River City to meet with designers and health specialists about how to come up with a "cure".

Tactical urbanism Street scapes

Street scapes Turning car parks into public spaces

Turning car parks into public spaces Walkability

Walkability Connecting bike paths and foot paths

Connecting bike paths and foot paths More green space

"The most generous I can be is to call Brisbane average, maybe even below average in the context of Australian cities," he said.

"I would probably give Brisbane a rating of just four or five out of 10.

"[It] is resting on its laurels a bit."

Mr Toderian was brought to Australia by the Heart Foundation, which is championing a change in the way we design our cities so that we can live healthier, happier lives.

It is his fourth trip here.

Ms Hughes, Mr Toderian and Mr Leighton (LtR) meet in Brisbane to discuss the city's development. ( ABC News: Lexy Hamilton-Smith )

He said "a lot of the good things" were done quite a while ago, like investing in busways, pedestrianizing down town and the South Bank development.

The most liveable Australian cities 2017

Sydney (no.10)

Sydney (no.10) Melbourne (no.15)

Melbourne (no.15) Perth (no.21)

Perth (no.21) Adelaide (no.27)

Adelaide (no.27) Canberra (no.28)

Canberra (no.28) Brisbane (no.36) Source: Mercer's global survey

He warned the region has now let urban sprawl dominate, making cars necessary and wiping out the chance of accidental exercise.

"Sitting is one of the worst things you can do for your public health," he said.

"By building sprawl, we are still building fundamentally sick environments.

"We have designed exercise out of our daily lives. Whereas we use to design both cities and suburbs in a way where exercise was a part of your daily life."

Brisbane 36th most liveable in world

A champion of "healthy urbanism", Mr Toderian was Vancouver's chief planner from 2006 to 2012.

Brisbane was ranked the 36th most liveable city in the world. ( AAP: Dave Hunt )

The Canadian city was rated as the world's 5th most liveable in Mercer's 2017 global survey.

Brisbane came in 36th, with Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra all ranked higher.

Heart Foundation manager Sheree Hughes backs Mr Toderian's push for connectivity, linking parks with bike paths and walking tracks — building cities that are one step ahead.

She said it is a bit like "health by stealth".

Mr Toderian said there is an over-reliance on cars amid mass urban sprawl. ( Giulio Saggin, file photo: ABC News )

AECOM environmental engineer Alastair Leighton is one of many planners involved in the workshops.

"I think there is a need for us all to be ambitious and to hold each other to account for the kind of city we are creating," he said.

"There is an opportunity for us to make cities where people thrive and not just survive."

Queensland is Mr Toderian's first stop in Australia.

He is also scheduled to meet with Federal MPs in Canberra ahead of presenting at an urban planning conference in Melbourne.