@philmarfisi
Sidewalk enthusiast. Other interests: public policy, housing, urbanism, Waterloo Region, Ontario politics, #cdnpoli, Star Trek, music, news media, international relations, and the Oxford comma. Democracy is good, actually.
Not saying that's exactly the prescription for TO but the spirit of it can be. Lots of smart people have floated publicly accessible ideas for the Toronto Islands and Ontario Place that would cost far less than commercialized fantasy lands.
You don't need complicated ideas to make great urban waterfront spaces. Start with the principle that places should a) be great for those of all ages and abilities b) let them engage with nature in an uplifting way. Copenhagen's harbour baths come to mind - great, simple third spaces.
Damn, it sure would be awful if a theocratic rogue state had access to nuclear weapons.
I don't think they're deliberately coming at the expense of other options. Builders respond to the systems they are a part of. Large family sized apartments remain largely illegal to build in Ontario due to building code regulations. The province could pave the way for them at any time.
There's also some silly hot takes - ION phase 2 is bad and we should just amalgamate the region - so as the interviewee says, you've got to live with the wrong
Some fun insights in this story on how the first ever regional land use plan in Waterloo Region (in the 1970s) envisioned a version of today's central transit corridor, and also looked towards balancing urban growth with protections for farmland.
This is a fairly literal example of what I mean when I say that the Ontario PCs' entire ideology is just governance by opinion polls. They base tons of major decisions off them and it's why it perpetually feels like they can only think in the near term.
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
Some personal news, as they say: I've been asked to step in as acting Night CEO at Bluesky. What does a night CEO even do, you ask? Well, think of it like a night mayor, but for posting. The night owls on this site are incredibly engaged - and we're going to scale features accordingly.
Why is this phrased like the fever dream of a millennial tradcath influencer
There's something incredibly jarring about worrying about the cost of flights when a war that's barely a week old has already seen over 1200 civilian casualties.
www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe...
Do not listen to the propaganda artists of Big Daylight. The forces of Big Sleep will win out in the end.
Wow, urbanists are all for multi-modal transportation solutions that deprioritize the private automobile until someone suggests what is effectively a bus with wings smdh
Just saw a pickup truck with a Starfleet logo bumper sticker and honestly never thought I'd see those 2 things paired together
Democrats should try to solve actual problems in society rather than jumping on the Grover Norquest-lite slop train
For the same $6 trillion cost, you could crush child poverty with a child allowance and free childcare, fix unemployment insurance, do paid family, sick & medical leave, massively boost ACA subsidies, and eliminate child uninsurance with Medicare for Kids.
If you are wondering how upzoning in Edmonton is going; when I moved into my place last year it was $1300 for a 1 bed. Now my landlord is offering a slightly larger unit for $1200. Its crazy! If I wasn't moving cities I'd be down there renegotiating my lease as we speak @growtogetheryeg.bsky.social
The author is going to lose it when we have walkable espresso enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights
The annoying thing about Vancouver is it's not even flexing, it just *has* spectacular nature unfolding around it year round.
Home owners have been at the centre of political power for so long that merely shifting the focus to renters and their wellbeing is seen as an attack.
holy shit
“This is no longer just a human rights violation. It is truly anti-human behaviour.... You cannot attack water systems or refineries. Most of Tehran’s water comes from dams. If those become polluted, what happens then?"
Value Village is about to open their first chain of gas stations
After yesterday's festivities, today I finally closed the Finch Store petition. It's a bittersweet moment; I am obviously overjoyed. But the support on this journey was absolutely inspiring and recharged my love for TO. I hope we can keep that going. c.org/LSFJxBFWqW
An underdiscussed benefit of putting a price on parking (that is well covered by our lord and saviour Donald Shoup, RIP) is that if you do happen to be driving, it becomes much easier to find a spot! Politicians bold enough to do this may get more buy-in by explaining how drivers benefit.
"Lastly, to my friend Donald Shoup, rest now, brother. We have the watch, and I’ll see you in Valhalla."
Now more than ever I’m convinced losing Anthony Bourdain meant we lost probably the biggest person on tv who advocated for the wonders of meeting new people and calling anyone online who hated learning new cultures the children they were, ruthlessly to the camera.
Michael.
Does the Cdn govt need approval from the House of Commons to deploy the military overseas? No.
Have govts sought that approval before? Symbolically yes, in some cases, but not consistently.
Is there a constitutional convention of parliamentary approval? No.
ottawacitizen.com/news/politic...
It sounds hand-wringingly lefty because it is a universal truth. There is always money for bombs and never money for desperate people
Fletcher travels the world pleading for pennies down the couch so people don’t starve to death. $6bn a year
The US just spent that in five days bombing Iran
