Dan Cohen
@dancohen.bsky.social
Critical urban and economic geographer studying the marketization of education and other social institutions (he/him). https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=S265d9kAAAAJ&hl=en
They could always sign up to give comment at a public meeting.
The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com · 21h agoNew York City’s business elites are long accustomed to direct access to City Hall, where even Democratic mayors felt the need to court the city’s wealthiest and most influential corporate leaders. That access is getting shredded by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Unsurprisingly it seems like the Carney government is shopping around public infrastructure to international and domestic pension funds. All to seemingly generate funds for his planned "sovereign wealth fund" that has dubious public benefits (see here: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...)
I've reached the age where when. I tell medical professionals I'm not on any medications, they say "oh wow, good for you"
the unfortunate thing about climate change is that we did certainly fail by some measures (to keep under 1.5 or even 2 I would say) but it always gets worse so long as we're burning fossils so never too late to stop that
Kevin J. Kircher@kevinjkircher.com · 4d agoIncreasingly seeing "it's too late, we failed" as an argument against climate action. But: a) While we haven't done nearly enough, we've made a lot of progress relative to the "just let fossil fuels rip" world of pre-2000; b) the more&faster we reduce climate pollution, the less bad things will get;
This is a remarkably extreme statistic. Bordeaux, France has recorded more days >40°C in 2026 than in the entire 105 year period combined dating back to 1920 when records began. This summer has been so far above extreme it’s difficult to put into words. Chart: @WxNB_
I'm not saying that anyone ever sat down and said, "Parents with sick children will pay whatever we charge for a thermometer at 2AM." They didn't have to: this is the kind of thing an automated system can do without any human intervention: www.ftc.gov/system/files... 15/
ftc.gov
Who said it couldn't get any worse: 12% of London properties originally intended for private sale sold in bulk deals this past year. Housing as an asset class, it's coming home.
Investors snap up bundles of UK properties as housebuilders offer discounts
Bulk buyers win double-digit reductions while cautious consumers stay on sidelines
ft.com
Excellent post on philanthropic foundations disbursement quotas: "Foundation dollars that are invested in... private interests do not benefit most Canadians, and because these dollars accumulate tax-free, they come at the cost of reducing public funds for services ." makeway.org/in-the-news/...
The Disbursement Quota Matters to Everyone—The Review Should Reflect That - MakeWay
The disbursement quota is the amount charities must spend annually on charitable activities, either through their own programs or by making grants to other
makeway.org
A short interview where I discuss how the loss of a 'common price' through surveillance pricing is likely hiding unfair outcomes for consumers. ca.news.yahoo.com/surveillance...
Surveillance pricing a fairness concern: expert
Economic geography expert Dan Cohen says a proposed ban on surveillance pricing in Toronto is part of a larger “regulatory cat-and-mouse game” playing out across jurisdictions. (July 22, 2026)
ca.news.yahoo.com
The City of Toronto's interest in a municipal ban on surveillance pricing has driven local interest in how widespread it is. That's given me an opportunity to talk about algorithmic black boxes and how they can hide discriminatory practices that would otherwise draw public anger and regulation.
Ontario - "The Liberal, NDP, and Green Parties should work together to come to an agreement on a more proportional electoral system before the next election" Agree: 68% Disagree: 32% EKOS / July 16, 2026
senior male academics giving a conference paper, after being shown the "one more minute" sign
Erin Dwyer aka Ginger Is A Construct@erindwyer.bsky.social · 2w agoTime keeping is my passion.
I was happy to participate in this video from Chris the Producer. He created an LLC, hired an actor who built a miserly profile online, and flew a phone via drone into a ritzy area to try to influence the prices derived from data collection. And it worked! www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCSw...
I beat BIG TECH'S new predatory pricing tactics (and saved $6,593)
YouTube video by Chris the Producer
youtube.com
Despite a lifetime of seeing Liberal politicians break promises to tack to the right when elected, Carney is especially galling. His whole brand was as the climate-friendly banker, yet his actions as PM actively worsen emissions. Canadians experiencing this smoke must lay responsibility at his door
Alex Usher@alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 3w agoHeat got you down? Try some light climate reading! Here's a snippet from Very Serious Mark Carney's book Value(s). "Actions speak louder than words. Credible climate policies should cut emissions from day one to reduce the end point in carbon concentrations." (p.296).
The Las Vegas skyline from Blade Runner 2049 vs the Toronto skyline from right now.
All done after two days of the 'New Methodologies in Financial Geography Workshop.' A fantastic set of speakers showcasing the innovative ways geographers are piercing the veil of finance. Blown away by how advanced the research techniques of the ECRs in financial geography are.
Looks great for teaching about how market institutions and concentrated power shape economic processes.
Dan Davies@dsquareddigest.bsky.social · last mo.well goshie, isn't this the thing that everyone said couldn't possibly be happening? www.wsj.com/business/ret...
The infamous 75-year Chicago parking meter concession is being sold by the Morgan Stanley-led group to private equity firm Stonepeak (owner of Omnia Air).
Chicago parking meter concession to sell for $2.5 billion
Stonepeak Partners will pay $2.5 billion to buy the remainder of the lease of Chicago's parking meters. The 2008 lease runs through 2084.
bondbuyer.com
Been playing video games while recovering from knee surgery, and readers I was not ready for stumbling into a discussion of capitalism, inequality and inflation targeting.
Not willing to give up my preferred urban geography textbook but chapters on urban economies, the environment and technology and the city are getting a bit too dated. Anyone have good second-year undergraduate level readings they use for those subjects?
Piece in CCPA with @marxist.af on surveillance pricing. We gathered industry webinars and earnings calls to study how firms are using AI to set individualized prices. We found that surveillance pricing is built on existing market power and infrastructure. www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
“Surveillance pricing” is already here—Canada needs laws to stop it | CCPA
Driven by big tech and corporate concentration, companies are using surveillance to warp prices and extract from consumers
policyalternatives.ca
Driven by big tech and corporate concentration, companies are using surveillance to warp prices and extract from consumers @policyalternatives.ca #cdnpoli www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
“Surveillance pricing” is already here—Canada needs laws to stop it | CCPA
Driven by big tech and corporate concentration, companies are using surveillance to warp prices and extract from consumers
policyalternatives.ca
"surveillance pricing should NOT be understood as a stand-alone technology." 🔥 plus link to a German study on what algorithmic pricing does to gas stations: +38% in profit margins.
Dan Cohen @dancohen.bsky.social · 2mo agoPiece in CCPA with @marxist.af on surveillance pricing. We gathered industry webinars and earnings calls to study how firms are using AI to set individualized prices. We found that surveillance pricing is built on existing market power and infrastructure. www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
Piece in CCPA with @marxist.af on surveillance pricing. We gathered industry webinars and earnings calls to study how firms are using AI to set individualized prices. We found that surveillance pricing is built on existing market power and infrastructure. www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
“Surveillance pricing” is already here—Canada needs laws to stop it | CCPA
Driven by big tech and corporate concentration, companies are using surveillance to warp prices and extract from consumers
policyalternatives.ca
This is outrageous. When I hire KPMG to validate my priors I expect to receive the wildly overconfident lies of a 23 year old MBA, not those of some stinking robot.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 2mo agoKPMG report contained AI hallucinations on benefits of . . . AI ft.trib.al/Ef8zdYs
Why didn't I think it was safe to go to sleep when a team had a 29 point lead in a finals game? 🤷😭
What's the ratio to actual basketball to dead time in this game? The NBA needs to follow the MLB and do a complete audit of what's disrupting game flow and make some changes I love basketball, but it feels like most of the time of every game is reviews, challenges, foul shots and timeouts.
It’s been brought to my attention that the Economist cover story is blaming Gen-Z socialism on “an influential group of socialist academics” led by @isabellamweber.bsky.social. Turns out Gen-Z got radicalized by … our analysis of corporate earnings calls. Huge if true!
