A man can endure the entire weight of the universe for eighty years. It is unreality that he cannot bear.

The purpose of American zoning is to put the most people—low- and middle-class families—in the worst locations so that the best locations, the quiet, elevated side streets, can be reserved for a small number of wealthier people. Everything else is just kind of window dressing.

Steroid use is way more prevalent than people think. Everyone who works out and/or uses Instagram should spend an hour on the "natty or juice" subreddit to learn what is and is not possible naturally.

William B. Fuckley@opinionhaver.bsky.social · 4d ago

'lots of middle aged men are taking gear' very underrated explanation for what's going on in the world right now

Just finished rewatching HBO's Rome. An incredible show that may even have improved with age:

i've said this before but what you all fail to understand is that the High Street, as a cultural concept, is essentially a community mental health support scheme, and its decline and rot has correspondingly resulted in us all /feeling/ far more miserable than the situation actually demands

Vancouver is the epicentre of BC’s housing crisis and shortage. So why does the city still effectively ban new apartment buildings on most of its residential land. www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

It’s a housing crisis. Why are cities like Vancouver still banning apartments in most areas? | CCPA

Vancouver is the epicentre of BC’s housing crisis and shortage. So why does the city still effectively ban new apartment buildings on most of its residential land, reserving it exclusively for low-den...

policyalternatives.ca

Remember the huge wildfire summers of the 90s where communities were routinely evacuated ahead of unstoppable wildfires and we spent our summers worrying about smoke? Me either.

I'm still excited that this will divert high end renters from affordable buildings, as will Oakridge. But we can't just let a few tower developments be the only housing we build. The Villages Plan would have ended the apartment ban in many transit friendly areas. We need to keep fighting for it.

NEW CANADIAN JOBS DATA: Employment Growth: 75k Unemployment Rate: 6.4% (-0.1%) Prime Age (25-54) Employment Rate: 83.9% (0.3%) Employment Level: 21.2M

“The tenants are being systematically pushed out. Some tenants are getting an eviction notice every month.... They offer long-term tenants money to leave every day.” A growing crisis in Vancouver's SROs, which provide housing for the city's poorest people. thetyee.ca/News/2026/08...

Vancouver’s SROs Are Changing Hands. And Tenants Are Being Pushed Out | The Tyee

Advocates warn of a coming increase in homelessness without government action.

thetyee.ca

every politician has realized that saying “METRO VANCOUVER BAD” will get them favourable attention but then they have to explain how they will tangibly improve people’s lives and it’s stuff like “uhhhh we’ll divest from the regional park program and have less paid lunches”

Local BC News Headlines - Curated by CivicInfo BC@bcheadlines.bsky.social · last wk.

#MetroVancouver - Harvie wants to withdraw Delta from non-essential Metro Van programs www.delta-optimist.com/local-news/h...

Oh, so *this* is how the writers are gonna bring together the A story and B story for the finale! Very cool. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/s...

This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature

Scientists trained artificial intelligence on libraries of DNA and then asked the model to create recipes for viral genomes. Sixteen of them were viable, yielding new viruses.

nytimes.com

The idea that we lack the ability to provide sewers in Vancouver is difficult to reconcile with our observed ability to build whole new networks of sewers and roads in forested mountain slopes.

Denis Agar (he/him)@denisagar.bsky.social · last wk.

imagine if all these townhouses were permitted at Nanaimo Station instead of on recently-cleared mountain forest?

Just a week ago, the most expensive city in Canada rejected a plan to allow a lot mid-rise apartments in a bunch of neighbourhoods. We can’t maintain exclusionary, restrictive zoning and then say “why is the market not building enough housing?”.

Glyn Bowerman@glynbowerman.bsky.social · last wk.

“The research also found that, while rental housing supply has grown across Canada in recent years, the benefits have not trickled down to those in most need. Rather, the new housing supply has been added to the higher end of the rental market.”

This pup found a stick shaped like an old timey pipe earlier today and has already solved three mysteries. 13/10

two days after Vancouver city council voted down their own Villages Plan, west side residents who opposed the plan en masse are complaining that Dunbar (!!) doesn’t have any wine bars, boutiques or gyms — the kind of amenities that require neighbourhood density to support

being an urbanist today is life on easy mode. you just need common sense and some intellectual curiosity about the rest of the world, and the most unhinged illiterate people with obscenely bad vibes will declare themselves your enemies for life, thereby literally doing your job for you

Sam@samd.bsky.social · 2w ago

this guy (doomloop dispatch) literally killed a biker with his car… and he’s posting on twitter how it just made him even more anti-bike lane. The NIMBYs are not OK.

I appreciated the opportunity to speak to Global News early yesterday morning about Vancouver's Villages Plan https://globalnews.ca/video/12000943/public-backlash-sinks-vancouvers-villages-plan

When I was evicted it was because the owner sold our apt. We found a new place but we had to compete against many other families, and our rent went up. The approach to housing policy below would have done nothing to prevent me from being evicted and it actively made it harder to get a new home

Peter Waldkirch 華彼德@pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 3w ago

Orr: supports affordable housing, supports 6 storey apartments and corner stores, mixed use communities. But Villages Plan could result in significant tenant displacement. Not enough affordability requirements. "Unfettered growth has real consequences." TAKE THAT YOUNG PEOPLE & IMMIGRANTS!

Eviction reasons given are from this pie chart from First United's Eviction Survey interim report - May 2023 found here: firstunited.ca/how-we-help/...

the focus on the harms of development in many cases is an attempt to forge a one-sided alliance between tenant activists and nimbys and you should ask the tenant activists what they get for their trouble

Nicholas Rae@nickrae.bsky.social · 2w ago

Redevelopment and renovations makes up about 10% of evictions. Owner use is around 60%. That doesn't mean that it isn't important to have protections for tenants due to redevelopment, but they're much more likely to be evicted due to other reasons

thinkin' about how every now and then the Japanese government tweaks building standards *across the entire country* to allow more floor space, new uses, etc. www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Maloney: "wrt my colleagues saying this is a 'one sized fits all approach', our current zoning is a one sized fits all approach. But it doesn't actually fit all people. It fits people who can afford to buy incredibly expensive homes, and it doesn't fit everyone else."

Here's me on CBC explaining why voting down the Villages Plan is a win for Vancouver's west side NIMBYs: youtu.be/uFqtPATMftE?...

Vancouver city council votes down 'Villages' plan after public pushback

YouTube video by CBC British Columbia

youtu.be

To the people who still envision a walkable, vibrant Vancouver, it's still possible. ABC killed the plan today, but OneCity is committed to bringing more diverse, thriving neighbourhoods to every community. Be a part of it - donate or volunteer at the link in bio.

WHOOOA Not surprising that ABC killed Maloney's village-pilot program...but seeing Bligh, Fry, and Orr all abstain lets the cat out of the bag. They're not supportive of Villages and probably happy that ABC is killing it.

I just donated the maximum amount to OneCity's victory fund, and I'd encourage you to donate whatever you can www.onecityvancouver.ca/donate

GRIDS Vancouver@grids.reillywood.com · 3w ago

@lucymaloney.bsky.social was the only councillor willing to stick up for this, and I appreciate that a lot bsky.app/profile/davi...

Turns out people are a lot more fond of European-style mid-rises when they’re opposing high-rises — than when it’s actually time to broadly legalize mid-rises.

Justin McElroy 🇨🇦@jmcelroy.bsky.social · 3w ago

For as long as I’ve been a reporter in this city the complaint has been that we build too many giant luxury condos in a few places and not enough medium density housing across neighbourhoods. But this week reaffirmed why that approach is so baked into the DNA and political culture of Vancouver.

The Villages Plan is not that controversial & Council should approve all 17 villages. There was not that much opposition considering most complaints were poorly founded & the result of NIMBY fear-mongering. For comparison, consider 1805 Larch, ONE 5-storey apartment building.

It's wild to me how many people do not understand this. "Luxury housing" is not some ontologically separate category from the rest of the housing market. Nor is "affordable housing." It's all one big fluid market & when you build more, everyone moves up & frees up the bottom end.

Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈@maxdubler.com · 4w ago

The idea that the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor are all in completely separate housing markets with no overlap ignores how things work in the real world. In the absence of new high end housing, wealthy people outbid the middle class for the best available existing housing and renovate it.