"It was a tin-can telephone of boyhood where we shared a common admiration for unlikely heroes who embodied everything we had dreamt of being since we were little: they were all brave." heytherescottie.substack.com/p/we-need-mo...

We Need More Big, Bold, Beautiful Idiots

How the loss of reckless heroes has robbed men of noble virtue.

heytherescottie.substack.com

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.

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.

Programming reminder: at 8:10 on The Early Edition, we're holding a forum between the three left-wing mayoral candidates that have pledged to support each other if a clear frontrunner emerges: - COPE's Stephanie Allen - Green's Pete Fry - OneCity's William Azaroff On the pod/YouTube soon after!

Vancouver’s Villages plan isn’t even the bare minimum we need and still there’s people lining up to take it down. Good for my home equity, terrible for our city. What’s more important?

@jwhiteyvr.bsky.social why are we still rationing out homes in the villages plan? www.sightline.org/2025/07/28/o...

Oregon Decides It Was a Mistake to Let Cities Ban Homes | Sightline Institute

Two laws in Oregon undo 100 years of local zoning to ban homes, opening opportunities for affordable choices, from duplexes to apartments.

sightline.org

Setting up intentionally small-scale land rushes and then extracting value from them howsoever conceived at the time (heritage preservation, low taxes, affordable housing) has as much claim to the label of "Vancouverism" as anything else out there.

One of those days where you feel like the average citizen is never going to support housing reform.

Vancouver is the final boss at HOA‘s.

This is happening across Canadian sport and it’s completely toxic. It limits excellence and kills our competitiveness. The teams and countries that decide to disrupt this with real development models are going to win. Norway is a great example. youtu.be/DPeRd48YfqY

How Private Equity Ruined American Youth Sports

YouTube video by Wendover Productions

youtu.be

What does it mean to be Canadian? Thoughts rolling around my brain right now, while taking pictures and wandering around the city.

New piece at the Globe and Mail! Despite their reputation, young people aren't more spendthrift than past generations. They drink less, they smoke less, they spend less on clothes, and housing takes up an increasing amount of their income. Read here:

Despite their reputation as spendthrifts, today’s young adults are quite frugal

Older generations have logged the largest rises in spending in recent years, Statistics Canada survey shows

theglobeandmail.com

Canada coach Jesse Marsch (who is from the US) said this last year: "Canada is a strong, independent nation that's deeply rooted in decency, and it's a place that values high ethics and respect, unlike the polarized, disrespectful and often now, hate-fueled climate that's in the U.S."

Combining strong affordable housing messaging (Freeze the Rents!) with a comprehensive plan to reform the construction of new housing is the "Yes, and" approach we need to make housing affordable for all.

Alex Armlovich@aarmlovi.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Mayor Mamdani's housing plan is live! There's big sweeping YIMBY stuff: -Aggressive TOD upzoning -Major permitting reform -Rescuing & transforming NYCHA They're also looking at finer details, like fixing the FDNY inspections that so often delay CofO issuance (& invite petty corruption)

I am proud to accept the endorsement of the Vancouver and District Labour Council. Every single Vancouverite deserves an affordable home, strong public services, a good job, and a living wage. We’ll return respect for workers to City Hall when we retake the Mayor’s Office on October 17 #vanpoli

I will just add to this that, during the Biden presidency, I made a point of regularly calling out the good things the administration was doing -- which were continuous &, in aggregate, enormously consequential -- and ... none of that went viral. Very, very little engagement or amplification.

Will Stancil@whstancil.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Two competing truths: -Democrats are often disappointing, and should be criticized when they are -Posting withering rage about the uselessness of Democrats is an extremely reliable way to get big engagement, and many people have spent years waking up every day and finding a Dem to be mad about

By now, you might have heard that Mayor Ken Sim is trying one more time to roll back Vancouver’s green building standards, by bringing back a motion on May 20th which will effectively gut good climate policies in new building development. (1/7)

I love seeing the real effects of safe bike infrastructure. Every time we visit my wife’s family in holland, she transforms back into a cyclist. Maybe one day that’s all the time.

Katherine McDonell@kemcdonell.bsky.social · 4mo ago

This is my dad. Without revealing his age, he's proof that 8-80 infrastructure is life-changing. He lives in a car-dependent Memphis suburb. Last fall, the city extended the Greenline within 0.5 miles of his house. Now he rides 5 miles every day and could get all the way into midtown without a car.

If existing players keep retreating from EVs, we should do everything in our power to support a major Canadian EV maker, or failing that, encourage Chinese manufacturing in Canada.

This kind of behaviour has no place in City Hall, or any workplace, quite frankly.

Pete Fry@ptfry.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Yesterday, an adversarial City Councillor leaned into my office uninvited to call me a “f#@!ng donkey” I think he meant it as an insult. But donkeys are intelligent, loyal, tough as heck, and regularly deployed to protect livestock from predators. That’s a nice compliment. Thanks! #donkey 🚫ABC

One day a Vancouver planner is going to have the bright idea to build a shopping district instead of a shopping street. Like, where else in the world do we have linear commercial districts along major arterials.

I hear BlueSky can have you up and running in 2 months!

Justin McElroy 🇨🇦@jmcelroy.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Five months after Vancouver council unanimously told staff to stop exclusively posting real-time information about council meetings to a website under investigation for child exploitation, staff have said "in five months, we hope to start posting on threads" local government working for you

Big news. OneCity, COPE, and the Greens have signed a Progressive Unity Agreement. We did the hard work, and we got it done. Here's what it means and why it matters.

Vancouver's Urban Design Panel just spent two and a half hours debating the aesthetics of 216 non-market homes and 74 daycare spaces. Their recommendations, as always, could increase costs or delay the project. Worth it?

Supportive housing voted down in Vancouver. Again. Not surprised. But it's hard to understand how anyone stands behind a vote against something we know improves and even saves lives. I believe those voting 'no' know this. Which makes the politicization of it harder to accept.

The Vibes Mayorality has to end.

William Azaroff for Mayor@wazaroff.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Today, Mayor Ken Sim, on behalf of Vancouverites, leveraged investments in Ontario as a reason to complain that the Province and the Federal Government are failing to invest in Vancouver. I have some things to say about this. 1/12 #VanPoli #CANPoli🇨🇦 #YVR

Hey, a mayor who gets it.

Mayor Katie B. Wilson@mayor.seattle.gov · 5mo ago

We need to go taller, denser, and faster. That's why we're taking bold steps to meet the scale of our housing crisis by combining and accelerating the next phases of Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan.

Quarterly reminder my day job is making you look good and talk pretty. Need a creative consultant who can do the work? Give me a ring!

Funny how the Chinese government forces JVs on any new entrants, and Chinese companies are less enthusiastic about it. Someone will take the conditions, there are 20 other large automakers in China and many are desperate for new markets.

Brian Platt@brianplatt.bsky.social · 6mo ago

China's BYD is actively studying the Canadian market for a potential auto factory, a top executive tells Bloomberg. But BYD is less interested in the Carney's government plan that it be a joint venture with Canadian firms. “I don’t think a JV will work" www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

A fun little video project.

Frances Bula@fabulavancouver.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Dear my delightful tweeps, some news! So after 30 years of City Hall and urban-issues stories that you all know, I'm doing something completely different — I’ve decided to run for a City Council nomination with @onecityvan.bsky.social and hopefully run on their slate this October.