I am a big believer in making things. That could be writing a blog post, recording a podcast, coding an app, designing a building, making something tangible, or whatever. It is the act of creating something. And it’s one of the reasons I love what… Read More
Kate Downing was formerly a planning commissioner in the City of Palo Alto. She recently resigned from her position and, about about a day ago, she posted her resignation letter on Medium. It has since gone viral. The reason it has spread so quickly, I… Read More
I have argued before that hosting major events, such as the Olympics, can serve as a catalyst for completing meaningful public projects. But there is also an argument to be made that it’s not entirely worth it. The economic legacy is weak. The ROI simply… Read More
I don’t always agree with economist Edward Glaeser, but I really enjoyed the talk that he gave at the Vancouver Urban Forum back in 2012 (at least part 2 of it). I came across it on Twitter today and, since it only has about 300… Read More
The Martin Prosperity Institute here in Toronto recently published an interesting report called The Geography of the Global Super-Rich. What they did was use the Forbes 2015 Billionaire List to chart billionaires and billionaire wealth by location and by industry. They also looked at the… Read More
There’s no shortage of talk about a Canadian housing bubble: In Vancouver, the price of a single-family home (as of June of this year) increased 39% to C$1.6 million from the year prior. Does that constitute bubble territory? In an effort to stop prices from… Read More
The New Yorker recently published an interesting split-screen video tour of the same streets in downtown LA in the 1940s and today. They have done a great job pairing up the same views and also panning in such a way that the middle divider seems… Read More
Everybody in Toronto is talking about one thing right now. This: When I got into the office this morning, someone asked what I thought about Rail Deck Park and whether or not I thought it would happen. When I went for lunch this afternoon, someone… Read More
Earlier this year, architect Rem Koolhaas of OMA spoke with Mohsen Mostafavi (dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design) to close out the 2016 AIA convention. I still remember my first architectural theory class where the professor told us all that Koolhaas was the… Read More
Arup, the global consulting firm, has an interesting publication out called Cities Alive: Towards a walking world. The report highlights 50 benefits of walking and then 40 actions that city leaders can take today to transform their cities. The entire study was informed by examining… Read More
BRANDON DONNELLY 