I love change.

In fact, a big part of what I do for a living is imagining what things could be in the future. However, the bias that humans have toward the status quo has been well documented by people like Seth Godin, as well as many others. It is easier to defend that which already exists. Here's how Seth puts it:

All one has to do is take the thing we have now as a given (ignoring its real costs) and then challenge the defects and question the benefits of the new thing, while also maximizing the potential risk.

So as I was reading this recent blogTO article about the work of Stephen Velasco, I wasn't surprised to see some of the responses. Stephen has built an outstanding 3D model of all the towers that are currently planned or under construction in Toronto. Here's what that looks like:

For some of you, this is exciting. And for others, this may look like too much density. In both cases, we might think we are being fair and reasonable in our assessment, but the reality is that it's actually quite difficult to be a neutral judge. We are all guilty of poor logic and too much emotion.

But here's a good mental exercise, put forward by Seth, to test your logic: flip the story and then see if you still feel the same way.

In this particular case, imagine that all of the above proposed buildings are already built. This is the city that we all live, work, and play in. This is the status quo. Now consider an exciting new proposal being put forward to demolish many/most of these buildings, create more surface parking lots in the core, industrialize our waterfront, and reduce our overall population density.

Photo from the 1940s:

Photo from the 1960s:

Is this a better proposal?

I met Mark Garner, who is the COO and Executive Director of the Downtown Yonge BIA, about five years ago. We met because of our shared passion around Toronto's laneways. At the time, you weren't allowed to do what we now call laneway suites. Housing was not to be built on our rear streets. But thanks to champions like the Yonge BIA, Lanescape, the Laneway Project, a number of local Councillors, and many others, a lot has changed over the last five years.

As luck would have it, Mark and I reconnected at the beginning of this year because of another shared interest: neon. The Downtown Yonge BIA has been working for over five years to establish a permanent home for the neon signs and lights that are slowly (or perhaps quickly) disappearing from Toronto's streets. The goal is to found Neon Museum Toronto. And I am so impressed by their dedication to this cause. You should see what they have collected so far.

Given the obvious connection to Junction House, we decided we were overdue for another fun project. So today the team is excited to announce that -- in collaboration with both the Downtown Yonge BIA and Neon Demon Studio -- the Junction House Sales Gallery (at 2720 Dundas Street West) will be hosting a Neon Popup Gallery from April 12 to 14. blogTO has already covered the event, here.

It is open to the public. And entry is free. But it is coming to you for one weekend only. So get your camera ready and come by between 11AM - 9PM.

This morning blogTO did a post on how to spend a day in the Junction neighborhood of Toronto.

I love the Junction. I’m planning to move to the Junction. And we have a development project in the area called Junction House. So know that I am entirely biased when I talk about this neighborhood. 

A couple of my favorite places from blogTO’s list include Mjolk (Scandinavian interior design), Gerhard Supply (menswear), Playa Cabana Cantina (tacos and tequila), and Indie Alehouse (brewpub). 

One spot that wasn’t on the list is the Italian restaurant, Nodo. Big fan of this place. Great pastas. Great negronorum. Yes, the plural of negroni is allegedly negronorum.

One of the big game changers for the Junction – besides the reintroduction of alcohol in 1997 – is the Union Pearson Express train.

Many people only think of it as civilized airport travel. But it also provides an incredible inner city service. It shows you the potential of Regional Express Rail in this region. We need more of this.

We’ll be providing an update on Junction House very soon and I’ll be sure to blog it. So stay tuned.