Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
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Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Brandon DonnellyFirst ever virtual shoe try-on activation
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Brandon DonnellyFirst ever virtual shoe try-on activation
Earlier this month Snapchat announced the acquisition of Vertebrae, which is a 50-person company that allows brands to create and manage 3D versions of their products. Why does this potentially matter? Because Snapchat is already doing stuff like this:
https://videopress.com/v/t2NHb1AP?preloadContent=metadata
(If you can't see the embedded video, click here.)
This was a recent partnership with Gucci that Snapchat is calling the first ever "virtual shoe try-on activation." The way it worked for the nearly 19 million people that it reached was pretty simple. Point the Snapchat camera at your feet. Try on a bunch of new Gucci shoes. Buy by tapping "shop now."
As we all consider what it will mean to go shopping in the future -- and what kind of real estate will be most valuable -- this kind of innovation strikes me as being a very big deal.
Earlier this month Snapchat announced the acquisition of Vertebrae, which is a 50-person company that allows brands to create and manage 3D versions of their products. Why does this potentially matter? Because Snapchat is already doing stuff like this:
https://videopress.com/v/t2NHb1AP?preloadContent=metadata
(If you can't see the embedded video, click here.)
This was a recent partnership with Gucci that Snapchat is calling the first ever "virtual shoe try-on activation." The way it worked for the nearly 19 million people that it reached was pretty simple. Point the Snapchat camera at your feet. Try on a bunch of new Gucci shoes. Buy by tapping "shop now."
As we all consider what it will mean to go shopping in the future -- and what kind of real estate will be most valuable -- this kind of innovation strikes me as being a very big deal.
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