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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...
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 DonnellyHigher gas prices impact cities differently
Support Brandon Donnelly
Brandon DonnellyHigher gas prices impact cities differently
Gas prices are up. And here is a chart to support this statement:
If I were trying to be as sensational as possible, I would likely leave things here. But since that is generally not what I try and do with this blog, here is another chart showing gas prices over a longer time horizon.
Shown this way, gas prices don't seem as crazy. In fact, we're only now returning to where prices were back in 2008.
That said, these swings do impact things. And it is interesting to consider how these impacts might be felt differently across different cities.
So here is one more chart from City Observatory looking at the average number of miles driven per person prior to COVID:
One way to think about this chart is that it generally speaks to built form. Compact cities with higher densities and greater access to public transport, generally translates into people driving less.
The result is something that City Observatory refers to as a "green dividend." Less driving, means you save money on cars and gas. And so when gas prices go up, so does your green dividend.
Of course, if you were to get really serious about calculating your green dividend, you'd also want to look at your housing costs, as land prices tend to decline as you sprawl outward.
Ultimately, this is a trade off between housing costs and transportation costs (both direct and indirect, such as the cost of your time).
But I think that there should be another dimension to this green dividend and that is the environmental benefits of less vehicle miles travelled. That too, of course, can be measured.
Gas prices are up. And here is a chart to support this statement:
If I were trying to be as sensational as possible, I would likely leave things here. But since that is generally not what I try and do with this blog, here is another chart showing gas prices over a longer time horizon.
Shown this way, gas prices don't seem as crazy. In fact, we're only now returning to where prices were back in 2008.
That said, these swings do impact things. And it is interesting to consider how these impacts might be felt differently across different cities.
So here is one more chart from City Observatory looking at the average number of miles driven per person prior to COVID:
One way to think about this chart is that it generally speaks to built form. Compact cities with higher densities and greater access to public transport, generally translates into people driving less.
The result is something that City Observatory refers to as a "green dividend." Less driving, means you save money on cars and gas. And so when gas prices go up, so does your green dividend.
Of course, if you were to get really serious about calculating your green dividend, you'd also want to look at your housing costs, as land prices tend to decline as you sprawl outward.
Ultimately, this is a trade off between housing costs and transportation costs (both direct and indirect, such as the cost of your time).
But I think that there should be another dimension to this green dividend and that is the environmental benefits of less vehicle miles travelled. That too, of course, can be measured.
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