Subscribe to Brandon Donnelly
>4.2K subscribers
Subscribe to Brandon Donnelly
>4.2K subscribers
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...
Share Dialog
Share Dialog
I just got my tickets for NXT City Night, happening Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 6:30pm here in downtown Toronto.
If you’re not familiar with NXT City Prize, it’s an annual urban design competition where young Canadians (35 years of age or younger) submit ideas to improve the built environment. The top submissions win a total of $9,000 in prize money and the winning idea gets paired up with the City of Toronto work on actually implementing it. That’s the best part.
The 2015 finalists have already been announced, here, but the top submissions will be announced at NXT City Night. The Chief Planner of Toronto, Jennifer Keesmaat, will be there, along with the competition’s very impressive jury.
I think it’s important to keep in mind that a lot of what makes cities great often happens through citizen-led grassroots movements.
The High Line in New York – which today attracts over 5 million visitors a year and is believed to be responsible for over $2.2 billion in new economic activity – was really the work of 2 friends who thought that preserving and repurposing the High Line was a cool idea. Which is why in 1999 they founded a non-profit called Friends of the High line. Amazing things happen when people and passion get involved.
So I would encourage you to grab a ticket and join me at NXT City Night next week. Tickets are $25, but if you use the coupon code ATHISCITY, you’ll get $5 off your ticket :)
The event is also taking place in a spectacular old warehouse building at 56 Maud Street (formerly St. Andrew’s Market Hall). That alone is reason enough to come. I’ve been inside before. Get your Instagram ready. But if that’s not enough, there’s also:
Open bar including Steam Whistle beer and Pillitteri Estate wine
Catering from Oyster Boy, Kanpai Snack Bar, Thoroughbred and many more
Art installations by Wayward Collective
Beats by Jesse Futerman and A Digital Needle
Local wares from GetFresh, Shopify, Spacing Store and Swipe
I hope to see you there. Make sure to tweet at me if you’ll be there so we can connect in person.
I just got my tickets for NXT City Night, happening Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 6:30pm here in downtown Toronto.
If you’re not familiar with NXT City Prize, it’s an annual urban design competition where young Canadians (35 years of age or younger) submit ideas to improve the built environment. The top submissions win a total of $9,000 in prize money and the winning idea gets paired up with the City of Toronto work on actually implementing it. That’s the best part.
The 2015 finalists have already been announced, here, but the top submissions will be announced at NXT City Night. The Chief Planner of Toronto, Jennifer Keesmaat, will be there, along with the competition’s very impressive jury.
I think it’s important to keep in mind that a lot of what makes cities great often happens through citizen-led grassroots movements.
The High Line in New York – which today attracts over 5 million visitors a year and is believed to be responsible for over $2.2 billion in new economic activity – was really the work of 2 friends who thought that preserving and repurposing the High Line was a cool idea. Which is why in 1999 they founded a non-profit called Friends of the High line. Amazing things happen when people and passion get involved.
So I would encourage you to grab a ticket and join me at NXT City Night next week. Tickets are $25, but if you use the coupon code ATHISCITY, you’ll get $5 off your ticket :)
The event is also taking place in a spectacular old warehouse building at 56 Maud Street (formerly St. Andrew’s Market Hall). That alone is reason enough to come. I’ve been inside before. Get your Instagram ready. But if that’s not enough, there’s also:
Open bar including Steam Whistle beer and Pillitteri Estate wine
Catering from Oyster Boy, Kanpai Snack Bar, Thoroughbred and many more
Art installations by Wayward Collective
Beats by Jesse Futerman and A Digital Needle
Local wares from GetFresh, Shopify, Spacing Store and Swipe
I hope to see you there. Make sure to tweet at me if you’ll be there so we can connect in person.
No comments yet