Places for Humans to spend time in, at, and on for the sake of their physical and mental health could save your life. via @thestar.com's Kevin Jiang h/t @katemulligan.bsky.social @robinmazumder.bsky.social @dtahtoronto.bsky.social @thebentway.bsky.social www.thestar.com/news/gta/is-...

Last week, we played a "pilot round" #DragonQuest lu.ma/lrfkfq0b & aren't there more & others, too, eh? Have you come across more & others? "Practicing the play", "walk the talk" by & thru our work & energy it takes to "do it",... I mean, "availability", who is developing & deploying such, too, eh?

During my PhD (2019) I ran a study on pedestrian dynamics and dominance. Now that it’s summer and people are out on the sidewalks, it’s been interesting to observe how men posture. The tension is tangible, and sadly the necessity to perform toughness signals the opposite, dude.

It’s going to be “Housing Day” at Planning Cmte next week. We’ve been busy. So there’s LOTS on the agenda. I’ll break it down a bit. “Expanding Permissions in Neighbourhoods for Low-Rise Sixplexes” updates our zoning to allow up to a sixplex (plus garden suite) on pretty much all residential lots /1

I’m nursing a nerve injury (HNPP) so I walk “slower” than how I may be perceived (whatever that is). I took the full (but clearly not enough) time to cross the street and was yelled at by a driver. I didn’t have the time to explain my disability so I told him to “chill out”. More to say. ✍️

I love Toronto.

After careful consideration, I’ve concluded I can’t continue to blame the ethereal construct of “car culture” for bad drivers. Environmental design matters, but so does legal competence. Put bluntly, some people are jackasses and must be held accountable lest we want actual change in our cities. 🤷🏾‍♂️

New to Bluesky and looking for Canadian universities and research organizations? We've got you covered! Let us know if you don't see your org/uni on here and we'll add it. 🧪 #CdnSci #AcademicSky #Research Pack 1: go.bsky.app/DjqbMNB Pack 2: go.bsky.app/2i7Qi3E Pack 3: go.bsky.app/8phKHSB

Hello! I’m moving (back) to Toronto, which I’m very excited for. Seeking a quiet/bright apartment, ideally on a residential side street in Dundas West (and away from car noise). If you know of any places available this summer, please get in touch. Dinner on me as a finders fee. 🙏🏿

On tonight - 5.20pm uk time

This looks like a valuable, informative and careful study, showing significant correlations between some common genetic variants and what psychologists call the Big Five personality traits. It's no surprise such correlations exist, but good to pin them down. AND... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

📢 Calling PhD students 📢 we want to hear from you! Help shape the future of PhD education. Take our survey to tell us all about your experiences https://go.nature.com/43iJAsi

Some recent paintings:

When it comes to the housing crisis, we clearly face an extraordinary challenge. As Mayor, I'm determined to give it everything we've got—with a radical step-change in our approach. www.lbc.co.uk/politics/uk-...

Made a contribution just now to Filipino BC & The Filipino Centre. If you're moved to do likewise in solidarity with the Filipino community in the wake of last night's mass murder, donations can be received at the following link:

Devastated to hear of the tragedy in Vancouver. At what point do we accept the fatal risk cars constantly pose and actually do something about it? The frequency of these violent acts should not condition us to their terror. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected. 💔

I’ve lost track of the number of papers I’ve read that use scientific jargon in the titles that aren’t defined in the text. Oftentimes I can’t even find other references that use the same “terminology”. Publishers need to establish a basic standard of requiring definitions for core paper concepts. 💡

If you have any interest at all in learning about how a human brain experiences and negotiates the built environment, any talk by Dr. Mazumder will be enlightening. Wish I could get out west!

Looking for a home for your manuscript? Check out my #justsustainabilities series, currently with 8 books and 2 more in line. www.bloomsbury.com/us/series/ju...

If you’re in Victoria, I’m giving a talk and participating in a panel discussion on the intersection of cities, spirituality and neuroscience on April 26 for the @uvic.ca John Albert Hall Series. Nice to be back in my hometown for an important discussion. Please join us! www.uvic.ca/research/cen...

-If you're the driver behind the driver who get's the yellow/red on a left turn, you should wait for the next cycle. -Don't run red lights. -If you cannot clear the intersection, do not advance. -That 'cyclist only'/'do not enter' sign applies to you, driver. Follow me for other hot tips.

PSA: if you impatiently inch your jagged ton of metal on wheels toward me as I cross the street, I’m just going to walk slower… and mirror your behaviour - pretending like you don’t exist.

Students, campus voting closes today. Be a voter. Vote on campus now. Visit lpc.ca/how2vote to learn more.

📢 Spread the word, researchers: We can #VoteOnCampus April 13-16. Let's help students #VoteScience🇨🇦 too! Avis aux chercheur.e.s! 👉Votez sur vos campus du 13-16 avril. Aidons nos étudiant.e.s à #VoterRecherche aussi 🗳️: www.elections.ca/content2.asp... #VotonsRecherche #ResearchersVote #Elxn45

Every spring, I get a new appreciation for Canadian winters that remove motorcycles from our streets and significantly reduce their numbers year-round. I don't notice when they're gone, but I definitely notice when they're back.

Are you listening #CityofSurrey???

Gods I loathe loud cards.

Fewer cops would be needed for traffic stops, too, if speed/red-light cameras were outfitted with decibel meters.

This won't help a ton but Waterloo is looking at a revamp of their noise bylaw and it includes a ban on engine noise above the equivalent of a blender for cars that are parked or stationary. They don't have the power to apply this to moving vehicles but it's better than the status quo!

💯👇

This goes understated, noise pollution affects mental health.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a pillar of our Canadian identity.    We’re going to strengthen our public broadcaster with more long-term funding, and a modernized mandate — to deliver more local news and keep Canadians better informed during emergencies.

THIS 1000X

Cities aren’t loud, cars are loud

This prompted me to move from Zollikerberg to Zürich and the sounds through my windows this morning are delightful. Listen.

Yes! Dr Mazumder is right, right,, right. Can't wait for e-motorbikes because ICE ones are atrociously & damagingly loud. Transport NSW needs to police excessively loud vehicles. Get these blokes -& they overswhelminglyy are man-children, off our roads.

WFB is sliced to bits by a handful of larger streets. It’s nearly impossible to live more than a couple blocks from one, and you can hear the interstate everywhere. Why we allow this is a mystery for the ages

Also: gas powered leaf blowers for the same reason (and also climate change ones).

1. Leaf blowers 2. Boosted subwoofers and sound systems on cars 3. Lawn services working EVERY day of the week in suburban/ small town areas 4. People who neglect their dogs so the dogs constantly bark because they're chained up outside

As a neuroscientist who studies urban stress, loud cars/motorcycles should be banned, or fined excessively until drivers reassess their need to broadcast their self esteem with unnecessary noise pollution. I don’t need to hear your car in my apartment.

Ooooo Hamilton hopes new incentives will spur transformation of empty offices into homes City staff want to tackle 18.2% downtown office vacancy rate before it gets worse

Any suggestions #BoardGameSky?

This is a great thread I'm saving for later 📝

Brass Birmingham isn’t city building, but a good board game about urban economics, which is very related. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_(...

La Citta features city building in Renaissance Italy. Somewhat abstracted but you need to manage food and water supplies, amenities, and population. Beautiful components too.

I don't think I know any that do it representatively. However, if you want a teaching aid, Suburbia is great because its engine encourages, for example, placing public housing next to toxic industry, or expressways next to commercial districts. Really good way to get people to see systems.

Hard to get a good urban planning game without significant abstraction, but for a bit of a different suggestion, I like Bus boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/55...

First that comes to mind is Small City Deluxe. boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/32...