The thing about "gentle density" is that it's never gentle enough.

I actually think there is value in considering which properties/areas should be 'protected' in some way, however, this article fails to mention some of the trade-offs that might come with the mass heritage protections that are proposed. www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...

"Whatever was meant, the othering of future neighbours was not persuasive to Council then, and it shouldn’t be now." Beyond the policy aspects, Don Iveson really hits at the most key ingredient for housing change: city councils with the moral imagination to brave opposition for a better city.

On brand for us: all four of our volunteers came by bike (one of them even did a multi-modal bike-bus-bike trip!)

Happening in half an hour- until 6pm!- Waterloo Region Climate Fest at Gaukel Block! Perfect timing to reshare this: “Households in denser neighborhoods close to city centers tend to be responsible for fewer planet-warming greenhouse gases, on average” 1/2 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Whenever people talk about "luxury housing," I remember there are literal mansions in Hartford, CT that are now selling for less than it costs to buy a starter home in Silicon Valley. If we judge luxury by market value, there is no housing that is intrinsically, permanently "luxury housing."

Interested in learning more about ending exclusionary zoning and scaling up non-market housing? Worth registering for the recording later even if you can't make it noon PT, 3 EST on October 1:

"Growth should pay for growth" is a political choice to socialize the benefits of immigration while privatizing its infrastructure costs onto younger cohorts, insulating established homeowners and corporations from financial responsibility open.substack.com/pub/missingm...

@jensvb.bsky.social; @tomdavidoff.bsky.social; @lausterna.bsky.social and Tsur Somerville find that expediting permitting processes and reduced parking mandates were crucial components determining the success of BC upzonings:

Limiting housing supply below demand makes a neighbourhood/city more exclusive. Who gets excluded? It’s not the people on top of the income spectrum. They can live where they want.

Exactly this. "It doesn’t matter if there’s room for people to live; if there’s no space for cars, people don’t get to move in. We don’t ask, “Is this a good place for someone to live?” We ask, “Where will the cars go?” -Philip Mills www.therecord.com/opinion/cont...

Residents complaining that nobody wants to live in characterless glass boxes in the sky while also actively working to make those homes less livable is really something. www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...

I understand that today's @cambridge.ca council meeting will be debating a motion to study the impact of evictions of encampments during extreme weather events. This is the type of study that will help council make informed decisions to protect people and uphold their fundamental #HumanRights. –MJH

Yesterday, I visited #Cambridge and #Kitchener, Ontario. I heard about the challenges experienced by people living in #encampments and organizations that support them.

The approach - govt land for nonmarket hsg, definition of affordability, designated funds to address homelessness thru supportive hsg, including acquisition of apts, supporting construction innovation - is right. Now we need targets, timelines, action. www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

There’s something so deeply cynical about the neighbourhoods with “all are welcome here” and “#lovemyhood” signs being the most opposed to giving that gift of their neighbourhood to anyone else. (As was given to them by previous generations)

One reason that public housing advocates should oppose NIMBYism in principle - NIMBYism is particularly harsh (see below) for public housing and shelters + it's part of the same trend for market housing (Hat tip to @russilwvong.bsky.social for sharing the graph below in his excellent newsletter) 1/3

NIMBYism in a nutshell: people support housing (and shelters) but not in THEIR neighbourhood (pg. 8 below): web.uri.edu/harrington/w... 1/2

Community advocates have written some excellent responses in favour of Cllrs Hamilton and Earnshaw's motion re preventing extreme weather encampment evictions in Cambridge this Tuesday 1/6 pub-cambridge.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx...

Walkable cities aren't just more convenient, enjoyable places to live but it seems that they are also good for your health. www.cbc.ca/news/health/...

My neighbourhood NIMBYs want to heritage-protect a parking lot so nobody can build housing towers there 🤬

NIMBY neighbours gatekeeping who gets to live in their neighbourhood and who gets a say- and the homeowner question is outright classist

Upcoming meeting & motion: City of Cambridge Council Meeting September 23, 2025 Highlighting Motion: “Preventing the forced removal of unhoused persons during extreme weather events"

Evergreen. This happens all the time in Waterloo Region as well.

Instead of “growth pays for growth” as a guiding principle of planning, I propose a better alternative: “sprawl pays for sprawl”

Happening tomorrow (May 29th) at 5pm- "Artivism" against Bill 6 and the 100 Victoria encampment eviction bylaw!

Please sign this petition and when you sign this, expand the signature box to include a postal code or your signature will not be counted by the Region. It will then be transcribed to the form preferred by the Region.

In addition to the petition to the Region of Waterloo, please sign this petition to rescind Bill 6 and stop criminalizing homelessness: win.newmode.net/encampmentju...

Please sign this petition below- Tell the Region of Waterloo to Repeal the 100 Victoria Encampment Eviction Bylaw www.change.org/p/tell-the-r...

In a new op-ed for Crains, I talk about the importance of ending parking mandates — particularly to support preservation and continued growth of the city’s beloved and valuable small-scale multifamily housing www.chicagobusiness.com/opinion/endi...

The Social Development Centre Waterloo Region is hosting this event tomorrow 7-9pm www.eventbrite.ca/e/organizing...

A development freeze in Preston would be a disaster, glad to hear there is some cold feet.

In the midst of a housing shortage, the City of Cambridge is considering a pause on development in Preston tonight. Citizens for Cambridge have written an excellent letter summarized in the article below explaining why this carries several risks

We picked a spot in downtown Kitchener so if you are joining us, please reply to let us know and let us know if you need a book and we'll dm the address.

Save the date: our Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World book club has been set for Sunday, June 1, 2025 @2pm! It will be held in downtown Kitchener exact location TBD. Please reply if you are interested in joining, and if you would like to borrow one of our KPL books!

Save the date: our Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World book club has been set for Sunday, June 1, 2025 @2pm! It will be held in downtown Kitchener exact location TBD. Please reply if you are interested in joining, and if you would like to borrow one of our KPL books!

We're looking to finalize the date for our Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World book club! It will be the last weekend of May or first full weekend of June- please fill out the poll below to help us decide. Last chance to vote is 9pm tomorrow (April 30th). doodle.com/group-poll/p...

Please fill out this poll if you want to participate in our Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World bookclub! Also, please let us know if you'll need one of our books to participate. doodle.com/group-poll/p...

It's happening!! We're doing a KPL book club for @henrygrabar.bsky.social's Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World! Date TBD. Place- probably downtown Kitchener. Please DM your email address if you are interested. Also let us know if you'll need a book!

If anyone in Kitchener wants to do a fun book club read about parking (really), the set is back at KPL

We've published our federal election survey on transportation issues for Waterloo Region! We dig into policy on local transit, intercity transit, land use, and vehicle regulations.

When you don’t build enough housing, many people can’t move out of their parents’ place. Others are stuck living with roommates or even relationships they don’t want. Remember this every time someone says “we don’t need any more housing” or “what about shadows?”.

Yes! "There is strong support for more housing options including low rise infill (e.g. townhouse), mid-rise, and mixed-use development throughout the City" Kitchener2051's What We Heard Report re- the Official Plan hdp-ca-prod-app-wr-engage-files.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/4017/4120/61...

Parking minimums make housing more expensive, affordable housing harder to build, and can lead to fewer housing units being built- If Mayor Liggett is serious about affordable housing she should prioritize that over parking mandates.

"The construction of new buildings in areas with rising housing costs often leads people to get the causality backwards—assuming that the rising housing costs must be a result of new construction rather than a response to it." substack.com/home/post/p-...

"Some rents are falling as vacancy rates surge and as more apartment buildings are constructed. It’s a positive turn for Waterloo Region tenants after a housing crisis contributed to the doubling of average rents since 2014." www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...

“If you can’t house folks then you can’t grow the community, businesses can’t locate here, that has a direct bearing on the economy,” Rivers said. “And there are severe social impacts in the sense that people become frustrated, lose hope, become antagonistic towards institutions and our governments”

But it doesn't need to be this way! We can legalizemidrise.ca, car-free, using wood-frame construction, & packed with family-sized homes, on existing streets currently restricted to $$$ single- and semi-detached mcmansions.

Getting rid of minimum parking requirements can be the key to unleashing more housing supply and lower costs