“We already have the land. We already have the paving. We just need to make better use of the spaces we have.” 🔗 Read the full article in The Ottawa Lookout. www.architectsdca.com/news/reimagi...

July14th, 2026 Active Canadian Wildfires

The maddest building I’ve seen since ‘The Line’… except this one got built! The Badaevsky Complex in Moscow puts 9-storey blocks of apartments on 35m-tall steel legs, suspended above a park and historic brewery Architect: Herzog de Meuron

And here's where the city plans to spend the $478 million from the Feds and province: Suburban arterial roads, intersections, and a parking lot make up 54%. A rec center for Riverside South, 38%. And a couple sewer projects, 8%.

🌧️❤️ VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR OTTAWA FLOOD RECOVERY ❤️🌧️ I've been wanting to launch a volunteer recruitment effort since the days immediately following the Canada Day storm, which impacted more than 5,800 households across Ottawa, and 83% of those are in Wards 7, 8 and 9. 1/

Today on the WTF highlight of the day. You truly cannot wrap your mind around the thought processes of drivers in Toronto. Here's a cabbie driving into a protected bike lane head on with 2 ppl on bikes waiting at a red light. He couldnt use loading dock 50m behind me #cycleTO #bikeTO #waroncars

This is VERY interesting — one of many streets that Montreal has been successfully pedestrianizing for years now, had CARS RETURN this summer. People-levels and sales are way down. Interestingly the story uses “closed to pedestrians” to describe the returning cars. People-streets mean business.

More “prebunking,” please. And repetition, repetition, repetition. #UrbanTruth

There is no compelling urban planning reason to concentrate apartment buildings on loud, polluted, dangerous main streets. This is solely a political strategy by planners trying to avoid NIMBY backlash to proposed apartments. This political strategy DOES NOT WORK. Homeowners oppose housing anyway!

Had to doublecheck this wasn’t an alt account of @katewagner.wehwalt.net

"Corridor zoning" amounts to jamming low-income residents into big, bland apartment buildings alongside stroads, where they can serve as a buffer, absorbing all the noise & air pollution cars produce, protecting the precious single-family homes that dominate everywhere around them. It's abominable.

my god, this is amazing. apparently from a NY Times interview with Neill and Goldblum. Resharing with alt text so everyone can enjoy

This is true @urbantruth.bsky.social You’re not stuck in traffic. You are traffic. @tomflood.bsky.social

The cat spilleth over. Adventures of Emma

Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell are demonstrating the kind of leadership that I hope other Republican legislators follow.

Spotted some bunnies on the evening walk. So cute.

Here’s a question that I don’t have an answer to: if you want to operate a tow truck business, you presumably have to be licensed; that should require some level of paperwork, inspection and otherwise. Recent tow truck observations: 1/

So even though RTO4 started last week a plan won’t be discussed until the middle of July for fall rollout; sure, students returning to college in school in the fall will factor into implementation then but one would think we have a plan in place already. 1/

While this may be true, the way it’s structured it cuts off small-medium biz that is the vast majority of creative talent, and contractors, who can build/develop. These end up, so far, as massive conglomerates that restrict access to work for the majority of businesses.

Went for an #ottrun today through 'Zibi' aka #ottcity 'greenest' development - the only shade was thrown by buildings...

Sigh. My ticket is likely going to expire before my bus arrives. In fact, it would have already expired except that my first bus didn't have a working tap meter. I started this saga at about 13:00 at Rideau at Nelson. I'm still not home in Orleans. I did 0 side quest on the way

Meanwhile in #OttCity we spent billions on Transit infrastructure, pave the entire surface in concrete, plant and then failed to maintain trees or cut them down. If we thought about this better, we’d design & build better, reduce flood risk, and improve quality of life.

The newspaper @lemonde.fr released a video list of 12 things cities can do to fight heat waves. @brenttoderian.bsky.social @tomflood.bsky.social @urbantruth.bsky.social www.instagram.com/p/DaDELrFE57E/

Thread: combine this with policy leadership in the built environment to build better #PlacesForPeople; that are resilient, durable and higher quality. And guess what? It starts with vision, leadership and procurement. We build cheap infra that doesn’t last/perform bc we don’t design it well.

“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back to a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” IT SAVES PUBLIC MONEY to house people.

Doug Ford is saving them to boost spending on school playground equipment. #sarcasm

(Clutches pearls) Sobs in #OttLRT that was forced to be buried in a tunnel along the river…. Weeps in #OttCity tunnel building expertise.

Whenever a mid- or high-rise is proposed, some nearby residents declare that we need more missing housing. Yet, when missing middle housing is proposed from the get go, we have neighbourhood groups sporting yellow ribbons to oppose a shift from 4 storeys to six. www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/ar...

Canada Is Not America: Ottawa Fireworks

Given the roughly equal costs, I would choose to live in Paris over Dallas in a heartbeat. (Checks rules for expat Canadians living in France… this would make 5y of Duolingo worth it)

Here’s the blunt #UrbanTruth — safer urban design and infrastructure is a matter of life and death.

A #VisionTwentyPercentLess approach never gets to zero. Maybe you or someone you know will still be that statistic that #VisionZero would have saved. #autowa

If you see this, post your comfort characters. And yes, I’m a Belgian gent too.

So perfect. @alexbozikovic.bsky.social nails it in today’s @theglobeandmail.com; not only is this “competition” not really a competition, the RAIC is failing its role as an advocate for Canadian architects and architecture. “Coziness engenders mediocrity” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

I’d argue that in places like #OttCity we know not only the harms/risks, but also the actions to take. We just refuse to make bold decisions to implement them; from budgets to technical leadership/planning; from infra policy to design leadership & procurement, we refuse do what’s needed.

“Our current Road Safety Strategy identifies the vulnerable road user safety crisis, but does not set out how the systemic harm will be reduced, and when appropriate actions will be taken.” This is a call for a comprehensive vulnerable road user action safety plan to address the crisis.

"It’s a far cry from the open-armed optimism of mid-century Canada, which saw Viljo Revell’s design for Toronto City Hall picked in an open competition, or Montreal’s decision to build Moshe Safdie’s Master’s thesis project as Habitat 67."

“I reject the idea that we have to be slaves to surveillance capitalism in order to participate in the modern economy,” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Not a terrible option tbh. @ladybugspicnic.bsky.social

FAFO doesn’t seem to be a lesson that these folks constantly complain about speed cameras understand. It’s really basic. Don’t want a ticket? Don’t speed. If you’re willing to take the risk of a ticket, go ahead. Your call. Could not be easier.

Have you considered simply not breaking the speed limit? www.thetimes.com/life-style/d...

Do Bike Lanes Hurt Local Business? A Major Montreal Study Has an Answer momentummag.com/do-bike-lane...

Construction traffic on the 417 around Parkdale is an absolute nightmare. Waiting for mayoral intervention.

You just love to see vehicles, turning left from Tyndall to Parkdale in front of the big sign that says no left turns while they do so from the bike lane. This is a prime candidate location for automated camera enforcement, including all the people who right turn on red without stopping.

Hey @en.ottawa.ca apparently I signed up for Mark Sutcliffe's email when I submitted a city-storm related 311 request last week? Why is city digital infrastructure and comms being used to sign residents up to the Mayor's email, especially in an election year? Why is this even an option?

“You should have invested more in your defence” (Shared from my Belgian cousins)