Halifax should and could be Canada’s most housing friendly city

The most underappreciated issue in urbanism is the Anglosphere’s transit construction cost problem. It’s not just that we’re spending too much money on any particular project. It’s that we could be getting *much more transit* for the *same amount of money we’re currently spending*.

New blog! Talking about a small change that could help first time homebuyers in Nova Scotia open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/p...

Good demonstration of “studying as a replacement for action” form HRM. Someone is studying it, no one willing to put their name on it, and no one to explain why they missed a chance with the redevelopment to get more space

So who's writing Mayor Fillmore's first year in review? I see a bunch of dysfunction, begging for more power (to then do the *Good Things^tm), and no action on any of the crises (housing, traffic, fiscal)

My biggest pet peeve is acting like rents are a pure cost recovery pricing. Obviously not! Rents would not be this fucking high if you were just collecting costs + profit. There are excess returns out there, and I would expect higher property tax or utilities to not raise rents

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Really curious what the justification for RT-8 zoning is (duplex zoning in part of Kits). And why council and planning think this area is so precious that basically nothing, not even the most mundane SFH, can get built there without going through a kangaroo court of public opinion.

IMO we should close Agricola every Sunday

New Blog open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/s...

Buddies Quarterly zine edition 3 is up, here's my entry! You can download the whole thing for free at buddiesquarterly.gumroad.com. Sometimes it's time! 1/2

New blog! About self driving cars open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/s...

So upset that the city didn't buy even just the corner of that lot so they could finally fix that intersection.

Excellent free resource for geographers, urbanists, and planners. luminocity3d.org/WorldPopDen/...

New neighborhoods look bad because the trees haven’t grown yet

Monster start of the year for homebuilding in Halifax, apartments especially - beating last years record pace

Odd housing indicator - storage company didn’t email me for 3 years after using them in 2022, but started in July?

I’m begging you all to consider that tolls affect congestion

This is the dumbest thing I've read all week and I've been reading dumb things pretty much constantly.

"It could be a model for Ontario to follow — and one that the current government will likely never consider." — @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social

New blog! I look at Killam's earnings reports for insights on the rental market open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/k...

Nation building projects, baby!

I am keen to hear the provinces view on zoning changes to allow more as of right housing.

What now?

Difference between capped and uncapped property assessments (green is larger difference). In absolute terms, south end Halifax cleans up.

The CAP delivers a tax shield according to how much home you own. The rich own more expensive homes. And often times several, and all can be capped

Used the new Bird scooter. Great way to get across the peninsula but my god the Sludge in the process: - few designated parking areas - a fucking quiz - a post ride scan - a post ride photo after having scanned The amount of useless clicks involved is crazy

New blog - on the JRTA report, and how congestion in Halifax is only going to get worse open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/j...

JRTA report thread 🧵real action on transport - or deja-vu all over again?

JRTA Report is out! Should I tweet out my thoughts - or wait for a blog?

For fun: The street with the highest median tax revenue per meter in each district: District 1: Everline Lane in Windsor Junction ($32/m2)

Tim Bousquet anti-“trickle down”ing himself against wind in Canada’s last coal-driven province is something else. Get a grip. It’s a climate crisis, and this is a real opportunity. Not everything is about John Risley or some manhattan fatcat

The best evidence suggests Fillmore’s decision-making is what is best for Fillmore at the time

“Why aren’t people having kids?” www.reddit.com/r/askTO/s/Bd...

New blog is about a third crossing for Halifax open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/h...

Houston government would be justified in fixing bad municipal housing decisions. There are many! They matter a lot!

It’s the Fraser Institute but expanding the rent supplement is a great idea, and I could be convinced that’s it better than building public housing to help more people right now

I'd like to see this in budget seasons articles

" “In my alternative world.....the Premier, instead of talking about bike lanes would say, hey we’re going to mandate these areas near universities or hospitals as six stories which is a great height that we can build rapidly.” - @denysullivan.bsky.social www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...

why does the Morris street plan keep on street parking?

There are delays at the Former tolls of the MacKay Bridge HFX-Bound. We haven't heard about any issues, so I'm assuming this is volume. (Plus, there's some construction before that - so maybe that's adding to the slowdowns) #HFXTraffic

New blog on rents in Halifax open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/r...

I think the premier is grasping at straws - anything - to sound like he’s got traffic solutions. Really he’s only made it worse by removing tolls

This is my application for mini-dictator of Halifax

We are going to flail angrily at traffic for decades. There’s no plan. There’s no policy. Just mirroring frustrations of the electorate

New blog about Halifax's definitely real, definitely not just-for-show investment "plan" open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/h...