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Alex Hemingway

@1alexhemingway.bsky.social
2.2K followers 1.2K following 63 posts

Senior Economist @bcpolicy.bsky.social. PhD @UBCPoliSci. Former CCPA-BC. Social, economic & environmental justice. Views are my own. bcpolicy.ca

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Reposted by Alex Hemingway
Abundant Housing Vancouver @ahvancouver.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Why hasn't Shaughnessy developed into an urban area for tens of thousands of renters like Vancouver's first elite, mansion district: the West End? Walking tour Oct. 3rd!
eventbrite.com
The YIMBYs go to Shaughnessy (birthday edition)
Let's walk around Shaughnessy and imagine a better city. Hedges for a few, or apartments on quiet streets for many?
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Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders @movementyvr.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
There will be TWO elections this October, and we hope transit riders vote in both of them! It can be confusing to figure out which level of government is responsible for what (especially when candidates make promises they can’t follow through on).
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BC Policy Solutions @bcpolicy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
In a province with a relentless housing crisis, an overstretched health care system and a recent uptick in xenophobia—the risks to migrant workers’ health and safety don’t end when the workday is over. Join us for the webinar: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
[Webinar poster] Migrant workers: housing as a social determinant of workers' health. October 14 at 12pm PT
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BC Policy Solutions @bcpolicy.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Join us on November 12 to hear from @pluralistic.net.web.brid.gy about “Disenshittification: How we break free from the US tech grip and leverage digital sovereignty for the public good.” Tickets: bcpolicy.ca/gala
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Jens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Randomly thought of this photo today taken by David Ley in 1974 of people protesting the construction of what would be the last mid-rise in Kitsilano before the downzoning. Apartments build in the 60s and 70s are now often celebrated as Vancouver's (relatively) affordable housing stock.
A bulldozer-blocking anti-high-rise protest in the Vancouver neighbourhood of Kitsilano in 1974. Among the attendees, wearing a tie, is a city-paid community organiser. Photo: David Ley

Taken from https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2089031/david-and-goliath-priceless-vancouver-academic
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New piece at iPolitics, with Adam Mongrain (@adammongrain.bsky.social) of More and Better Housing. Canada joining the EU as an "Associate Member" could lower the cost of building a home in Canada while opening new export markets. Read here:
ipolitics.ca
Canada wants more trade with Europe. Start with housing
A well-crafted deal with the EU could also lower the cost of building a home in Canada, while opening new markets for suppliers and manufacturers of construction materials.
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Alex Hemingway @1alexhemingway.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
See you there!
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BC Policy Solutions @bcpolicy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This Thursday, we'll explore how BC's public post-secondary education funding crisis got this bad and what we can do to reverse course. Hope you'll join us! RSVP: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Ultimately, the federal government's 2024 decision to cap international student permits was a blunt instrument applied to a problem that required precision.

And international students were made to bear the visible cost of a system that had long been set up to fail.

Want to learn more? Register to attend the webinar happening this Thursday! Info and registration at bcpolicy.ca/events
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Alex Hemingway @1alexhemingway.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The fiscal debate in BC too often gets framed as a choice between running big deficits or cutting spending. But those aren't the only alternatives. We could raise more revenue through progressive taxes to fund robust investment in public services and infrastructure while reducing inequality.
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Vision Zero Vancouver @visionzerovancouver.ca · 09/09/2026
Car crashes are the #1 source of preventable injury and death for Vancouverites, with the most vulnerable road users disproportionately affected. Ken Sim is hyper focused on "public safety," but is road safety on his agenda? 🤔 We speak to @cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social youtu.be/TeemN0rp950
youtu.be
Is Road Safety on Ken Sim's Agenda? - Vision Zero Vancouver on CBC
YouTube video by Vision Zero Vancouver
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Name recognition and incumbency are still given too much weight in municipal elections, in my experience. We will have better leaders if we choose based on leadership ability, actual experience/background, policy priorities, listening/learning skills, integrity, and good judgement/decision-making.
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Abundant Housing Vancouver @ahvancouver.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Seattle’s infill boom from 2000 to 2020 “eliminated about 1 million tons of potential greenhouse gas emissions basically for free… this category of climate action has been better than a free lunch. It’s been a lunch the region got paid to eat.”
ggwash.org
Infill housing delayed is climate action denied
Urbanites have smaller carbon footprints than our suburban neighbors. That isn’t just something to feel smug about – it’s a call to action to embrace more infill housing in cities.
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Vision Zero Vancouver @visionzerovancouver.ca · 26/08/2026
ICYMI: the VPD budget increased by 48% from 2018 to 2024, but the number of traffic tickets they issue has fallen by 59% over that same time period. Why has traffic enforcement evaporated in Vancouver?
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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
“Most desirable” places have shrinking populations and are the places where planning makes it hardest to build housing
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Sam @samd.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
i genuinely think that the way this admin is treating Canada will be looked back on as of the most shameful chapters of modern US history far too many people are laughing it off as unserious but the reality is that they’re spitting in the face of our closest ally for no reason
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Michael Andersen @andersem.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The most remarkable thing about this isn’t that home values fell after upzoning (NZ’s weak job creation since 2020 contributed too), it’s that homebuilding *continued* at a much higher rate even after the price drop
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Scott Lincicome @scottlincicome.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
"From ‘Fortress North America’ to All-Out Trade War: How the U.S.-Canada Talks Collapsed" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/w... "the United States maintained that it would retain all power to change tariff policy against Canada at any time, irrespective of the agreement" Then what's the point?
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Michael DeMoor @michaeldemoor.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I have seriously considered putting a couch in the street out front of my house and, when the neighbours complain, explaining that i don’t have enough space for it on my property. Then, when they say that maybe I should not own more couches that I can store, I’ll just nod sagely and go inside.
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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Just spent a week in Norway where drivers are basically 100% polite and compliant with traffic regulations. Back in North America, this is the norm. The level of chaos and sometimes aggression - from cars, from drivers - is striking.
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M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
The purpose of American zoning is to put the most people—low- and middle-class families—in the worst locations so that the best locations, the quiet, elevated side streets, can be reserved for a small number of wealthier people. Everything else is just kind of window dressing.
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
After implementing some of the best housing reforms in North America, Edmonton is seeing new 3-bed townhouses for under $2,000 (USD$1,500).
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Vision Zero Vancouver @visionzerovancouver.ca · 13/08/2026
Wait this doesn't take 8 years of consultation???
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
NIMBYs online: “there’s no point legalizing more housing, developers will never build enough to lower prices” Edmonton landlords: “help, developers built too much, putting downward pressure on rents”
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Alex Hemingway @1alexhemingway.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
How is there no baby change table in the Spanish Bank West men's room in 2026?
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GRIDS Vancouver @grids.reillywood.com · 08/08/2026
adding this to the list of reasons why Vancouver should let a lot more people move here
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Denis Agar (he/him) @denisagar.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
imagine if all these townhouses were permitted at Nanaimo Station instead of on recently-cleared mountain forest?
tricitiesdispatch.com
Townhouse developments take shape on Burke Mountain – Tri-Cities Dispatch
images supplied A 142-unit townhouse project is set to be built on the north end of Pollard Street near the setbacks for Fox and Star creeks, following a
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GRIDS Vancouver @grids.reillywood.com · 03/08/2026
Really remarkable article, the Anglican Church is going gloves off against multiple cities. $9M and 6 years of delay to build 85 units of below-market seniors housing on their own land
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 03/08/2026
We can't solve a housing crisis without building more housing. Today we broke ground on the Casanova Residence, which will soon be nearly 100 affordable and supportive homes with on-site services for New Yorkers. Every new home is a step toward a City that everyone can afford.
Mayor Mamdani stands at a podium next to Deputy Mayor for Housing Leila Bozorg.A construction worker in a neon green t-shirt and a white hard hat stands at the Casanova groundbreaking.
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
The amazing march of the missing middle in Edmonton continues. The city is permitting more 5-to-8-unit townhouses than ever before. A high number in central neighbourhoods or close to transit. After the city decided *against* reducing the maximum allowed units from 8 to 6!
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
A story of cause and effect: Last November, Ontario banned cities from using speed safety cameras to issue tickets. Reckless speeding immediately surged in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and cities throughout the province. A 🧵 about my latest in Bloomberg (gift link)
bloomberg.com
What Happens When Speed Cameras Get Shut Off
In 2025, Ontario banned automated traffic enforcement. Now the number of drivers exceeding the speed limit has surged, according to traffic data.
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Michelle Cyca @michellecyca.com · 31/07/2026
two days after Vancouver city council voted down their own Villages Plan, west side residents who opposed the plan en masse are complaining that Dunbar (!!) doesn’t have any wine bars, boutiques or gyms — the kind of amenities that require neighbourhood density to support
Hi fellow neighbours. Have you ever wondered why Dunbar has been so slow to develop decent shops and restaurants? Dunbar & King Ed; Dunbar & W 16th; Dunbar & W 41st - all pretty well trafficed intersections yet theres no decent pub, restaurant or wine bar. No boutique shops or decent shopping. There's also no decent gym besides the community centres which are fine but not if you like specialized equipment.
What gives? I've been in Dunbar for over 10 years & more recently moved to Southlands. Before that was in Kits. Kits is vibrant but a different crowd.
Would love to see some better business development in Dunbar / Southlands & area.
Closest thing is Kerrisdale - concentrated to a few blocks, still only one decent wine bar - not much selection.
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Many said that we had to cut immigration so governments could "catch up" on housing. I tried to explain, based on my experience in housing advocacy, why I thought that was unlikely. Immigrants were just a scapegoat for governments who didn't prioritize new homes. I wish that I had been proven wrong.
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Nicholas Rae @nickrae.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Redevelopment and renovations makes up about 10% of evictions. Owner use is around 60%. That doesn't mean that it isn't important to have protections for tenants due to redevelopment, but they're much more likely to be evicted due to other reasons
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Danny Oleksiuk @dannyoleksiuk.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Here's a deserted park in Shaughnessy, for example. It's always deserted. No one uses it. They don't use it but they don't want you using it either. Quiet. Leafy. Apartments next to it are illegal, and we put them on Knight, Hastings, Cambie, Marine instead. (Ambulance just drove by).
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Turns out people are a lot more fond of European-style mid-rises when they’re opposing high-rises — than when it’s actually time to broadly legalize mid-rises.
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Ruofan 🚎 王若凡 @ruofan.ca · 29/07/2026
I have nothing to add that hasn't already been said but this is an act of abject cowardice. All the endless hand-wringing about towers and concentrating development on existing rental areas, and when the opportunity comes to do something about it everyone except Lucy votes for the status quo.
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Credit to @lucymaloney.bsky.social for being the only Vancouver city councillor (!?!?) to vote in favour of the Villages Plan to legalize medium-sized apartments in a large number of neighbourhoods across the city. Otherwise a major disappointment for the city.
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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
A “long tradition” of banning people who are Asian, Black or less wealthy. vancouversun.com/opinion/colu...
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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 27/07/2026
This is our mockup of a "village" area (33rd and Mackenzie) densifying with small lot apartment buildings / corner cafes.
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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 27/07/2026
What a surprise
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Edmonton has traditionally retained a more sane housing market by Canadian standards. Most recently by legalizing townhouses/multiplexes up to 8 units broadly across the city. And they get prices people in other cities would love to have, like a *new* 3-bedroom for $1,900. (Americans: USD$1,350.)
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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 13/07/2026
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!
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Shane Phillips @shanedphillips.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
This week on the UCLA Housing Voice podcast, Matthew Mleczko shares his research on how exclusionary zoning in more affluent communities increases material hardship for residents of impoverished neighborhoods nearby. lewis.ucla.edu/2026/07/22/1...
lewis.ucla.edu
Episode 120: How Exclusionary Zoning Hurts Poor Neighborhoods with Matthew Mleczko
When cities adopt exclusionary zoning, their housing stock becomes scarcer and less affordable over time. Matt Mleczko shares research suggesting that the impacts extend beyond exclusionary jurisdicti...
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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 08/06/2026
Nithya is an Abundance Socialist and a YIMBY who will Let Los Angeles Build!
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Brendan Dawe @dawe.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
In a big city where people live in apartments it’s not a frivolity that people can come visit and have a place to stay. As my friend @grids.reillywood.com has previously pointed out, an exceptionally egregious example is B.C. Women’s and Children’s Hospital
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Brendan Dawe @dawe.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Three weeks ago this spare room turned into the wee baby Sam’s room. Thankfully we have had wonderful help from the new grandparents who have come to help us settle in. But the thing is that none of these live near here. They gotta stay in hotels
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Brendan Dawe @dawe.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
So it’s broadly recognized that Vancouver needs more hotel rooms, that high room rates driven by high occupancy are a drag on the local economy, that the city needs to facilitate the construction of more hotels. All of this is true I want speak to the human importance of hotels
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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 23/07/2026
Wow... a speaker at the Villages hearing says the plan is fine for the East side... but the West side is far too classy and exclusive, and West side children need to be protected from things that are just fine on the East side.
I read the Villages plan and support new job creations that are very much needed in Vancouver, and half of the villages.
Plan for the redevelopment east of Ontario Street.

But I oppose the villages plan west of Ontario Street.

It is important to consider how new residents of social housing could incorporate into the West Side area as a standard of living, including the price of groceries and daily essential products are so much higher than the rest of Greater Vancouver.

How are they able to participate in afford purchasing high end or luxury goods predominantly available on the West Side?

Moreover, I am convinced that the safety of West Side children cannot be missed.
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Danny Oleksiuk @dannyoleksiuk.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
YIMBYs: I live in a shoebox on an arterial road and cannot afford children. NIMBYs: Living near apartment buildings in my $3M home makes me inexplicably sad and also furious. Local government: How sad? How furious?
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Danny Oleksiuk @dannyoleksiuk.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
My e-bike was legally required to be speed limited at 32km/h for "safety."
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