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Ashley Challinor

@aechallinor.bsky.social
243 followers 239 following 26 posts

Curator, Policycraft newsletter on Substack | housing | dad movies | 🌐 memes

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Reposted by Ashley Challinor
Zoomer Antimillenarian @surcomplicated.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
What I really fucking love about Hot Fuzz is that it is a rare piece of artwork that unapologetically defends liberal modernity. A representative of the impartial, uniform rule of law & depersonalized state beings justice to a lawless, backward community run by a wretched clique of local grandees.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
Alright, sounds good, now we just need a bunch of cheap land following a world war that the city can buy followed by a sustained loss of population following the collapse of empire. www.cbc.ca/news/world/e...
cbc.ca
Austria took the stigma out of social housing. Here's what Canada could learn | CBC News
While Europe struggles with similar trends to Canada of rising rents and skyrocketing home prices, experts say social housing models like Austria’s are among the best defence against a growing afforda...
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lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 04/04/2025
i should be in charge of the marvel movies. i will cast mark rylance, jared harris, mark strong, paul dano, and paul giamatti as the avengers. their headquarters are the municipal planning office of a midsize american city. the supervillain they defeat will be various challenges to zoning reform
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Love this: On the Disenchantment of Urban Spaces open.substack.com/pub/venat/p/...
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More Neighbours Toronto @moreneighboursto.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
"It turns out that no amount of bureaucracy, bickering or political division can slow Canada down when under threat. So what are Ontario’s municipal governments doing to assist in the economic war effort? Sadly, not much — especially when it comes to housing." www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
thestar.com
What should Toronto area mayors do during a trade war? Build.
Every level of government has a role to play in dealing with the current crisis. Ontario municipalities should not be permitted to shirk their responsibilities.
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More Neighbours Toronto @moreneighboursto.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
An Indigenous-led visionary housing development in Vancouver - Senakw - shows us how housing abundance can help dig us out of our darkest hour. Learn more about this project here senakw.com and let's advocate for more like it! Credit: senakw.com and @futur.blue
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Issue 5 of Policycraft is out! Inside we ask if the profession has all the ideas we need - except for an idea of how to implement them. policycraft.substack.com/p/issue-5-po...
Issue 5: Policymakers and policy do-ers. There's nothing new under the sub except for how to get things done. Policycraft.substack.com.
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
"...this country must first acknowledge the depths of our sclerosis, our inefficiencies, our competitive barriers and our ideological rigidness... That doesn’t make you a traitor; it makes you a patriot." www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: You can love your country and still think it’s broken
It is an expression of patriotism – not the opposite – to acknowledge your country’s deficiencies in an effort to try to make it better
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
An absolutely staggering amount of Toronto's city planning work ends up boiling down to a debate over whether a building should be 25, 27, or 29 storeys as if that kind of precision was in any way meaningful. It's not! Meanwhile, we burn time and money in a crisis. web.archive.org/web/20120322...
web.archive.org
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Dan Savage @dansavage.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
What flexposts say: "We could use steel bollards but a bollard might scratch a car and that would be a tragedy. So, we're going to use these instead — things literally designed to be run over — because protecting even one car from a scratch is worth thousands of pedestrian deaths every year."
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More Neighbours Toronto @moreneighboursto.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Ontario: the provincial election is February 27. What would you like to see on housing? More Neighbours Toronto has put together our ideas. We'll be grading the party platforms and statements against this to let you know where they stand. www.moreneighbours.ca/platforms-po...
A summary of the More Neighbours Toronto 2025 Provincial Housing Platform.

1. Setting Ambitious Goals
Housing policies should reflect the scale and urgency of the crisis. Parties must commit to building at least 1.5 million homes, reform the way that growth targets are set and commit to ending chronic homelessness. 

2. Building More
It’s time to end exclusionary zoning by legalizing multiplexes and multi-tenant housing. Limit excessive setbacks, stepbacks and parking requirements. Permit high-rise near major transit stations by-right.

3. Housing Justice
Prioritize non-market housing on provincial land and incentivize affordable housing with subsidies. Empower tenants with enhanced access to legal aid and couple rent control measures with offsets to keep new rental projects viable.

4. Changing Behaviour and Aligning Incentives
Incentivize municipalities to meet growth targets and timelines. Reduce taxes and fees on housing and provide alternative infrastructure funding mechanisms. Make more data publicly available so the public can hold parties accountable.

5. Scaling Up and Building Faster
Expedite approvals for provincially-identified critical housing projects. Encourage modular and panelized construction with pre-approved designs. Implement legal and financing options for small-scale co-ownership.
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Some of us have been saying. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: The Dutch and Danes have much to teach Canada about better health care
The question is whether Canada will act on all those lessons around providing primary care to every citizen
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Issue 4 of Policycraft is out! Featuring a call for areas where we need more policy thinking, a clear schematic for making policy and its implementation work better, and some great examples of policy advocacy done well. open.substack.com/pub/policycr...
open.substack.com
Issue 4: An efficient market for wonkery
Plus, a time-sensitive opportunity to mentor in Toronto
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More Neighbours Toronto @moreneighboursto.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Toronto is making LONG overdue updates to its Avenues Policies to make it easier to build midrises! It's also adding new Avenues for the first time in decades. We've made it easy to voice your support to the Planning & Housing Committee at the link below: win.newmode.net/moreneighbou...
win.newmode.net
New/Mode | Make your voice impossible to ignore
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Issue 3 of Policycraft is out, covering policy experiments, red tape, and the fundamental flaw of everything bagels. policycraft.substack.com/p/issue-3-en...
Issue 3: Ensnaring Ourselves in Good Intentions. And a definitive declaration on the best bagel flavour. Policycraft.substack.com
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Jacob Loo Dawang @jacobdawang.com · 04/01/2025
A year ago, Edmonton rewrote its zoning from scratch. Among other changes, the base zoning in mature nbhds changed to 8 units, 10.5m. A year later, what has been the effect? I looked at building permit data to see. More in the 🧵 or in my blog post 👇 #yegcc #yeg www.jacobdawang.com/blog/2025/ed...
jacobdawang.com
Zoning By-Law Renewal: One Year Review – Jacob Dawang
Edmonton’s housing policy continued its march forward this past year with the new zoning by-law renewal coming into effect and district plans in force. Let’s take a look at where and what type of home...
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More Neighbours Toronto @moreneighboursto.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
What a difference a few months and a little bit of framing makes. Condo vacancy rates that were once portrayed negatively have turned into lower rents. There is still work to do, but more supply lowers rents - yes, even in those evil condos. www.thestar.com/real-estate/...
A Toronto Star headline from September 5, 2024 "‘The condo market right now is a ghost town’: Toronto has a record number of units for sale. Here’s why they aren’t selling despite a housing crisis"
Sub-head "‘Something is wrong with the market when we have housing nobody wants and homelessness at the same time,’ says Coun. Gord Perks, Toronto’s planning and housing chair."A Toronto Star headline from January 3, 2025 "A GTA renters’ market? Here’s how fast rents are dropping in Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Oshawa and other Toronto area cities"
Sub-head "A look at condo apartments in other municipalities show rents were on the decline — but not everywhere or for all unit types."Graphs from 12 CMAs across Canada demonstrating an inverse relationship between vacancy rate and rent change between 1990 and 2021. The relationship holds despite vastly different patterns in the changes, from one sustained increase in vacancy in Sherbrooke to a series of big fluctuations in Calgary that likely follow the boom-bust cycle for oil-related jobs. The Source is MountainMath https://doodles.mountainmath.ca/posts/2022-02-18-vacancy-rates-and-rent-change-2021-update/
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
"A collective noun for rapists? A violation, a banality, a shame." www.thetimes.com/world/europe...?
thetimes.com
I sat in court at the Gisèle Pelicot rape trial. This is what I saw
Gisèle Pelicot became a symbol of courage when she waived her anonymity to attend the trial of her husband and 50 other men accused of raping her — and ignited fierce debate about the law surrounding ...
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Julie Penner @julespenner.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
I say it every year, but I’ll take Winnipeg’s real winter over Toronto’s any time (having spent 14 years in Toronto). I’m sad for Vancouver and Toronto. www.cbc.ca/news/science...
A pathway through a downtown Winnipeg park, with snow everywhere. Winter days lost in Canadian cities

Decline in winter days each year with a minimum temperature below 0 C between 2014 and 2023

Table with 2 columns and 7 rows.
City	Days below 0°C lost

Vancouver	19
Toronto	13
Montreal	6
Calgary	 5
Ottawa	4
Edmonton	3
Winnipeg	1
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Grant Mason 🍁🏳‍🌈🚴 @g-mason.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
Toronto is so frustrating because it's always been close to being an incredible place, and so many of its problems are self inflicted or imposed. The bones of a great place are here, we just need to build on them. What I mean is stop prioritizing cars and upzone the neighbourhoods.
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More Neighbours Toronto @moreneighboursto.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Congratulations to our new board members, @zakls.bsky.social @stoneape314.bsky.social, Stephanie Bertolo, and Nicholas Harterre! They bring fresh perspectives and passion to the table, and we can’t wait to get started. Here's to a great year, and fixing the housing crisis for the next one!
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
Did you know, the hotel that #TaylorSwift is staying at in downtown Vancouver likely wouldn’t exist without Vancouver’s density/heritage system? The Hotel Georgia had a full renovation while I was chief planner, & we “paid for” the cost of the restoration with bonus density in that tower beside it.
The historic Hotel Georgia in downtown Vancouver, with a tall residential tower beside it that paid for the restoration of the historic hotel with bonus density. Without this program, the heritage hotel would likely not still exist.
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
The "Popular with Friends" tab is just the worst collection of takes ever assembled. What is wrong with you people.
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Shayan Sardarizadeh @shayan86.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
THREAD: How to check if the screenshot of a social media post is real or fake? Fake screnshots of online posts regularly mislead people. So, here's a simple guide on how you can quickly check if a screenshot of a post attributed to an account is genuine or fake before falling for or sharing it.
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More Neighbours Toronto @moreneighboursto.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Two big items that Toronto committed to for Housing Accelerator funding are on the agenda. They're not dead yet, but definitely need work. It's unfortunate that it takes so much effort to get Toronto to be as ambitious as Vancouver, Edmonton or London, ON.
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Jennifer Maiko Bradshaw @amoralorealis.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
16. Immigration is STILL GOOD and it’s killing me that NIMBYs and conservatives have allied to make that the solution to the housing crisis. Younger folks are again going to be the ones that pay for this.
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Issue 2 of Policycraft is live, full of more content to make you a better public policy thinker policycraft.substack.com/p/issue-2-in...
policycraft.substack.com
Issue 2: Instruction, Illustration, Rumination
And an Extremely Online meme
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Phoebe Maltz Bovy @phoebebovy.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Wine moms, Karens, girbosses, HR ladies, a plethora of euphemisms for it’s not sexism if it’s framed as punching up.
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The Globe and Mail @theglobeandmail.com · 28/11/2024
Opinion - The true cost of soaring development charges on new homes: Ontario cities need to wean themselves from the habit of hiking fees on new builds in order to subsidize low property tax rates for current residents
theglobeandmail.com
The true cost of soaring development charges on new homes
Ontario cities need to wean themselves from the habit of hiking fees on new builds in order to subsidize low property tax rates for current residents
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Maia @maiamindel.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Gentrification isn't real And urbanism is too focused on men's urban/transportation needs
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Eric Lombardi (EricForOLP.ca) @ericlombardi.ca · 26/11/2024
My latest in The Hub: “Your bribe is in the mail—Trudeau and Ford’s populist gimmicks play Canadians for fools” Cynical gambits demonstrate the disdain Canadian elites have for the public's intelligence. (1/3) thehub.ca/2024/11/26/e...
thehub.ca
Eric Lombardi: Your bribe is in the mail—Trudeau and Ford’s populist gimmicks play Canadians for fools
Cynical gambits demonstrate the disdain Canadian elites have for the public's intelligence. They may be right.
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Marco Chitti @chittimarco.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Toronto's best hope is that they give the removal work to Metrolinx. It will take 12 years to plan and design, and the cost will grow to $200 million per km and might never be finished.
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Cities are incredible achievements that create multiplier effects for culture and prosperity. We should supercharge them instead of stifling them. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
theglobeandmail.com
Globe editorial: Taylor Swift and the value of big cities
The American music star chose to bring her Eras Tour to Toronto for reasons that seem to escape the people at City Hall
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Sunil Johal @suniljohal.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
The federal government's Recruitment of Policy Leaders program is now accepting applications - great opportunity to do meaningful work on issues that matter. Certainly changed trajectory and nature of my career! www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/career-carri...
dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Recruitment of Policy Leaders
By becoming a policy leader, you can help develop government policies to address today's key challenges and prepare for tomorrow's.
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Matt Darling @besttrousers.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
I would like a podcast on the connection between Andor and public administration research (cc @pahlkadot.bsky.social @dandrezner.bsky.social @donmoyn.bsky.social).
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Rodney 🚧🚇 @chanface.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Oh... that's not-
Screenshot of twitter.
Tweet: Canada is so funny. Attached image of export infographic of Oil & Gas making up 30% of exports.
Reply: this looks like a reasonably developed middle eastern state, like Iran or such.
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Some of us have been saying...! Better neighbourhood design helps affordability (for both people and municipalities), eases congestion, and lowers emissions, among other benefits. thehub.ca/2024/11/22/m...
thehub.ca
Mike Moffatt: Want to solve the housing crisis? Make it easier to build better neighbourhoods
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The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) @themerl.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
embiggen the hog
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
"Bans people from taking the Government to court for its decision to remove bike lanes, including any individuals who are injured or killed due to a collision between a bike and a vehicle." Very normal stuff from a government confident that its decision won't harm anyone.
Tweet from @JessicaBellTO
The Conservatives has dropped a new 11 page amendment to Bill 212. 

We'll be debating the amendment in committee this afternoon, and we're reviewing it now.  

We think the amendment does the following;

- Doesn't require the government to pay all the city’s expenses to remove the bike lanes

- Won’t reimburse municipalities for the cost of installing the lanes in the first place

- Bans people from taking the Government to court for its decision to remove bike lanes, including any individuals who are injured or killed due to a collision between a bike and a vehicle 

- Approves the removal of the entirety of the Bloor St bike lane

- Bans municipalities from installing a bike lane on any road or street, including side streets, without provincial approval if a lane of vehicle traffic is removed

- Directs the provincial minister to remove the Bloor, Yonge and Avenue Road bike lanes themselves, without municipal action.  

Would appreciate your take.  

#Onpoli
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
30 💅
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Using the Pawn Stars meme format, with Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford's heads pasted over the two Pawn Stars, the text reads, "Functioning government services? Best we can do is inflationary policy."
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Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
A good reminder when people think of free transit fares - they are usually implemented in places with poor transit, because it’s seen as an “easy” way to make transit look more attractive. The issue is most people don’t care about saving a couple dollars to ride a crappy service!
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Spot on. thehub.ca/2024/11/16/h...
thehub.ca
Harrison Lowman: Why conservatives despise the CBC, why they can’t wait to tear it to shreds, and why they have a point
A lament for a public broadcaster
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Tabatha Southey🇨🇦 @tabathasouthey.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Shout out to my home town Toronto for welcoming the Swifties this week. Via Reddit’s /r/Toronto
/r/Toronto Reddit post by /u/redditisavirusiknow

Toronto the good - Taylor Swift edition 

I was riding the subway before her first show, and it was full of people clearly heading to the show, dressed up or suitcase in hand. But many of them seemed to be almost comically out of place and nervous. Imagine a small town person coming to the big city for the first time and riding that scary subway. But a lot of them.

They were clutching the posts, they were asking people for directions and what to do. Getting nervous they will miss their stop. And every torontonian on the subway was super nice to them for my entire trip! Chatting them up, suggesting places to see. It was lovely.

Just wanted to share some good Toronto vibes.Reply from /u/boredom416: After 5pm today, a westbound streetcar at King near Sumach stopped to ask out the window to folks on the other side of the street if they are going to the show. They clearly were (with two dressed up kids) so they were happy to learn that they were headed in the wrong direction. Kudos to the driver for getting them on board and going downtown.
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Just learned what my Boomer parents paid for the family home 40 years ago. Not an experience I can recommend.
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Cambry Ardship @cambryardship.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
This city has such fundamentally conservative tendencies. This fight is over whether Toronto should transform into a true global metropolis. Some councillors just want us to remain as a backwater village.
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Ashley Challinor @aechallinor.bsky.social · 04/11/2024
🚀Today I launch Policycraft, a free monthly newsletter curating fresh and insightful thinking on the practice of public policymaking in Canada 🗞️
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Aaron 🏗️🚲🌲🏀 @aceckhouse.bsky.social · 19/10/2024
zoning in theory: you can’t build a pollution factory next to that apartment complex zoning in practice: you can only build that apartment complex next to the pollution factory
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