iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

why is councilor dianne saxe quizzing faster streetcars advocates?? this feels targeted

Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

remember when they were proposing new viva lines on major mack, jane and leslie back then too, as if the brt routes would be the spine of a larger viva network

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

line 5 Eglinton final impressions: pleasantly surprised at the underground section & expectedly frustrated at the surface section there are already capacity issues with doors & narrow standing areas between bogeys—issues predictable with low floor LRVs. this *really* should've been a full subway.

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Time will tell how much of this building will be like the renders, but it's looking really good! New buildings don't have to be sterile, density does not have to mean a loss of culture. and seems like 315 Spadina is living up so far! 📸: Vminkov & Paclo (via UrbanToronto)

south facing render of 315 Spadina via AlbertC on UrbanToronto showing interface with rest of streetscape

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

now there's much more I can say to gush over this development: voluntary inclusion of affordable units, architectural callbacks to the warehouses further down the street, and where it starts to setback. but really it's as simple as the two first points: lot size and storefronts.

render of corner Spadina & D'Arcy streets for new 315 Spadina development via Feruzian on UrbanToronto

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Now some of this is due to the city of Toronto's design guidelines, but as @ericlombardi.bsky.social pointed out to me this is only part of it! A lot of it is up to developers, and we see this with 315 Spadina: Masonry defines unit entrances + fun ornamentation!

street view plan of 315 Spadina via
DavidCapizzano on UrbanToronto

Best Practices from the city of Toronto Design Guidelines via Eric Lombardi

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Of course new densified apartments tend to want new residence entrances, so new layouts may be necessary, but 315 Spadina, maintaining stores, does this really well! This is then interrelated with the actual storefronts themselves. You ever see those full floor to ceiling glass street walls? Bad!!

full glass streetwall at campus one near college and spadina

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Maintaining small lot sizes is key & in a corridor like Spadina you want to try maintaining the previous # of units. I'm using 315 Spadina as an example here, developing a cherished set of restos in Chinatown, it includes 7 commercial units, allowing similar stores to return!

Floor Plans for 315 Spadina courtesy of Feruzian on UrbanToronto

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Across the city, not just Spadina, we're seeing older small scale buildings—classic toronto commercial vernacular—get redeveloped into towers & midrises. The loss of this microretail is often why new developments can feel "sterile". how to fix it? smaller lot sizes & ground experience (storefronts).

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Spadina is facing a lot of development pressure right now as the city continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. Understanding how to densify this corridor while maintaining it's feel & cultural value (especially the microretail of chinatown) is vital. (+) short thread 🧵

view facing south on Spadina Ave in Toronto

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

there is a distinct possibility that Finch West's performance was was so poor that it finally jumpstarted action for streetcars across the city to be properly usable

graphic from mayor olivia chow reading "streetcars + LRTs signal priority is on the way"

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

beautiful and incredible things are happening in toronto, ontario @josephpolitano.bsky.social

DC economist Joey Politano with local influencer Reia

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

just learned about the Torre Velasca in Milan and I'm obsessed

torre velasca in milan viewed from the top of the duomo

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

this extension is a very big deal for me because Richmond Hill is my hometown! I've heard this project discussed my whole life and seen physical progress on connecting projects (viva brt) as I've grown! It's very cool to finally see renders as well as early works at finch.

Map showing the route from Finch Station to Richmond Hill with five new stations at Steeles, Clark, Royal Orchard, Bridge, and High Tech (Metrolinx image)

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Metrolinx has officially released the first conceptual renderings of the Yonge North Subway Extension (YNSE) to Richmond Hill! Stations include High Tech (1), Bridge/Langstaff GO (2), Steeles (3), Royal Orchard, and Clark (4).

conceptual rendering of high tech station platform

conceptual rendering of bridge station (langstaff go interchange)

conceptual rendering of steeles station building exterior

conceptual rendering of clark station mezzanine

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

it's funny because no one else has any clue either

Caelem: You know for a while I've been going "all my oomfs get suspended so easily they need to chill" but I think this one has made me realize "no wait, it's because they're trans"

Reia: reia has literally never tweeted anything risqué because she was usually too scared to lol

Caelem: Well yeah that's what made me realize this lol

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Overall the museum is quaint but super nice! Like all Toronto history museums: it's free. You may know it as haunted, but don't worry, the exorcism in the 60s sorted all that out. Now it's just a fun little place to visit in the city! Reia definitely recommends. (6/6)

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

The guide (we had Laura, she was awesome and everyone seemed to really like and care about the history and working at the museum) then took us to the inside of the house. It's currently (temporarily) mostly unfurnished bc of water damage, but the information is the best part. (4/6)

reia in front of an old Toronto city map

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Mackenzie primarily ran a radical newspaper, advocating for his beliefs: primarily surrounding self governance, private ballots, as well as abolitionism, women's rights, and religious freedoms. The museum features a small printing press area, where you can print yourself! (3/6)

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

to start: The Scottish born William Lyon Mackenzie was NOT Prime Minister. That would be his grandson, William Lyon Mackenzie King. They never met (though King did try to reach his grandfather with seances). (2/6)

William Lyon Mackenzie plaque 1795-1861
Born in Scotland, Mackenzie came to Upper Canada in 1820. He became a prominent radical journalist and was first elected to the assembly in 1828 building up a strong popular following. He was the first mayor of the city of Toronto in 1834. Frustrated by political setbacks, Mackenzie led an abortive rebellion in 1837 and then fled to the United States. From there he watched the achievement of Canadian self-government, which he had sought ardently but without success. Returning under amnesty in 1850, he sat in parliament again until 1858.

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Yesterday a friend and I visited the historic Mackenzie house in Toronto! It's the residence of the famed first mayor of Toronto, prominent progressive politician, and leader of a failed rebellion against the crown. A short thread (🧵) of the man and his museum: (1/6)

exterior facade of the Mackenzie house, an old town home, in Toronto

reia at the entrance to the Mackenzie house

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

juxtaposition of scales in Kuala Lumpur

reia in front of a 6 story hotel building, in front of a much large housing development taking up the entire background.

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

some sights near the singapore river

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

after experiencing it on the Singapore MRT I know now how perfect alphanumeric exits are and I need them in Toronto immediately.

photos of Singapore MRT wayfinding sign including Letters and numbers for exits

Photo of a person affixing a sign with exit directions inside King Station. This exit sign contains exits with a letter for what side the exits are on, and numbers for each exit from that side.

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

They should build the new TTC Headquarters at Dundas West / Bloor GO tbh. It's a rapidly growing node that's the most connected and accessible station complex outside of Union, I think it would be symbolic of where the TTC should be going in terms of integration.

Google Maps view of Toronto showing Dundas West and Lansdowne Line 2 stations as well as streetcar lines connecting into Dundas West and GO lines running down, including those that stop at Bloor GO

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

some of my favourite photos I've taken of Toronto 💕🍁 (1/2)

Midtown Toronto looking north on Yonge St. towards Eglinton & Yonge

Orange Car under a Petro Canada with CN Tower in background

Looking West towards Liberty Village from Bathurst Street Bridge with an UP Express train moving away from the photo

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

fun fact! a Pacific partnership with the exact same members (+UK) agreement still happened they just did it without the US

map of state parties to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership that succeeded the Trans-Pacific Partnership

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Colonial Area (Little India) vs New Town (Tampines) in Singapore 🇸🇬

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

already a contender for greatest city I've ever been to (Hong Kong)

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

watching the four nations game abroad on the nhl YouTube. Foreign viewers are split, mostly people watching from France, Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere. The Taiwanese are very pro USA, the French are pro Canadian, the Koreans are mixed. Overall, people support Canada.

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Spent a day at the Singapore City Gallery, learning a whole bunch about the urban history of the city. Institutions like this help ground a city, and I really hope that Toronto can get a strong municipal museum soon with old city hall.

A photo of Reia at the Singapore City Gallery, with a model of the central business district of Singapore in the background.

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

IT PASSED!! This is officially the new map of all roads in Toronto that will be upzoned to mid rise upon the activation of the avenues policy!!!

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

THEY ADDED GO TRAINS TO THE GOOGLE MAPS TRANSIT LAYER IN TORONTO

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

The TTC says there's no way to get rid of slow zones while Boston just eliminated them completely on an older, longer, and much worse shape network. We deserve better accountability, better leadership, and better vision. This is unacceptable.

Diagram comparing slow zones in Boston (MBTA) in September 2023 (over a quarter of the system) and today (no slow zones).

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Not only did this co-operative institution serve as a place to have communal and affordable living, it also served as an important community institution. Through helping each other and building roots, the Tamil community in Toronto is now a fixture in the cultural landscape.

For these new arrivals, a hub was needed where they could go to find help in their search for accommodation, work, and education. Areas like St. James Town had large Tamil populations due to cheap housing, but lacked the services to help Tamils acclimatize to their new homes. Several community organizations popped up in the Tamil community, including the Society for the Aid of Ceylon Minorities (SACEM). SACEM successfully approached the federal and provincial governments with a prop
osal for a 10 million dollar, 129-unit housing co-op at 20 Wade Avenue, in the Bloordale area. Tamil Co-Operative Homes, Inc. (or more informally, the "Tamil Co-op Homes") was subsidized by both levels of government, and became one of the major co-operative housing projects in the city. Before the space even opened, it had waiting list of about 100 people. 80% of the occupancy was reserved for Tamils in the city, with priority placed on seniors, widows, and those in need. One apartment was held as emergency

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Over the course of the Sri Lankan civil war, loads of Tamil refugees fled the embattled island. The largest group of whom, fleeing to Toronto. As these families arrived in the 1980s, they needed places to live, including the Tamil Co-Operative Homes Inc, that houses AGPmart!

When Tamil refugees began arriving in the early 1980s, finding work was of the utmost importance. Many of these refugees had gone into debt trying to flee Sri Lanka, or had families back home that they were hoping to sponsor to Canada. The existing Toronto Tamil community, while small, played a vital role in helping them settle into their new lives. Tamils provided references for other Tamils, or scouted out employment opportunities at their own jobs. Networking happened at the back of late night TTC buses, where Tamils shared leads on potential jobs on the commute home. Tamil refugees were often sponsored or billeted by other Tamils, giving them a place to stay while they looked for work. In time, it became clear that being in contact with the rest of the Tamil community was an important step to surviving in Canada.

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Today I went on a pilgrimage to the famed AGPmart, but did you all know there's a really interesting separate history of marginalized struggle for place in the city? A short thread (🧵) on the agpmart building

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Toronto's only infill station, North York Centre

side platform at North York Centre station in Toronto with a subway train visible to the left

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

The perfect grid of Mannheim, maintained since 1606, makes it a great city to look to when discussing North American urbanism. Incredible medium density without height, great modal separation, and metro area of just 500k people has an incredibly strong tram network, it's great!

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

a city we don't talk nearly enough about is Mannheim, perfect grid, loads of trams, and gorgeous sustainable streets.

wide protected cycle track in medium density neighborhood with attached buildings and ground floor retail

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Reia 💕 @forkast.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

these screens are also far better used than TTC screens, with a very simple easy to read layout. also, unlike the TTC and similar to YRT, they kept the old dot screens for the middle of the bus

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