iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

New local art on the wall at City Hall. #NewWest #Quilting #Transit

A blank white wall with a large quilt that shows the bus routes in the City of New Westminster

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Jens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Planners understanding that allowing something as an option is not the same as requiring everyone to choose that option challenge impossible.

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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

New Westminster Mayor @pjnewwest.bsky.social announces he will seek re-election this October, following months of being on the fence. Johnstone will face off against councillor Daniel Fontaine, after four years of fairly acrimonious battles between the two at city hall.

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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

New piece! Today, MMI has its first-ever guest post. Mike Colledge, of Ipsos, on how politicians are emphasizing the need to "build" while the general public is just trying to endure. Read here:

missingmiddleinitiative.ca

Build vs. Endure: The Credibility Problem of a Big, Optimistic Word

How "Build" became the most politically successful single word in Canadian public life, and the saturation point that risks its failure.

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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

New piece. The middle-class housing crisis harms the economy, social cohesion, and society writ large. That's not opinion: That's backed by 30+ academic studies. We bring receipts. How Canada’s Middle-Class Housing Crisis Is Undermining Its Future

missingmiddleinitiative.ca

How Canada’s Middle-Class Housing Crisis Is Undermining Its Future

Why pricing out young families is weakening productivity, entrepreneurship, and social cohesion.

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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

one of the great things about taking harbour air is seeing the stark urban geography of metro vancouver from such a unique view

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Michael Hall @michaelhall.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

It's currently 11:30 PM on a Thursday night and there are people in Vancouver City Hall trying to NIMBY a highschool that's like 15 years overdue

A screenshot of a video where a women stands at a podium in city hall to speak to city council.

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helen (she/her) @helenl.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Only a special type of person would nimby a school

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Peter Waldkirch 華彼德 @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

I just spoke in favour of the school...at almost 12:30 am. Seriously: wtf are we doing as a city? How did our planning system become so dysfunctional that this is what it takes to approve a public elementary school? This is the sort of thing that should cause some real soul-searching at city hall.

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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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Jens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Good weekend reading that I have missed when it came out. Edmonton has been a clear success story when it comes to housing in Canada and the rest of the country should pay close attention.

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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

The young, educated, ambitious people who want to live in Toronto and Vancouver are being forced out by high prices. We could build more housing for them, but we prefer our cities to become stagnant retirement communities. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

theglobeandmail.com

The immigration shift away from Canada’s three biggest cities

Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal combined now account for less than half of new immigrants

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Peter Waldkirch 華彼德 @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

YIMBYs want to make it easier to build housing, which is sometimes portrayed as "deregulation". Here's the reality: doing good things is good! Government has an important role in fostering that and supporting people do good things. And housing is good! Small biz is good!

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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Honestly if you describe how zoning works to normies it sounds legitimately psychotic. Like, daycares are presumptively illegal in most parts of most cities. Hell, until recently in Ontario daycare was not a permitted use *in schools* as a rule.

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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 12/01/2026

Update: we’ve had a project canceled due to the recent zoning changes that restrict what size lane house can go behind an existing single family home

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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Being profoundly upset about the 51st state stuff was not an unreasonable reaction.

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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

gold medal

gymnast meme quoting post above "If the worst single-family house in your n’hood costs over $1 million, then your n’hood should be zoned for apartment buildings." on top and a variety of current considerations below.

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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 17/12/2025

If the worst single-family house in your n’hood costs over $1 million, then your n’hood should be zoned for apartment buildings. (It’s pretty much that simple)

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Brett Hamil @bretthamil.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

full toon (from Jan 25)

Elderly lady: Electric scooters should be illegal
Man on scooter: Well they're not
EL: I don't like your pants
Guy on street: So what, deal with it
EL: [at neighborhood mtg, into mic] We should get to decide what other people do with their property
Concerned neighbors: "Great point! She's right! Hear hear

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Westside Backyard @westside-backyard.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Single Stair changes to the Vancouver building code approved, but this is key - they actually need to be allowed by zoning in places where they're viable to build. Only a 🤏 fraction of the west side directly on major corridors allows multifamily residential and 4+ storeys, with ground floor retail

Vancouver zoning map of the west side of the city, which is primarily low density residential with a handful of small commercial nodes.

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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

New piece. The more I go to housing conferences, the more people I feel like we've collectively lost the plot. If housing is a human right, why do we keep highlighting places and models that continue to violate it? Read here: www.missingmiddleini...

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Jens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Burnaby started out with a forward-looking implementation of the provincial SSMUH legislation. But after some “feedback from residents” they scaled that back to pretty much the minimum they can get away with under the legislation.

burnaby.ca

City Council cuts height and size of new Province-mandated developments | City of Burnaby

Burnaby City Council has approved changes to the R1 Zoning Bylaw to reduce the height and size of small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH) projects, aiming to protect neighbourhood character and livabil...

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Jens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Vancouver planners spelled out the answer to this very clearly: Allowing larger laneway homes would be valuable for families, and planners believe that creating value is bad. Therefore homes sizes should be capped to be too small to be comfortable for families. council.vancouver.ca/20090616/doc...

UNIT SIZE MAXIMUM and MINIMUM
Council Direction:
• Set a maximum unit size for LWH to balance achieving livable and diverse housing, while
minimizing any land value and redevelopment impacts.
Proposals:
• Set a maximum unit size based on lot size, to a maximum of 70m² (750 sq. ft.). This
allows for a 46.5m² (500 sq.ft.) studio and 1 bedroom units on 10.0m (33’) lots and up to
70m² (750 sq.ft.) 2 bedroom unit on wider lots (illustrated in Appendix M).
• Set a minimum size of 26m2 (280 sq.ft.) (relaxable to 19m2 /205 sq.ft.).
Discussion:
Some concern was expressed during the public process that LWH could increase land values to
the point where demolition of existing houses results. The recommendations in this report
address this concern in a number of ways (e.g., no strata titling). This concern also leads to
proposed regulations to limit LWH unit size. LWH floor space would not be included in or
added to the floor space ratio allowed for the principal house, but rather be considered as a
separate floor area that reflects the size of the lot, as is currently done with garages.
The proposed regulations have been set to allow a maximum of a 46m² (500 sq.ft.) LWH
dwelling unit (typically a one bedroom) on a 10.0m (33’)-wide lot, and a 70m² (750 sq.ft.)
LWH dwelling unit (typically a two bedroom) on a 15m (50’)-wide lot. LWH on larger lots
would also be limited to a maximum of 70m². These regulations allow for a range of viable
unit types and sizes, yet are not seen to significantly affect property values. (It should be
noted that these unit size limits refer to living space only and do not include any enclosed
parking/accessory uses. The total footprint of the LWH and enclosed parking is the same as a
garage; it is controlled by regulations in the “Where on Site” section.)

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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 18/07/2025

Ok let’s talk zoning approval processes. A thread… They’re slightly different in every city but here’s my understanding of the hierarchy as (from easy/fastest to slowest). 1/x

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Jens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

When regulatory capture collides with social housing. Just because most prospective tenants are unlikely to own a car does not mean that the city won’t hold this up over $40,000 in lieu payments for each parking space not built.

tricitiesdispatch.com

Housing for residents with disabilities put on hold due to lack of parking – Tri-Cities Dispatch

An affordable rental project for residents living with mental illness failed to cross the finish line in Port Coquitlam council chambers recently, with

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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 02/07/2025

Ok. I need to rant for a minute. For years I've been reading @douglastodd.bsky.social opinion pieces in the @vancouversun.bsky.social and - for years - he has had a 'single-family-zoning-sized' hole in his logic. 🧵

Screen grab of headline from the Vancouver Sun ”Why good family homes aren't getting built in Vancouver
Douglas Todd: The short answer, alas, is avarice. Let’s look at the different ways this human weakness so often leads to the construction of small, cramped units instead of livable dwellings.”

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