Jordan Van Brakel @jordanvanbrakel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026You can ignore that guy. He never makes a coherent point and just likes to ruffle feathers. 030
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelPatrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 24/06/2026A few comments to expand on my comments in this story because there are two conflated & overlapping policy stories here (Thanks @jmcelroy.bsky.social for your solid reporting and for pointing that out!) 🧵 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...cbc.caANALYSIS | Why local governments aren’t cheering on the provincial and federal 'bailout' of the housing sector | CBC NewsA week after the federal and provincial governments announced new subsidies for the development sector, mayors in British Columbia say the details are as empty as the province's thousands of unsold co... 1146
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelPatrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 29/05/2026New local art on the wall at City Hall. #NewWest #Quilting #Transit 1637
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelJens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 04/04/2026Planners understanding that allowing something as an option is not the same as requiring everyone to choose that option challenge impossible. 2355
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelJustin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026New 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. 4508
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelDr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 24/03/2026New 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.caBuild vs. Endure: The Credibility Problem of a Big, Optimistic WordHow "Build" became the most politically successful single word in Canadian public life, and the saturation point that risks its failure. 064
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelBryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 06/03/2026Another from @tomflood.bsky.social 1369
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelDr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 23/02/2026New 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 Futuremissingmiddleinitiative.caHow Canada’s Middle-Class Housing Crisis Is Undermining Its FutureWhy pricing out young families is weakening productivity, entrepreneurship, and social cohesion. 23810
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelJustin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 20/02/2026one of the great things about taking harbour air is seeing the stark urban geography of metro vancouver from such a unique view 513713
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelMichael Hall @michaelhall.bsky.social · 13/02/2026It'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 3413
Reposted by Jordan Van Brakelhelen (she/her) @helenl.bsky.social · 13/02/2026Only a special type of person would nimby a school 2486
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelPeter Waldkirch 華彼德 @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 13/02/2026I 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. 46713
Jordan Van Brakel @jordanvanbrakel.bsky.social · 12/02/2026Thank you for highlighting how absurd our processes are. This outdated lot by lot, project by project approval system needs to be reworked. 0110
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelBrendan Dawe @dawe.bsky.social · 04/02/2026So 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 1013222
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelJens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 17/01/2026Good 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. 34510
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelAlex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 16/01/2026The 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.comThe immigration shift away from Canada’s three biggest citiesToronto, Vancouver and Montreal combined now account for less than half of new immigrants 1123047
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelPeter Waldkirch 華彼德 @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 15/01/2026YIMBYs 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! 1134
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelJohn Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 14/01/2026Honestly 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. 59122
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelBryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 12/01/2026Update: 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 3225
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelShawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 03/01/2026Being profoundly upset about the 51st state stuff was not an unreasonable reaction. 19969207
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelBryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 17/12/2025If 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) 1038159
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelBrett Hamil @bretthamil.bsky.social · 14/12/2025full toon (from Jan 25) 17722
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelWestside Backyard @westside-backyard.bsky.social · 11/12/2025Single 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 111
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelDr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 02/12/2025New 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... 4163
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelBryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 20/10/2025A 4 storey plex does stand in sharp contrast to a 50s bungalow, but the problem isn’t the plex - it’s the decades of exclusion where @cityofburnaby.bsky.social didn’t even allow lane houses until recently. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...cbc.caPublic backlash to 'gigantic' multiplex homes in Burnaby, B.C., has council scaling back | CBC NewsThe City of Burnaby is reversing course on parts of its multiplex housing rules, after fielding complaints from residents about the size and scale of the new multi-unit homes in previously single-fami... 26712
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelJens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 17/10/2025Burnaby 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.caCity Council cuts height and size of new Province-mandated developments | City of BurnabyBurnaby 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... 7334
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelJens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 14/09/2025Vancouver 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... 3425
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelBryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 18/07/2025Ok 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 1184
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelJens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 14/07/2025When 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.comHousing for residents with disabilities put on hold due to lack of parking – Tri-Cities DispatchAn affordable rental project for residents living with mental illness failed to cross the finish line in Port Coquitlam council chambers recently, with 3306
Reposted by Jordan Van BrakelBryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 02/07/2025Ok. 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. 🧵 1165
![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](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:carj4mhaflwfubqzioy5wxl3/bafkreigikh2cyh3nryt6egt27k2g4tjgkggrey5lig6pd5usxf5rogm24e)