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Nathan Lauster

@lausterna.bsky.social
3.9K followers 1.3K following 1.4K posts

UBC sociologist, demographer, housing & urban regulation scholar, author, immigrant, blogs at homefreesociology.com

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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
Michelle Cyca @michellecyca.com · 03/10/2026
first day of advance voting in Vancouver!! a beautiful day to go fill out a comically large ballot!! stickers for adults and children alike!! vancouver.ca/election/202...
Michelle with an “I voted” sticker.a purple sticker reading “future voter”
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Fun archival find from 1952. ONE WEEK in wait time for a building permit was deemed unacceptable by local builders, as approvals shifted from the building to planning departments ahead of the new zoning bylaw. Nowadays, what's an extra week? vancouvergeneralcontractors.com/vancouver-pe...
Vancouver Sun, Oct 29, 1952, p. 25 Subhead: Contractors Say Red Tape Slows Up Work...
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Fun 1910 real estate ad demonstrating Vancouver's lengthy history of setting up a laneway house to rent out back as a mortgage helper.
Real Estate Advertisement from Daily Province, Oct 8th, 1910 (p. 7): "New seven-room house on Pender Street East, 1700 block; on large 44-foot lot in splendid state of cultivation. There is also a small house on back of lot that will rent for $8 or $10 per month; price $4400. Terms $1000 cash; balance $35 monthly including interest. This is a particular good investment and well worth investigating.
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
Kris Inwood @kris-inwood.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Overview of the new Canadian historical census data & six original research articles demonstrating what can be done with them are now online in the journal Historical Methods. Not open access but first 50 copies apparently can be dowloaded from: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/DQTIH...
tandfonline.com
The Canadian Peoples, new Canadian census data 1871–1921
Research using historical Canadian census data has changed repeatedly since the 1960s. This introduction reviews the literature and introduces six articles in this special issue. Each article uses ...
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Just putting it out there that I am a voter who cares about climate change and regular summer wildfires and my own kids' future and stuff and I would also like to see some election pandering - like ANYTHING - thrown in my direction. I mean, the Carbon Tax was doing a lot of emotional work for me.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Need to keep an Eye on Norquay...
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
AI polls can lean on racial or partisan stereotypes, a new @pewresearch.org study shows. An experimental AI poll found that 97% of Hispanic adults in the US were likely to follow the World Cup. The actual figure – based on human respondents – was 43%. www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/20...
Screenshot of a September 2026 Pew Research Center study about AI polls. The study shows that AI polls can take attitudes that are reasonably common among certain demographic and partisan subgroups and portray them as nearly ubiquitous.
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
For the past week, I've heard a lot of people say "provincial and municipal elections happening at the same time is confusing, especially since I don't fully understand what a city is in control of." So, I did a four minute explainer piece to try and help www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqlh...
youtube.com
What municipalities can and can’t do in B.C.
YouTube video by CBC British Columbia
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Winnipeg has entered the chat. youtu.be/xLlsjEP7L-k?...
youtu.be
The Weakerthans - One Great City!
YouTube video by TheLastGoodName
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
In reading the REDWALL books to my kids, I really enjoyed Brian Jacques' emphasis on how bad villains are at cooperating with each other & how they're always ready to tear one another apart. So much so that my partner and I regularly draw upon the REDWALL PRINCIPLE in discussing current politics.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Good moon out there! (mediocre iphone from window pic notwithstanding)
Moon peeking out from behind a tree over Vancouver skyline
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This is great, and hits a genuine area of confusion for many folks! Only note I'd add is that the Province also has a role in mandating more housing near transit (and the BC NDP actually delivered on that with Bill 47, though lots of room for improvement). www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/h...
www2.gov.bc.ca
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Silvia Moreno Garcia and C J Polk are both quite good for interesting fantastical stuff.
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 25/09/2026
@onecityvan.bsky.social posted their housing platform. Lots to like: more housing options, more non market housing, better support for renters. Also, they're calling for affordable & accessible flats (like our Four/Five prototype 👇) to be allowed everywhere we already allow plexes and large homes.
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
Dr Grace S Peng @gspeng.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"The Martins...use their fireplace almost every day during colder months. But that will have to end when the new duplex is built next door...because provincial rules stipulate that chimneys must be at least two feet above neighbouring structures." They use a fireplace in a downtown area? 😱
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Sadly many such cases. Ask me how I know...
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Oh no. Bracing myself for media calls about "the surprising turnaround in BC fertility rates"
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Yes. But I wouldn't underplay the nativist turn in AB, the only province to match Ontario's "Too Many" results. Not sure the nativist-baiting registered much in Vancouver, by comparison, maybe just 'cause we were more used to it. www.canada.ca/en/immigrati...
Provincial and territorial support for immigration polling, as cited by immigration minister, showing idea there are "Too Many" immigrants strongest in ON and AB
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
Robert Jago @rjjago.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A Vancouver-area First Nation has issued a travel advisory for the US, after members were detained by ICE.
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Michael Wiebe @michaelwiebe.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Strange article from Strong Towns on "filtering". Fundamentally, they do not believe in indirect spillover effects, where adding high-end supply can reduce low-end rents. Instead, we have to intentionally and directly target the low-end. 1/
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Remember as we head into a potential double-header of an election season: If your ONE is OneCity, you're sitting pretty. If your ONE is OneBC, you've messed up, buddy.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Mandating all purchases of pumpkin spice must be Canadian sourced
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Worth noting that Bannon stole the phrase from sports, esp. football, where it's more flexible, as below. lexmaniac.wordpress.com/2024/02/25/f...
lexmaniac.wordpress.com
flood the zone
flood the zone (1990’s | athletese | “overwhelm OR overload (someone or something),” “pour it on,” “cut OR let loose”) “Zone” has come up twice…
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
Jens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
2024 Canadian Housing Survey data came out today, lots of things to look through. One item that will likely get people talking is forced moves. It's a difficult metric to interpret, but there seems to be a COVID dip and now a jump in 2024 across all regions. canviz.mountainmath.ca/plot?v=13757...
Forced moves in past 5 years.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Robert Frost saw a thing or two as well. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53086/...
poetryfoundation.org
Home Burial
‘Just that I see.’ ‘You don’t,’ she challenged. But I understand: it is not the stones, But the child’s mound—’ ‘Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t,’ she cried.…
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Went to CBC to catch up on the BC Conservatives' implosion, and discovered a new Eden Robinson book is coming! I'd pretty much call that a win-win. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Author Eden Robinson blends North Coast culture with fantasy in Sorceress of the Sky Serpents | CBC News
Sorceress of the Sky Serpents is the North Coast author's first book since the highly-acclaimed Trickster series and once again blends the Haisla and Heiltsuk cultures of the Pacific Northwest with th...
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I like how the Anna's Hummingbird has its wing raised up protectively here, like I'm too young to know about what the birds and the bees get up to with flowers.
Iridescently green Anna's hummingbird with wing raised up over it's head and beak pointed toward a very orange Scarlet Runner bean flower.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This is fun to play around with in housing discourse as well, where it drives interesting generational divides. Young adults often don't have their own anchor points for Natural Housing Prices, but the anchor points they might get from their parents can suggest things are way, way off.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Painted Lady on Beach Pea in Vancouver this morning. Haven't seen all that many this summer, but apparently the Ladies tend to cycle with El Nino events. So maybe a mega-boom of them next summer to go along with the mega-El Nino coming our way? www.colorado.edu/asmagazine/2...
An orange and black and white Painted Lady butterfly on pink Beach Pea flower in Vancouver, set against a laurel plant that the beach pea is using for emotional support.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
China Mieville's Un Lun Dun cover with image of a girl (protagonist) and double-decker bus in faded yellow
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
You know the few remaining BC Conservatives are already gearing up their scary Halloween voices to announce: "Under the current leadership PCT can only mean Politically Correct Time, and we won't stand for it!" [cue KLF's "3 AM Eternal" music] news.gov.bc.ca/releases/202...
news.gov.bc.ca
No falling back with B.C.’s new time zone code, Pacific Time: PCT
PCT abbreviation establishes province’s single, year-round time zone
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Sending the private investigator after Chip Wilson is also objectively pretty funny.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I mean, I'm all for major infrastructure projects, but all we really is Chunnel to Greenland.
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
The Tyee @thetyee.ca · 15/09/2026
With three of Sen̓áḵw’s 11 towers now complete, the development is already dramatically reshaping Vancouver’s skyline, and provoking plenty of chatter about its scale, density and ambition. thetyee.ca/News/2026/09...
thetyee.ca
Inside North America's Largest Indigenous-Led Housing Development | The Tyee
The vision underpinning the architecture of Sen̓áḵw.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Skål!
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"[B]ecause property taxes are wealth taxes, property owners have responded to their increasing wealth with political anger, pushing shifts in property tax policy, often leading to increasing rates on commercial property owners who have seen declining values during the same period."
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 15/09/2026
@sightline.org takes a look at the province’s TOD density overrides and what the results have been. (I’ll add a few thoughts below) British Columbia’s Transit-Oriented Housing Law: A Progress Report www.sightline.org/2026/09/14/b...
sightline.org
British Columbia’s Transit-Oriented Housing Law: A Progress Report | Sightline Institute
Bill 47, a provincewide push for more homes near transit, is two years old this summer. It’s making an impact, but it needs more teeth.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
If the CPR is the belt and Vancouver is the buckle then I suppose that makes the southern suburbs... Well, maybe they also have a claim to swagger. At any rate, already a pretty steep discount on real estate prices located in New Westminster; comparable to above looks in the ~2,000-$2,600 range
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Vancouver real estate ad from 1907: "The C.P.R. is a belt around the world and Vancouver is the buckle... We all of us ought to take a moment or two every day to hug ourselves in self-congratulation that we live in this glorious city." Example property for sale:
One lot and a half on Burrard street, close to Georgia; size 37.5 feet by 122. Large nine-room house, rents for $30 per month. Also stable. Price $6500. Terms $3500 cash, and balance payable at $1000 per year.

Example of house for sale in Real Estate Ad from March 16, 1907. p. 14 of Daily Province.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
"Five animals were examined in the study: elk, mule deer, coyotes, grizzlies and black bears." This is how you know a study was paid for by Big Moose. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Elk involved in nearly two-thirds of aggressive encounters in national parks, study finds | CBC News
Researchers analyzed Parks Canada data collected from 2010 to 2023 on aggressive wildlife encounters and what people were doing when they occurred. The researchers found that quiet activities like hik...
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Reasonably certain it doesn't count as stalking when the target is the small local organic grocery store you've been waiting to open for business since FOREVER... (also: omg, look's like Be Fresh is finally opening at 10th & Alma)
Someone stalking newly installed shelves and refrigerators at the Be Fresh Market store at 10th & Alma.
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Reposted by Nathan Lauster
Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Once you stop trying to convince yourself that all of your policy preferences are secretely really popular if explained in the right way, you will be released from samsara
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
There's the stuff I'm actively researching, and then there are the distractions. SO MANY lovely distractions.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Also, pretty sure that's the Tooth Fairy trying to sell me Dentofloss in 1900. I dig it.
Tooth Fairy like figure poiting to Dentofloss container to her right, sold for 25 cents, with a smiling lady to her left, noting that she (?) or the Dentofloss speaking through her (?) kills germs and helps your mouth smell better. From March 12, 1900 Vancouver Daily Province, p. 9.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Love these old newspaper cartoons summarizing these strikingly familiar events of the day in Vancouver on August 22, 1908. Brush Fires Needing Rain Vancouver Liberals Needing a Sacrificial Candidate Americans Race Riots
Cartoons run in the Vancouver Daily Province from August 22, 1908 to summarize major news events, including a woman sitting on a burned out stump and hoping for rain, the Vancouver Liberal Association looking for someone to poke their head into a hangman's noose and run as their candidate, and Uncle Sam looking up at a besmirched US Flag noting race riots in Springfield, Ill.
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Owen @oweninvan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
TIL Canada Post is trying to build an Amazon marketplace competitor. canadashops.ca
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Apropos of nothing, here's the spot in the Act to incorporate the City of Vancouver (s22.2) where they directly outlaw offers of money to voters for returning people to the City Council. Corruption in politics was a big concern back in 1886.
Vancouver City Incorporation Act (1886) - Every person who directly or indirectly by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes and gift, loan, offer, promise, or agreement, as aforesaid, to or for any person, in order to induce such a person to procure or endeavour to procure the return of any person to serve in any Municipal Council, or to procure or prevent the passing of any such by-law as aforesaid or the vote of any voter at any municipal election or for or against such by-law.
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Jens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
CanViz graphs update automatically when new data is released, check out the new asking rents data that came out today by opening a previously made graph.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
TIL Max Weber was writing about "grandiose booty communism" at least seven decades before the later musings of Sir Mix-a-Lot.
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This is a @wazaroff.bsky.social appreciation post. Thank you for putting yourself forward to serve! Took a lot of guts and heart. Good work.
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