Reposted by Nathan LausterMichelle Cyca @michellecyca.com · 03/10/2026first 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... 1606
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Fun 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... 0237
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Fun 1910 real estate ad demonstrating Vancouver's lengthy history of setting up a laneway house to rent out back as a mortgage helper. 1100
Reposted by Nathan LausterKris Inwood @kris-inwood.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Overview 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.comThe Canadian Peoples, new Canadian census data 1871–1921Research 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 ... 1207
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Just 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. 0283
Reposted by Nathan LausterJohn Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 30/09/2026AI 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... 14413
Reposted by Nathan LausterJustin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026For 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.comWhat municipalities can and can’t do in B.C.YouTube video by CBC British Columbia 816162
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Winnipeg has entered the chat. youtu.be/xLlsjEP7L-k?...youtu.beThe Weakerthans - One Great City!YouTube video by TheLastGoodName 1110
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 28/09/2026In 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. 030
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Good moon out there! (mediocre iphone from window pic notwithstanding) 3121
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 26/09/2026This 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 060
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Silvia Moreno Garcia and C J Polk are both quite good for interesting fantastical stuff. 010
Reposted by Nathan LausterBryn 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. 47818
Reposted by Nathan LausterDr 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? 😱 5274
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Oh no. Bracing myself for media calls about "the surprising turnaround in BC fertility rates" 130
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Yes. 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... 120
Reposted by Nathan LausterRobert Jago @rjjago.bsky.social · 23/09/2026A Vancouver-area First Nation has issued a travel advisory for the US, after members were detained by ICE. 4158106
Reposted by Nathan LausterMichael Wiebe @michaelwiebe.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Strange 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/ 10895
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Remember 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. 2325
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Mandating all purchases of pumpkin spice must be Canadian sourced 040
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Worth 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.comflood the zoneflood the zone (1990’s | athletese | “overwhelm OR overload (someone or something),” “pour it on,” “cut OR let loose”) “Zone” has come up twice… 010
Reposted by Nathan LausterJens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 21/09/20262024 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... 1232
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Robert Frost saw a thing or two as well. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53086/...poetryfoundation.orgHome 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.… 131
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Went 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.caAuthor Eden Robinson blends North Coast culture with fantasy in Sorceress of the Sky Serpents | CBC NewsSorceress 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... 020
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 20/09/2026I 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. 012
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 19/09/2026This 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. 0120
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Painted 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... 020
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 17/09/2026You 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.caNo falling back with B.C.’s new time zone code, Pacific Time: PCTPCT abbreviation establishes province’s single, year-round time zone 011
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Sending the private investigator after Chip Wilson is also objectively pretty funny. 080
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 17/09/2026I mean, I'm all for major infrastructure projects, but all we really is Chunnel to Greenland. 110
Reposted by Nathan LausterThe Tyee @thetyee.ca · 15/09/2026With 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.caInside North America's Largest Indigenous-Led Housing Development | The TyeeThe vision underpinning the architecture of Sen̓áḵw. 319755
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." 090
Reposted by Nathan LausterBryn 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.orgBritish Columbia’s Transit-Oriented Housing Law: A Progress Report | Sightline InstituteBill 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. 2101
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 14/09/2026If 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 000
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Vancouver 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: 2100
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.caElk involved in nearly two-thirds of aggressive encounters in national parks, study finds | CBC NewsResearchers 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... 040
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Reasonably 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) 040
Reposted by Nathan LausterNed Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Once 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 13962144
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 11/09/2026There's the stuff I'm actively researching, and then there are the distractions. SO MANY lovely distractions. 110
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Also, pretty sure that's the Tooth Fairy trying to sell me Dentofloss in 1900. I dig it. 001
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Love 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 250
Reposted by Nathan LausterOwen @oweninvan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026TIL Canada Post is trying to build an Amazon marketplace competitor. canadashops.ca 7307
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Apropos 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. 050
Reposted by Nathan LausterJens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 10/09/2026CanViz 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. 1215
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 09/09/2026TIL Max Weber was writing about "grandiose booty communism" at least seven decades before the later musings of Sir Mix-a-Lot. 041
Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 08/09/2026This is a @wazaroff.bsky.social appreciation post. Thank you for putting yourself forward to serve! Took a lot of guts and heart. Good work. 0210