iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 3h

My Cancellable Urbanist Take is that you actually can do this; you just have to build freeways that don't suck.

An urban elevated expressway in Tokyo with a Riverwalk and park underneath

Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 3h

Sure is good that housing costs have gone up strictly matching inflation! I would be worried if it had gone up way faster!

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 6h

Fun fact, here's the population change since 1971 in the area where this building is proposed.

In most of the blocks surrounding the development, population is down 10-25% since 1971

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Reposted by Mark Jackson-Brown

Imbroglior @dkfoster.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

For every Wab Kinew there are... 9 other premiers.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

In midtown there isn't a drop of rain, but there sure was a light show to the south for a bit.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Pour one out for all the VIVA riders who have died of asphyxiation

A busway station with a large over-road canopy. No massive ventilation ducts present.

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Reposted by Mark Jackson-Brown

Roninspoon @roninspoon.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

White Castle is dim sum.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Fundamentally, I agree with this. Practically, the city will only budge on arterials, and we need all the housing we can get.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

TFW a market-rate apartment building is proposed that complies with the Official Plan, the Major Transit Station Areas plan, and the Avenues plan, but not technically the existing zoning because the city doesn't dare do proactive re-zoning to match it's stated policies.

Reposted by Mark Jackson-Brown

GRIDS Vancouver @grids.reillywood.com · 04/10/2026

A few years back my barber unsuccessfully tried to relocate to one of those former shops on Victoria, now residentially zoned. Landlord: I consent Barber: I consent City: I don’t!

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The current state of Toronto Municipal Politics:

King of the Hill NIMBY meme:
Hank: Are y'all with the NIMBYS?

Sailor Moon: We're not NIMBYs. We support 100% truly affordable housing, provided it has full neighborhood approval and satisfies 16 key sustainability metrics and provided the housing is for long-term residents, NOT transients and it doesn't infringe on parking or neighborhood character, or overload the transit system, or result in a private developer making any money, and only after comprehensive community review to ensure it doesn't cast shadows and contributes to the decommodification of housing altogether and ultimately the abolition of capitalism itself

Hank: Yeah, this is it

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I misremembered, it's only at the TLAB phase. It's the local neighbourhood association driving the effort, their flyer was included in the parent association mail-out.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

My primary objection to the development is that this section of Avenue Rd could really use a convenience store, it's a total service dead zone, 700m from the closest shops on Eglinton, and it could serve a lot of the surrounding community. But then again, there would be no parking for your Tesla

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The worst part is knowing it's an unholy alliance of "it's always been this way" Boomers/Gen-X and wealthy doctor/finance/lawyer "we didn't spend $2M+ to be next to the poors" Millennials.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"There's nowhere to downsize to in my neighbourhood! I don't want to leave my friends! I guess I'll just live alone in this hard-to-maintain $2M 4-bed house for another 15 years."

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Thr parents' association at my kids' school included a NIMBY flyer about a proposed seniors residence across the street from the school. They are asking to raise $20,000 to hire lawyers to fight it at the OLT! Say the line, Bart:

"We are concerned about traffic congestion as well as the safety of our children and seniors.

We understand the need for affordable housing, but a 54-unit building is too big for the lot where a single family home once stood.

There is no resident parking or pick-up/drop-off area.

Garbage bins for 54 units will be on the boulevard.

If this building is approved, it will set a precedent for similar sized buildings to be developed in our community."

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

All of these are within seconds of walking of each other. 70 years of alterations.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Wall Treatments of Eglinton Station Concourse Level (2/2)

White painted drywall with two large horizontal yellow stripes

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Wall Treatments of Eglinton Station Concourse Level (1/2)

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Reposted by Mark Jackson-Brown

worm @rfksbrainworm.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

If you ever wondered why visible light is those particular wavelengths, it's because life evolved to see in the narrow range where water is transparent

Diagram of absorption of emf by water. There's a gap right that dips in the 500 nm range

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

While the precise timing of the obsoletion might be a bit fuzzy, nevertheless they were both built to be 90% replaced by already-under-construction subways.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Ordering via Google Translate in Asia: awkward; necessary; have sympathy on the tourist Ordering via Google Translate in Scarborough: why is the white person not ordering at the stall with pictures/english what is wrong with you

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

TFW you're at a Scarborough food court seeing everyone with delicious food, but you're stuck ordering from the only stall that put up pictures on their menu 😭

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The Toronto "Build A Busway Not Intended To Be Obsoleted By A Subway In Five Years" Challenge bsky.app/profile/augu...

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

York University Busway found dead in a ditch

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Well, the classic tweet version was this:

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Biblically Accurate Iron Giant just hit the internet

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

"Great (wo)men do not seek power. They have power thrust upon them!" — Kahless

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Also the signal length for the side street is ridonk; seemingly mandatory for the massive pedestrian crossing distance.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This video is amazing, to see the signal phase rotation in action. This video is heartbreaking, to see almost every LRV hit a red light that should have been a green extended for 15 seconds.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The TMU platform barriers are kinda funny how infrequent along the platform they are

One metal platform barrier per subway car length

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Scarborough is criss-crossed by many greenways (some former or never-used railway, some hydro, some creeks) and they *all* need trails! bsky.app/profile/kris...

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Reposted by Mark Jackson-Brown

Krissan Veerasingam @krissan4scarb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Green Links in Scarborough would help members of the community get around safely on foot or on bikes without having to be around busy roads and compete with cars. Adding these routes to create a network would help communities gain access to key spaces like transit stations too.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Goodbye to: "I don't know what this is saying; I'll have to guess at what they actually meant" Hello to: "This mind-numbingly bland and verbose prose is confidently wrong, and it took me forever to figure that out"

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Well, at least False Creek isn't making any promises about actually being a creek

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

What! Four-All ice cream at Metro in Toronto?!

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Reposted by Mark Jackson-Brown

Gabe Blanc @gabeblanc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Instead of legitimizing the charade of electoralism, I’m Learning About Revolutionary Praxis (or LARPing), which mostly involves commenting on Instagram reels.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

There are a lot of Ford MPPs who won with <50% in ridings that rely heavily on GO Transit! They know they can't alienate them!

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Reposted by Mark Jackson-Brown

Deny Sullivan @denysullivan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

At some point you need to ask whether the petty complaints of seniors are worthy of publishing. Like, this is fodder for thanksgiving dinner talk, not the CBC, and surely not a pressing matter of government

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I don't think I've ridden the first train out of Kitchener since the literal opening day in 2011

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

How about privatizing the *other* massive city line item? Maybe the private sector can bring in some automated enforcement.

static.klipy.com

Robocop: Thank You For Your Cooperation

ALT: Robocop: Thank You For Your Cooperation

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I always love the occasional comic that references the active stomping again!

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I go so far as to say that Guildwood Station is the *worst possible* station on the Lakeshore East line for VIA to serve.

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

But it couldn't last forever... Into the fall season we go bsky.app/profile/toro...

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Mark Jackson-Brown @markster3000.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

My local McDonald's pickup monitor is really giving Horror-movie-chic Honestly I didn't know monitors could really fail this moodily

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