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Matt Emmons

@memmons.bsky.social
492 followers 468 following 107 posts

Urbanism, politics, ecology, maps, sports or whatever

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Reposted by Matt Emmons
Matt Hodges @matthodges.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
There's growing experimental evidence¹˒²˒³˒⁴ that LLMs are unusually good at talking people out of entrenched false beliefs and conspiracy theories. ¹ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39264999/ ² pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41179846/ ³ sciety.org/articles/act... ⁴ connecticut.adl.org/resources/re...
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Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Late Habsburg Empire had 99 problems but Vienna’s housing stock and infrastructure was growing rapidly. www.slowboring.com/p/you-cant-b...
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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 03/09/2026
I hereby declare the "learn to code" era officially dead: Big declines in the number of people studying computer science in the last year or two 📉 Chart from this week’s edition of our newsletter on AI and the labour market www.ft.com/content/9183...
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 01/09/2026
New York’s congestion pricing program has resulted in a statistically significant reduction in travel times for EMS vehicles
nber.org
Urban Congestion Pricing and the Response Times of Emergency Medical Services
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citytechie 🇨🇦 @citytechie.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Yes. If the Chinese are willing to invest and manufacture here, f--k the Americans, let's do it. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
BYD Asked About Taking Over Canada Stellantis Plant, Mayor Says
Chinese carmaker BYD Co. inquired about taking over an idled Stellantis NV plant in the Toronto suburbs, according to a local politician, signaling possible global interest in Canadian auto hubs in th...
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ABC News Australia @news.abc.net.au · 27/08/2026
Twenty years on from Gardasil vaccine launch, Australia on track to eliminate cervical cancer
abc.net.au
Australia on track to eliminate cervical cancer 20 years on from vaccine launch
Twenty years on from the launch of the world-first vaccine against cervical cancer, Australian Immunisation Register data shows HPV vaccine coverage for girls and girls is dropping.
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It's Jamie @sjamieit.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
$50 million for rural roads (over 4 years) on top of existing funding levels. Where does this money come from? A reminder that LRT frequency was cut from 5 to 10 minutes to save $1.6 million/yr. 70,000 bus service hours were cut in New Ways to Bus to save $10 million/yr.
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Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 24/08/2026
Underappreciated: US farmland *already substantially produces energy, not food*, and does so very inefficiently. Corn ethanol (~40% of all US corn) requires about 100 times more land per vehicle-mile driven than solar photovoltaics -> electric vehicles. Shifting corn to solar *would free up land*.
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
This study is a good reminder that building cities where children can thrive means reducing car dependency and designing streets centered around people
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 14/08/2026
now this is a hell of sentence: "A recommender that’s a mediocre predictor of what you’d love in a rich, diverse world becomes an excellent predictor of what you’ll click in the impoverished one it creates." laurenleek.substack.com/p/temperatur...
laurenleek.substack.com
Temperature Zero for Culture: Why Everything Is Starting to Look the Same
What 640 London shopping streets, 4,000 Billboard hits, a million films and synthetic AI personas tell us about why everything is flattening into sameness and how to regulate the algorithms behind it.
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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Insane new research. Scientists gave asthma patients free electric stoves to replace their gas stoves, then checked to see if symptoms improved. Not only did symptoms improve, ditching gas was *better than medicine.* Details in today's newsletter: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...
climatecoloredgoggles.com
Researchers used electric stoves to treat asthma. It worked.
The latest evidence that gas is bad for your health.
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Matt Browner Hamlin @mattbh.com · 11/07/2026
Death (Trump) knocking on doors meme with blood out of the open doors for “Knicks in 4” and “USMNT”. He’s knocking on the door that says England
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Richard Bell @richardbell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
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Nicolas Fulghum @nicolasfulghum.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Solar's sharp rise continues. As of April 2026, global solar capacity now exceeds 3 terawatt. 1 gigawatt → 1 terawatt: 20+ years 1 terawatt → 2 terawatt: 33 months 2 terawatt → 3 terawatt: 19 months
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Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 07/07/2026
Belgian team celebrating their win in the locker room.
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Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Car dealership franchise laws aren’t *that* big of a deal economically but taking them on does align with “affordability” and it’s worth doing jusg to flex the muscle. www.slowboring.com/p/reformist-...
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Constant Screaming @ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Just thinking about how there's a Greek myth about a guy who's obsessed with his own image who meets his demise through a reflecting pool...
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
“The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is now at its lowest level since July 1983.” - Bilello #SPR
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Observing The City @observingthecity.ca · 14/06/2026
There were over 46k Bike Share rides in Toronto yesterday, more than the average ridership of the Queen streetcar. The cost to the city to operate that streetcar was over $50k/day in 2015. Bike share costs the city $8k/day. 6x as cost efficient. Smart cities invest in cycling.
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Matt Emmons @memmons.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
"Canada"
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Mask Up Comments and Opinions @commentsandopi2.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Map of dumplings spread from Asia
MAP 4.2. Stuffed boiled dumplings and the Mongol Empire, 1200-1350. Contemporary stuffed dumplings with dozens of different names and minor variations in preparation map onto the former extent of the Mongol Empire. They all have a wheat dough wrapper (which was sometimes leavened in China), a filling of meat (usually lamb) and onions, and a pleated seal. Although scholars still debate the origin and etymology of these dumplings, it is clear that the Pax Mongolica shaped the geography of their diffusion. Pierogi have a cheese filling. The Japanese gyoza was a later adoption from China. The relations with baked or fried dumplings, called sanbusak and samosa, and with ravioli are unclear. Sources: Buell and Anderson, Soup for the Qan, 113; Serventi and Sabban, Pasta, 327-29; personal communication Alice Arndt, Glenn Mack, Sharon Hudgins, Aylin Tan, and Fuchsia Dunlop.
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Adam Hunt 🇨🇦 @gander22h.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
"Transit has leapt to the forefront in the early days of Ottawa’s municipal election campaign, as three challengers look to convince voters they can do a better job turning around #OCTranspo than Mayor Mark Sutcliffe." www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #CBC #news #Ottawa #ottcity
cbc.ca
Transit emerges as top issue in early days of mayoral race | CBC News
Transit has leapt to the forefront of Ottawa’s municipal election campaign, as three challengers look to convince voters they can do a better job turning around OC Transpo than Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.
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Travis Roach @troach.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
In aggregate, we find that prices fell by about 82% of the full tax amount. On the one hand - yay, consumers are getting most of the savings On the other hand - gas stations got an unintentional $0.10 per gallon subsidy at a time when many firms were facing troubles 6/
Event study figure showing incomplete passthrough. If you actually read this text, drop me the funniest emoji you can think of as a comment.
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Bloomberg Opinion @opinion.bloomberg.com · 04/05/2026
China's electric trucking is about to have its BYD moment. That's bad news for diesel
bloom.bg
Tesla’s Semi Is Getting Overtaken by China Inc.
Electric trucking is about to have its BYD Co. moment. Long considered an implausible alternative to conventional, diesel-powered road freight, EV trucks have been quietly growing into a formidable business.
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Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
pretty rad to take my co-workers at @seasocialhousing.bsky.social to see the future of housing: prefab galore (walls, balconies) mass timber all electric passivhaus 1-4 bedroom homes single loader corridor social housing thanks for organizing the tour @cahiggins.bsky.social!
prefab walls and balconiesmass timber and high ceilingssingle loader corridor wrapped around courtyard
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Steph Noh @stephnoh.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Same Raptors rim
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
I'm really just fed up lately that lots of otherwise progressive people have decided traffic violence is an issue that we simply cannot address. How can people claim to care about equity and ignore the toll of car dependency?
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Thomas Seal @twseal.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
🚨🚗🔌⚡ BYD Plans 20 Car Dealerships in Canada to Aid Global Expansion
bloomberg.com
BYD Plans 20 Car Dealerships in Canada to Aid Global Expansion
BYD Co. is opening some 20 sales locations with partners in Canada this year as the country’s government is considering Chinese auto-industry investments to reduce dependence on the US.
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Dr Grace S Peng @gspeng.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
This is what happens when elected officials make your transit decisions. (There is a categorization error. The Caltrans rep cannot vote. The other rep is appointed by LA mayor and does her bidding. 100% of LA Metro Board votes belong to elected officials) bsky.app/profile/rsda...
Stacked bar charts showing composition of transit agency board composition. Asian boards are almost entirely transit and management/policy experts. European ones add labor representatives and small amounts of elected officials (20-30%). US has vastly more elected officials with LA and Chicago almost entirely elected officials.
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Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
"Cities are for the people." - Jane Jacobs
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Elf M. Sternberg @elfsternberg.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
The Ford Pinto had a death rate of 85 people for 10 million cars sold. The Cybertruck hasn't sold 10 million, but the fatality rate so far maths out to 1,452 people killed per 10 million sold. The Cybertruck may be the deadliest road car, for the occupants, ever sold. fuelarc.com/evs/its-offi...
fuelarc.com
It's Official: the Cybertruck is More Explosive than the Ford Pinto - FuelArc News
We now have a full year of data for the Cybertruck, and a strange preponderance of headlines about Cybertrucks exploding into flames, including several fatalities. That’s more than enough data to comp...
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Sharon 🪳🌹 @sharonk.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
the CBC livefeed is hilarious
Prime Minister Mark Carney looked pretty stressed while watching this tense game from a bar in Chelsea, Que. this morning. 

Same, Mr. Prime Minister, same.
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Canadian Paintings @canadianpaintings.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Just One More Goal Bill Brownridge 2013
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Matt Emmons @memmons.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
What a shot! Maker!
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Dave Robertson @davebikeski.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I mean, we wouldn't want to implement a policy where we'd surpass Vision 20%. 🤔 #Ottawa #Autowa #VisionZero
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Brenden Moore @brendenmoore.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
**Important update** Some new details on what property owners can build by right on land zoned for residential under Pritzker's plan: ≤2,500 sq ft: 1 unit 2,500–5,000 sq ft: up to 4 units 5,000–7,500 sq ft: up to 6 units 7,500+ sq ft: up to 8 units
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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 16/02/2026
Great piece from @dsquareddigest.bsky.social, which touches on one of the big theories for why English-speaking countries do especially badly at housebuilding: Adversarial and litigious common law systems (Anglo) vs judge-led civil law systems elsewhere. samf.substack.com/p/build-the-...
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
The metro area with the most car-free households in 🇨🇦 is Montreal (18%), followed by Toronto (16%) and Winnipeg (14%). Quebec City has more car-free than Vancouver! Calgary and Edmonton have the least car-free households, but still get very respectable LRT ridership by North American standards.
Car-free households by metro area in Canada, showing Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg with the most; Calgary and Edmonton with the least.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 12/02/2026
Pretty much the most important thing happening in the world right now. www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-chi...
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Yikes here are the numbers for the past 12 months. Everything is pretty much dead except healthcare/social assistance. Note that healthcare growth is largely not about the business cycle -- it's about the aging of the population and more elderly people needing care.
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San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance @sandiegozoo.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Happy superb owl Sunday 🏈🦉 #SuperbOwl
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Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
First, New Brunswick. Soon, the world.
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Ariel Troster @arieltroster.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
In today’s @ottawacitizen.com, I discuss the need for better tools to prevent demolition by neglect of heritage properties. A vacant commercial unit tax could compel property owners to either take care of their buildings or sell to someone who will. ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa-...
ottawacitizen.com
Ottawa councillors seeking more legislative tools to deal with derelict heritage buildings
Several councillors are calling for other ways to compel owners to restore and develop heritage properties before they fall into neglect.
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Joe Fish @sadbusdriver.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
new-ish working paper on Los Angeles' mansion tax argues that the revenue estimates are severely overstated. the paper argues that somewhere between 2/3 and *all* the direct revenue generated by the tax is offset by tax decreasing transaction volume. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
First: Supply matters. To decarbonize, you need green energy infrastructure. For universal health care, you need a lot of doctors. And you can't buy your way out of supply constraints solely through subsidies. You need subsidy *and* increased supply. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
rooseveltinstitute.org
Lessons from YIMBYism: Taking “Abundance” Back to Its Fundamentals
Lessons from YIMBYism examines how supply-side reforms, public investment, and state capacity can make progressive social policy work as intended.
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Uckema - New Mount Laurels Strongest Solider @uckema.com · 17/01/2026
The biggest thing that blackpilled me on housing costs was a paper from the mid 00s which said "as recently as the 1960s someone who was on drugs who did basic day labor could afford a safe small single room even in expensive cities. In an attempt to remove this cities invented homelessness
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Matt Emmons @memmons.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
In Ottawa, on my commute on Rideau St going west on the bus from Wurtemburg to Rideau LRT entrance there are 8 stops with an average distance of 180m. Cutting out Charlotte and Dalhousie stops would improve operations and still fall within the 400m distance between stops that the article suggests.
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Excited to see more discussion on single-egress stair (SES) housing. I started advocating for this with City of Ottawa staff in 2023 and recently started again. SES opens the door to more infill development and diversifies the range of units being built. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... 1/
theglobeandmail.com
How ‘single exit stairway’ buildings could make cities better and safer
Several Canadian jurisdictions are re-examining their rules to allow ‘single egress’ buildings
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 17/01/2026
1/ Something which I don't think gets articulated clearly often enough is that a system where countries generally respect international sovereignty and territorial integrity is not pure charity or morality by the United States, but in its direct interests. Despite it being the strongest bear.
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