iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Probably worth reminding folks that the B.C. NDP government just gutted the province’s affordable home building program… Maybe instead of new taxes, we follow the evidence and reduce costs by housing folks?

000

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 16h

The doctors prescribing housing. Unhoused patients live nearly 20 years less, and their health care costs are seven times higher, so housing is a good investment, by Rosemary Cairns rosemary.substack.com/p/the-doctor... via @uhn.ca

rosemary.substack.com

The doctors prescribing housing

‘Unhoused patients live nearly 20 years less, and their health care costs are seven times higher.’

25420

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Sam @samd.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Left-NIMBY vacancy trutherism is so funny because their argument implicitly accepts the logic that greater supply of housing lowers prices but then completely refuses to take it to its logical endpoint that we should build more housing.

1147743

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Elections have a way of clarifying who matters to political parties (car owners) and whose priorities can wait for another day (transit advocates). My dispatch from Day 1 on David Eby’s four day mid-election road trip. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

cbc.ca

ANALYSIS | Eby puts needs of car owners ahead of transit advocates in ruling out Metro Vancouver vehicle levy | CBC News

For the last 18 months, a vehicle levy has been talked about by TransLink as a potential way to create a more sustainable funding model, as revenue from fuel taxes continues to decline. But all that w...

1522456

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I’ve re-blocked this building around a single staircase design and can get 200 square feet more suite space and an extra bedroom in each home, on the same footprint. And the upper suites would be safer for egress because of easy to escape from balconies.

040

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

My first had seven staircases, including a wild shared set accessed off two of the suites’ powder rooms. Zero logic as the upper floors, which triggered the two staircase per suite requirement, were still only accessible by a single set and had no other means of egress.

2nd floor of a sixplex showing seven staircases

Third floor of a sixplex showing four staircases

140

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

“What you have to understand is that bureaucracy is an organism, and the prime goal of every organism is self-protection. Bureaucracy exists to protect itself.” A potent and often true line in Emily St. Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility.

000

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

“We need more policies to guide housing.” Staff tied up creating new policy. “We need more staff to enforce policies.” Staff hired. “We need more policies to guide housing.” Staff tied up creating policy. “We need more staff to enforce policies.” Staff hired. Over and over and over.

120

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

“Regulations and other local constraints on development can limit […] housing supply, causing […] higher asking rents. Toronto provides a recent example of the opposite dynamic. Asking rents in the city have declined since late 2023, partly because of the growing number of condos for rent.”

000

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Many people don’t believe this and so advocate only for gov’ subsidized housing (well away from where they live): “If the number of renter households increases faster than the supply of rental units, asking rents tend to rise.” BoC on rising rents. www.bankofcanada.ca/2026/09/spar...

bankofcanada.ca

Why asking rents have surged in Canada since 2021

Renting has become significantly more expensive in Canada in recent years. Asking rents—those advertised for vacant units—rose sharply as demand grew faster than supply. As tenants move and sign new l...

121

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Tim Querengesser @timquerengesser.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The built form fighting gentle-density infill creates.

0214

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This pattern makes no sense and never has. North York Centre achieves some actual urbanity along Yonge Street, but that street is a highway - and the district is surrounded by a ring road surrounded by an ocean of houses

5517

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yes, potentially. It’s not a very sophisticated announcement from the cons, regardless, but we’re unlikely to get fully baked policies from either side with this unfortunate snap election. It’s so frustratingly anti-democratic.

010

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A basic understanding of taxation and inflation/cost of living isn’t kool aid. Unfortunate that you appear to think it is.

000

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Tax revenue naturally goes up with inflation as it’s a percentage of earnings (income tax) or spending (PST/GST). Govs only need to increase taxes if their spending outpaces cost of living and inflation (or as a tool to intentionally limit a behaviour - cigarette/home construction/alcohol taxes)

210

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

One, two or three super expensive homes? No problem. But you want to build four moderately expensive homes? We won’t service them!

000

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Sarcasm? I’m joining the dark side as another silly policy/fee won’t make a lick of difference with the mountain of fees and policies they’ve introduced in the last three years. I just got word that they’re infecting other munis now too and killing fourplexes in Esquimalt b/c of water servicing.

100

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Nevin Thompson @nevint.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Edmonton grew by 10% in 2 years, adding 100,000 people (one City of Victoria) and yet there are still tons of “for rent” signs. Greater Victoria could learn from this. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...

163

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Sam @samd.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

the fact that the NTSB is conducting a federal safety investigation of the helicopter crash, but nobody is going to do anything about the original deadly car crash, really shows just how few fucks our country gives about every day traffic violence that kills 40k people every year

1142870

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Push The Needle @pushtheneedle.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Developed without any zoning code or jurisdictional approval. And they self permit as a tribal authority. Got that all squared in less than 3 months Seattles permit process takes 700-900 days for projects this size

081

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 16/09/2026

We visited these when we were in Vancouver and they are genuinely gorgeous buildings. Yay for density!

613612

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

*”living there,” dammit!

000

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I’m on the outside and I know I am…

000

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Planners, I’m talking to you as there was probably a time when you were these people, but you got bogged down in the politics of paying for improvements by taxing housing instead of encouraging housing so that people living their could pay for and benefit from the improvements.

220

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

If we put amateur, passionate urbanists in charge of city building instead of planners, engineers and politicians, we’d have livable, people friendly & economically vibrant cities. Go on any chat board, discourse server or reddit and read the ideas. Those folks read the science and know their crap.

160

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Push The Needle @pushtheneedle.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Seattle political leaders taxed soda to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks and it worked. But Seattle wants good, high paying jobs downtown and wants more housing growth, so why are we taxing those and surprised when the outcome is the same?

28111

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

"Cities are not simply collections of buildings or engines of commerce: They are where strangers become neighbours, where ideas become businesses, and where a society defines itself."

092

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

G | Builds Stuff, Goes Places 🦀 @whereisgraeme.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

“Why are all you developers pissed off all the time. Everyone else in the industry is much less worried. There’s still lots of construction” My brother in trillium. Maybe the people doing the math and taking the risk might understand something highly inconvenient that everyone else is ignoring

112

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Under it all, this is a big reason for cookie cutter development and a lack of overall creativity. How many times will I risk doing something cool and unique only to have it shut down or dragged out because it doesn’t fit in some weird preconceived planning box?

030

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

When I started doing this stuff, I wondered the same thing about all the old crotchety small developers. I’m now that crotchety guy. 15 years of local governments saying they want housing and then making it as challenging and expensive at every turn does this to people.

130

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Wouldn’t it be more of a cult classic, rather than a huge theatre blockbuster? It was a moderate success on release, but its status developed over the next decade. Kind of took off as Will Ferrell’s movie career exploded in the 2000s 2001 was a great year for movies, though. Tons of hits.

120

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I’m surprised staff didn’t propose a parking assistance plan where the new tenants in this building pay to relocate the parking somewhere else. New policy idea!

100

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

EU doesn’t have tariffs on solar panels so they’re a lot cheaper from China. Tariffs, at least in Canada, are massive on Chinese-made solar. Probably the same in the states. Hoping it’s one of the things Canada dumps with the trade war as we no longer have to protect the US industry.

020

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

the corruptness of the building codes is why we can't have nice things (and also why sh*tty US wood framed buildings offering a poorer quality of life cost more than concrete passivhaus homes in switzerland)

4659

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I get excluding REITs from disclosing individual owners of their shares as that would be an ongoing data entry nightmare, but I’d assume the reit would at least be posted as owner of a piece of land on a search. If not, that’s silly for simplicity as they disclose their assets to shareholders.

110

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Does the land owner transparency registry not capture this info? Or are there now exemptions. Lots of extra paperwork and legal costs from it so hopefully it does do something…

100

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Yet governments layer large taxes on housing in core, walkable communities instead. And these taxes push housing out of core walkable communities. And this housing now being built in sprawling communities leads to more cars costing society way more money.

000

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

CalgaryK @calgaryk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Wow, wow, wow

2334

Reposted by Ryan Jabs

Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Super clear to me at this point that the more paperwork and the more consultants you have, the worse the end result. The best public architecture in Canada is 60 years old and this is why.

0253

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Yes, this describes this couple (who consulted together). They seem lovely, have a food producing, mostly self sustaining small farm a little out of the city hub (so you must have a car to visit). But the land & emissions it would take for our populations to sprawl and live like this is impossible.

110

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This opposition levelled me for this work as it was so fundamentally hypocritical. Transportation tends to be north American’s individual’s single largest contribution to climate change. Car lite or car free housing in walkable, transit oriented communities is our most effective fix for this.

1101

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The most successful opposition to my car lite, transit oriented housing has come from an “environmentalist.” A Green Party of B.C. candidate, successfully petitioned council to oppose a very reasonable, family and community oriented 4 storey project, literally because it would shade tomatoes.

1477

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Again, I’ll point to Saanich’s current fourplex policy. Despite most single detached lots now qualifying for this level of density, single detached prices are actually still dropping in the municipality because the biggest drivers of land costs are buyers of single detached homes—not developers.

A table showing average benchmark prices dropping in Saanich over the last 12 months.

020

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Unfortunately, municipalities use an anti-housing principle considered “land value recapture” and instead of allowing more housing and lower end prices, they increase development costs through taxes and policy to keep prices high and supply restricted. Rinse and repeat.

120

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Some people think that developers will pocket this difference/drive up prices, but that’s not the case in the long term with actual competition like we’re seeing now in #yyj. Developers will pass along these lower costs & will continue to build at lower overall costs because of lower land prices.

120

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Interestingly, this also directly shows how zoning restrictions unnecessarily inflates end user prices. If developers could buy less expensive single detached lands, they could build & sell at lower prices. Instead we restrict housing, which raises the land cost of the few available properties.

230

Ryan Jabs @ryanjabs.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

One of the interesting pieces of this is it pushes more of these businesses out of the core. Saanich residents who work here now face longer commutes or moving. Another example of poor climate killing planning.

040