iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Rebekah McCabe/ Ríobcha Ní Cába @rebekahmccabe.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

What happened in Belfast this week was about migration the same way a brick through a window is about ventilation. New post up on my Substack.

open.substack.com

Legitimate concerns

How not to talk about a pogrom

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Had the pleasure of hearing Tim Stonor of Space Syntax and David Nelson of Foster+Partners reflect on “Where do good ideas come from?” at a great @academyofurbanism.bsky.social event during the week, organised by some of our brilliant Young Urbanists. As Tim said, “good ideas come from others”.

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Absolutely anyone can nominate somewhere for the Urbanism Awards - you don’t have to be an AoU member! Deadline for nominations is Feb 15th.

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Congratulations to @archhfund.org.uk on its 50th Anniversary, and on the beautiful travelling exhibition of some of the buildings it has supported over the years. Thanks for having me on tonight’s panel to talk about the future opportunity for heritage: “activate, not animate.”

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Immensely proud to become Co-Chair of @academyofurbanism.bsky.social alongside my wonderful friend and colleague, Matt Lally. For 15 years, the AoU has been my home for learning about great urbanism from across Europe that centres people and their stories.

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Belfast Buildings Trust @bbtbelfast.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

We are thrilled to receive a Development Phase grant from @heritagefunduk.bsky.social for our ‘Carlisle Memorial Phase Two: Enabling Regeneration’ project. The grant will help us develop plans to restore the historic Link Building, upgrade infrastructure, and deliver Creative Belfast activity.

Heritage Fund and Belfast Buildings Trust representatives inside Carlisle Memorial

Heritage Fund and Belfast Buildings Trust representatives outside the Carlisle Memorial Link Building.

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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 10/12/2025

Every part of this is bonkers. The intro is bonkers. The transition to his health is bonkers. The mention that other presidents didn't need cognitive exams is bonkers. The claim that this screening test is somehow hard is bonkers. The idea that criticism of him is treason is bonkers. All of it.

There has never been a President that has worked as hard as me! My hours are the longest, and my results are among the best. I’ve stopped Eight Wars, saving many millions of lives in the process, created the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country, brought Business back into the United States at levels never seen before, rebuilt our Military, created the Largest Tax Cuts and Regulation Cuts, EVER, closed our open and very dangerous Southern Border, when previous Administrations were unable to do so, and created an “aura” around the United States of America that has led every Country in the World to respect us more than ever before. In addition to all of that, I go out of my way to do long, thorough, and very boring Medical Examinations at the Great Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, seen and supervised by top doctors, all of whom have given me PERFECT Marks — Some have even said they have never seen such Strong Results. I do these Tests because I owe it to our Country. In addition to the Medical, I have done something that no other President has done, on three separate occasions, the last one being recently, by taking what is known as a Cognitive Examination, something which few people would be able to do very well, including those working at The New York Times, and I ACED all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know. I have been told that few people have been able to “ace” this Examination and, in fact,

most do very poorly, which is why many other Presidents have decided not to take it at all. Despite all of this, the time and work involved, The New York Times, and some others, like to pretend that I am “slowing up,” am maybe not as sharp as I once was, or am in poor physical health, knowing that it is not true, and knowing that I work very hard, probably harder than I have ever worked before. I will know when I am “slowing up,” but it’s not now! After all of the work I have done with Medical Exams, Cognitive Exams, and everything else, I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean “THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.” They are true Enemies of the People, and we should do something about it. They have inaccurately reported on all of my Election Results and, in fact, were forced to apologize on much of what they wrote. The best thing that could happen to this Country would be if The New York Times would cease publication because they are a horrible, biased, and untruthful “source” of information. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Labour bearing down on immigration will fix this any day now.

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Think this is exactly right - political journalism that is completely abstracted from policy, which was not the norm before 2017, has become the default. Impossible to have a serious attempt to either shrink what the state does or widen the tax base (have to do at least one) on that basis.

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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 20/11/2025

Attention is on NEETs today, but the problem is much worse. NEETs include stay-at-home parents & jobseekers. Strip those out to focus on people not working, not seeking work, not in education & not parenting: this group of economically & socially dislocated young adults has *doubled* in a decade.

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Richard Chambers @newschambers.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

The world’s first trillionaire initiated a move that has left more than half a million people dead, most of whom are children.

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Matthew Mckeague @memckeague.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

'Arguments that adaptive reuse might stymie architectural freedom are dispelled by the sameness of most contemporary urban redevelopment.' > 💯 spot on by @edwinheathcote.bsky.social. To his highlights of reuse schemes, I'd add the hundreds of community-led ones in the UK. www.ft.com/content/0ae2...

ft.com

Adapt or die: the architects pioneering a new wave of building reuse

Thanks to innovators and smart policy initiatives, demolition is becoming more unfashionable. But is the tide changing fast enough?

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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Retrospectively removing indefinite leave to remain would be immoral and economically damaging. It would tear families apart. Attacking it as ‘potentially illegal’ is completely beside the point. Argue with the (awful) idea. Don’t try ’well, actually you can’t do that’.

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Wrote something for the AoU Journal about the lessons from this year’s AoU Congress in Utrecht for those of us interested in shaping better places. Have a read and let me know what you think.

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Duncan Robinson @duncanrobinson.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Shot, chaser Young men more likely to vote Green than Reform. Young men second most progressive group of any demographic. Combined right-wing vote barely bigger than Green vote alone for young men

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De Filmende Fietser @filmendefietser.eurosky.social · 12/09/2025

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Utrecht finishing the restauration of the Catharijnesingel 🥳 The former highway now is a beloved living space for Utrecht residents and one of the most famous and inspiring examples in the world of how cities can change for the better by undoing past choices.

Photo of the Catharijnesingel in Utrecht before and after the restoration of the canal. The top photo shows the highway where water once ran. The bottom photo shows the canal in all its glory again, with water instead of cars.

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...

doomsdayscenario.co

America Tips Into Fascism

Today is different than before.

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Belfast Buildings Trust @bbtbelfast.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

From the rehearsal room to the stage, it’s been a joy watching Alice By Heart come to life at Carlisle Memorial. Special thanks to the Creative Belfast interns, who’ve made their mark in production, costume/set design, and tech roles. It’s opening night- break a leg everyone!

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Alan White @aljwhite.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

New YouGov polling. A monumental failure of our political class to educate, a monumental failure of our media to report fairly, for a generation

47% of people think immigration is primarily illegal. There were 4% irregular arrivals in March

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Stephen Frost @sfrost.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Interesting finding on the impact of London’s ULEZ expansion. “… [it] led to increased footfall on local high streets, particularly in deprived areas, where the policy may have heightened reliance on nearby commercial hubs” Argues creates new need/opportunity to invest in local town centres.

sciencedirect.com

The impact of the ultra-low emission zone on high streets economy and social equality in Outer London

Many cities are adopting transport policies that regulate vehicle emissions, informed by policy impact assessments primarily focused on traffic, air p…

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 31/07/2025

Exclusive: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History removed references to President Trump’s two impeachments from an exhibit — an apparent change to its plans to update its collection of artifacts about the historic U.S. proceedings.

washingtonpost.com

Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American History Museum

A temporary placard, on display since 2021, described the president's historic impeachments. Officials said the exhibit was restored to an earlier version following a review of legacy content.

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

"The world is failing the Palestinian people - a failure that will haunt western nations in particular for years to come."

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

This is the result of unforgivable decisions and actions by supposedly democratic governments.

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Messy Urbanisms @messyurbanisms.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

"the most relaxing way is a drift", says @shawnmicallef.bsky.social . Walk randomly! Make the city a little messy through your unpredictable route.

How to walk

Here’s where you can get creative. Walk in a straight line. Draw a rough square or circle on a map and walk it. Try to walk diagonally across a neighbourhood. Devise variations of a simple algorithm, such as: “Walk two blocks, turn left. Walk one block, turn right. Walk one block, turn left. Repeat.” But the most relaxing way is a drift, or a “dérive” as the French city-exploring psychogeographers called this technique. At each place where a directional decision must be made (an intersection, laneway, passageway or old fashioned fork in the road), just go the way that looks most interesting or is heretofore untravelled. You’ll end up in places you would never have planned to go or didn’t know existed, even if you’ve lived in Toronto your whole life.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 22/07/2025

This is excellent. In three minutes she explains how democracies become dictatorships. It's happened so many times, yet in each country, most people said, 'it can't happen here'

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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

What a truly grotesque image: burning the effigies of migrants - who the organisers ensured all had brown skin. Even from the perspective of the loyalists involved, this is stunningly stupid: it might be a migrant's vote that swings a border poll. (Photo by the great @kscott94.bsky.social)

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The MAC Belfast @themacbelfast.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

‘Grenfell’ by Steve McQueen will be shown at the MAC from 17 July – 21 September 2025 Find out more about the exhibition: bit.ly/MAC-Grenfell

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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

The A5 debacle is classic Stormont: It wants to slash carbon emissions but emit more; it wants it to be compulsory to protect the environment but be allowed to damage the environment; it wants to cut road journeys while building bigger roads. This is insane - but it's not the judge who's mad.

belfasttelegraph.co.uk

A5 court outcome is insane, but it’s not the judge who’s mad - it’s just classic Stormont

Last week, Belfast High Court blocked the building of a major road on technical grounds, even though the judge accepted his decision would likely lead to people being killed and seriously maimed.

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The Economist @economist.com · 28/06/2025

The longstanding trend of rising support for gay marriage in America is reversing. Why? A few theories stand out econ.trib.al/Bc7BI6G

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Roderic O’Gorman TD @rodericogorman.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Hope always beats Hate. Over 100,000 people defied Victor Orban to march in #BudapestPride today 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇭🇺

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YouGov America @today.yougov.com · 22/06/2025

More Americans think the U.S. bombing of nuclear sites in Iran will make the U.S. less safe in the long run than think it will make the U.S. safer % who say safer | less safe U.S. adults 25% | 44% Democrats 7% | 66% Independents 19% | 46% Republicans 52% | 17% today.yougov.com/topics/inter...

A stacked bar chart of YouGov polling data with the headline: "More Americans say the U.S. bombing of Iran will make the U.S. less safe than say it will make the U.S. safer."
The chart's sub-headline is: "Do you think that in the long run, the U.S. bombing of Iran will make the U.S....? (%)."

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Politico @politico.com · 18/06/2025

The editorial board of a publication in Sen. Mike Lee's home state of Utah called on him to apologize for his posts about the Minnesota shootings, writing that they “were unacceptable for anyone, let alone from a member of the Senate.”

politico.com

Deseret News condemns Lee’s posts about Minnesota shooting

The editorial board of the Utah-based publication said the Utah senator cast a “poor light”’ on the Beehive State.

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

The incomparable Carolyn Steel delivering the first Congress Keynote in how our places are shaped by food. Her thought on how best to shape great places: “value food!” @academyofurbanism.bsky.social #HealthyUrbanLiving #AoUCongress2025

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Four Utrecht voices sharing their hopes and challenges for the city’s future. @academyofurbanism.bsky.social #HealthyUrbanLiving #AoUCongress2025

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Esther Agricola of BPD describing Utrecht’s culture of collaboration that enables authentic and connected development. @academyofurbanism.bsky.social #HealthyUrbanLiving #AoUCongress2025

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Fabienne Plieger, a City Ambassador with Thirty030 describes the huge impact of young people on Utrecht’s vitality. @academyofurbanism.bsky.social #HealthyUrbanLiving #AoUCongress2025

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Donica Buisman of RAUM inspiring everyone by asking us to evoke our favourite public space and how we use it. @academyofurbanism.bsky.social #HealthyUrbanLiving #AoUCongress2025

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Eelco Eerenberg, Utrecht’s Deputy Mayor for Spatial Planning, opening our Utrecht: City Voices session. “It’s about having respect for the past, understanding of the present, and a vision for the future.” @academyofurbanism.bsky.social #HealthyUrbanLiving #AoUCongress2025

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Mariëlle Beenackers, from @erasmusmc.bsky.social outlining what Healthy Urban Living is and why it matters! @academyofurbanism.bsky.social #HealthyUrbanLiving #AoUCongress2025

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Rutger Dijksterhuis, Alderman for Spatial Planning in Amersfoort talking about the regional approach to urban development in the Utrecht province. @academyofurbanism.bsky.social #HealthyUrbanLiving #AoUCongress2025

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Tess Broekmans, Professor of Urban Design at TU Delft giving an overview of Dutch national planning policy @academyofurbanism.bsky.social #AoUCongress2025 #HealthyUrbanLiving

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Bart van der Vossen, Director of City Development for @degemeenteutrecht.bsky.social giving the background to Utrecht’s development to kickstart the @academyofurbanism.bsky.social 2025 Congress

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Shane Quinn @shanequinn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Andreas Markides, Chair of The @academyofurbanism.bsky.social welcoming all of our delegates and opening our 2025 Congress in Utrecht.

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Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

"Nobody’s going to spit on our police officers," says Trump, who four months ago pardoned people who beat police officers with pipes, flagpoles, baseball bats and 2-by-4s at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

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Belfast Buildings Trust @bbtbelfast.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Final reminder! Applications to join BBT's Board of Trustees close on Monday, 9th June, at 5pm. Join us, and help shape Belfast’s future through regeneration. www.belfastbuildingstrust.org/opportunities/

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The Academy of Urbanism (AoU) @academyofurbanism.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

What does Healthy Urban Living mean to you? Ahead of Congress we asked some of our speakers and here's what they had to say. There's no one single answer, and we're looking forward to exploring the theme holistically in Utrecht next month, 11-13 June. Programme and tickets at theaou.org/utrecht

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Gil Penalosa @penalosag.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

#Admiration for Jacinda Ardern. • Empathy is a kind of strength • The rehumanisation of people in public life is really important • I love politics, but that’s because I love people Katharine Viner. 'Decent, resolutely human, still believes modesty, kindness and compassion will win.' bit.ly/4dWc3sL

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