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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard

@wryimby.bsky.social
550 followers 189 following 133 posts

Waterloo Region Yes in my Backyard, also known as WR YIMBY, is a grassroots community group that urges the cities of Waterloo Region to adjust their zoning to allow for more housing, especially affordable housing. www.wryimby.com

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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Eric will give a presentation followed by an extended QandA. Here’s a chance to ask him questions and push for the kind of change you’d like to see in housing (and related issues) at the provincial level!
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
@ericlombardi.ca, founder More Neighbours Toronto and current candidate for Ontario Party leadership is joining us as a special guest at our 7pm meeting this Thursday!– dm us or rsvp below for the online link. www.meetup.com/waterloo-reg...
meetup.com
Special Guest Eric Lombardi , Thu, May 28, 2026, 7:00 PM | Meetup
Our May 28th Waterloo Region Yes in My Backyard meeting will have a special guest: Eric Lombardi. Eric founded More Neighbours Toronto and is running for Ontario Liberal Le
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Eric Lombardi (EricForOLP.ca) @ericlombardi.ca · 25/05/2026
This week! I'll be at Toronto Tech Week, speaking on Education in the Age of AI, at the Digital Asset Summit, and on housing with @wryimby.bsky.social. Or, you can catch me in Oakville and Georgetown. Looking forward to seeing everyone! Details and RSVP: luma.com/ericforolp
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Michael Druker 🇨🇦 @mdruker.app · 25/04/2026
Jane’s Walks are next weekend! @philmarfisi.bsky.social and I are gonna reprise my Northdale walk from last year. Come with us to look at what some* are calling the most interesting urban transformation in the country. janeswalkwr.com *me
From Bungalows to Urban Mid-rise in Northdale. Sunday May 3, 2 to 3:30pm, meeting at Veterans Green in Waterloo.

Photo shows old low rise houses with nearby new mid-rise residential.
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M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
New research from Pew quantifies the extent of the success of YIMBYism in Austin: after a huge run up in prices over the 2010s, the city dramatically liberalized and kicked off a building boom. Now rents are falling. www.pew.org/en/research-...
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Thank you @mikeschreiner.bsky.social and the GPO for coming and hanging out with @wryimby.bsky.social to talk missing middle housing. The GPO has consistently been the leading progressive voice in Ontario for legalizing and building more affordable housing and we're thankful for their advocacy!
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
We can have more of these more affordable housing options if we just allow them more broadly in Ontario! It's great to see politicians passionate about allowing for more housing types. 2/2
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Thank you Ontario Green Party leader @mikeschreiner.bsky.social and MPP @aislinnclancy.bsky.social for touring some missing middle and midrise housing in Belmont Village with us! www.instagram.com/reel/DUgZ2Cj... 1/2
instagram.com
Mike Schreiner on Instagram: "There are so many stories of people like the Premier saying NO to housing. @aislinnclancykc and I met up with one of the groups saying YES to more homes that people can a...
9 likes, 1 comments - mikeschreinergpo on February 8, 2026: "There are so many stories of people like the Premier saying NO to housing. @aislinnclancykc and I met up with one of the groups saying YES ...
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Nathan Lauster @lausterna.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Are "pre-rebuttals" a thing, like "pre-zonings"? If so, here's a pre-rebuttal from @jensvb.bsky.social and I to the latest argument that supply doesn't matter (from CCPA, sigh). The Key: Doubling up is the demographic indicator demonstrating our shortage. homefreesociology.com/2025/07/06/h...
homefreesociology.com
Housing is a Housing Problem
Co-authored by Jens von Bergmann and cross-posted at MountainMath. The main housing problem in Canada is that there is not enough of it. We can see this by looking at prices and rents, but also by …
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
"a form-based zoning framework is a reasonable and measured solution to allowing more types of housing, while still not letting developers build whatever they want. It still has clear and defined guidelines, but it's just a little more permissive than before." 5/5
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
"If you're a homeowner you have seen rising property values and insulation from housing instability. Yes homelessness is increasing ..., but a homeowner may not feel the effects of that quite as acutely. My generation, however, will have to bear the brunt of the costs of this shortage." 4/5
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Highlights from Ibrahim’s delegation: ".. Ontario ... has set up on online tracker for housing supply progress. So I took a look at it and found that Cambridge isn't even close to its targets." www.ontario.ca/page/trackin... 3/5
ontario.ca
Tracking housing supply progress
Find out how many new homes have been started toward Ontario’s housing goals.
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Per the Record: “Instead of focusing on what kind of building it is, the city will now focus on a building’s size and where it is built. This is called form-based zoning. The city is also cutting down the number of residential zones from 16 to just four.” www.therecord.com/news/waterlo... 2/5
therecord.com
Cambridge updates zoning bylaw in the nick of time
The updated bylaw changes how homes can be built in the city and is meant to make it easier to build different types of housing, not just dingle-detached homes.
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Congrats to Cambridge (South Galt) resident Ibrahim Tahir on his first delegation! He made a thoughtful (and nuanced) case for more housing that will hopefully be enabled by Cambridge passing the form-based zoning bylaw. youtu.be/Cjh0JLVD1Yg?... 1/5
youtu.be
Council Meeting - February 3, 2026
YouTube video by City of Cambridge
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Jacob Loo Dawang @jacobdawang.com · 14/01/2026
Thanks to @theglobeandmail.com for featuring Edmonton and my data! The magic of density is amazing in just how many homes can be built with few properties. #yeg #yegcc www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
On the first point, Edmonton shows that a lot of housing can be added without directly affecting very many properties. Here we are indebted to housing advocate Jacob Dawang, whose data crunching revealed how few Edmonton properties needed to become multiplexes to create many homes.

Mr. Dawang shows that of approximately 80,000 residential properties in Edmonton's established neighbourhoods, 310 were issued multiplex permits. These developments would total about 2,300 homes. The City of Edmonton confirmed these figures.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Kitchener's heritage committee has decided to investigate preservation protections for a parking garage. What are some of its highlights outside of its "advanced concrete engineering", you ask? "A report on the garage also notes... it was used in the filming of an Audi car commercial in 2008."
therecord.com
Kitchener’s spiral garage: Heritage gem or Brutalist eyesore?
Is a distinctive Kitchener parking garage with a spiralling ramp a heritage gem or a Brutalist eyesore?
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Melissa Bowman @dtkmelissa.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
"Under the proposed bylaw, more housing would be permitted as of right, meaning fewer developments would require zoning amendments, public meetings or council votes." Yes to this! #CambCouncil
Text: “Our current system is complex, restrictive and a barrier to housing,” Cooper said, explaining that most residential properties currently only allow single detached homes unless the owner can afford costly planning applications.

A new approach would help small property owners and non-profits, not just large developers, Cooper noted.
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Melissa Bowman @dtkmelissa.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
"Heritage Conservation Districts are powerful planning tools that must be applied selectively. When used across a large and evolving urban area, they can unintentionally discourage reinvestment, add regulatory burden, and limit the kind of redevelopment a downtown needs to remain vibrant."
mailchi.mp
Serious Concerns Regarding Proposed Galt Core Heritage Conservation District
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Next, we must do the work to actually house the people in encampments. That means investing in housing from every level of government that can- Regional, Provincial and Federal. 4/4 static1.squarespace.com/static/5f6b5...
static1.squarespace.com
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Such evictions only push people further from their support networks that are crucial for their health and ability to find housing. 3/4 www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...
therecord.com
Eviction equals harm to encampment residents, community members say
Death and injury a risk if Victoria encampment eviction goes ahead, outreach workers say
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
This is not the solution to homelessness. However, it is a necessary step towards allowing those that we have failed to house the basic right of sheltering themselves without eviction when not nearly enough adequate housing exists. 2/4
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
We support this petition for the Region of Waterloo to adopt a Public Camping Bylaw that would allow for multiple encampment sites for unsheltered people. For more legitimacy: Expand the signature box to include a postal code. Click on it. Add a valid postal code 1/4 www.change.org/p/demand-wat...
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Stan Oklobdzija @stano.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
New housing lowers rents.
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Melissa Bowman @dtkmelissa.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Why? Why do we do this to ourselves? This just feels like a waste of everybody's time. Why on earth do we think we need neighbours to weigh in on this?! Just build it already. www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...
Text: Residents had their first chance to weigh in on a proposal to replace a fire-damaged Kitchener duplex with a new four-unit building.
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Very much looking forward to this talk in DTK tonight at 6 with some excellent co-panelists. We'll be talking about Social Development Goals (no poverty or hunger). I'll talk about how addressing our high housing costs is necessary to end poverty.-- Martin events.sdgideafactory.ca/default/Deta...
events.sdgideafactory.ca
SDG Talks: No Poverty & Zero Hunger
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm How can we build a future where no one is left behind? Join us for a powerful evening exploring the goals of SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). ...
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Jens von Bergmann @jensvb.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Idle thought, we all understand that dense urban infill improves the net lifecycle balance of infrastructure costs. So why do we charge high development fees on this kind of infill?
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Navneet Alang @navneetalang.com · 21/11/2025
For the Star, I make the case for the condo/apartment as aspirational -- that the Canadian dream can also be an apartment in a dense neighbourhood and not, as is so often the case in this country, be taken to only ever mean a detached house. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Navneet Alang: Condos get a bad rap. Here’s why they should be part of the Canadian dream
My parents bought their first home for 11,000 pounds (approximately $20,000) in 1974. It was an ordinary small row house on a dour street in East London. Now, more than
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Fantastic piece that avoids naivete while offering a needed defense of condo living in the national discourse. The preening condescencion from comfortably housed progressives in Canada about "shoebox" living is often insuffocating, and presumptuous about the choices they think people should make.
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Michael Druker 🇨🇦 @mdruker.app · 15/11/2025
Despite planning dogma, “stable residential neighbourhoods” aren’t
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Andrew @andrewjd.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Yesterday I sat for a lecture by 3 folks from ReHousing. Hosted by UofT's school of Arch, they detailed the history of change in Toronto, how post-war suburbs rubber-stamped neighbourhoods as repetitive as a 100 floor condo does today, horizontally, & how for half a century we've seen near no change
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Yeah, it does seem familiar, unfortunately. Looks like an interesting piece.
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Kitchener's Draft Official Plan is up for you to comment on! www.engagewr.ca/kitchener2051 For background, we made some preliminary comments on what we would like to see in an Official Plan- back in February last year- static1.squarespace.com/static/5f6b5...
engagewr.ca
Kitchener 2051
Help write Kitchener's new Official Plan. Share your voice. Shape our city.
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Melissa Bowman @dtkmelissa.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
"The convenience and choices cars provide can’t be denied, but cars also take priority over people all the time. We’ve structured our entire approach to housing around the needs of cars. In many cases, if a development can’t accommodate enough parking spaces, it can’t be built at all." -Philip Mills
therecord.com
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Anyone concerned with encampment evictions in Cambridge and the lack of shelter space (despite denials) should follow @reganbrusse.bsky.social's work here: www.mymothernamedmesunshine.ca?fbclid=IwY2x...
mymothernamedmesunshine.ca
Welcome!
Where our Federal and Provincial aids hold gaps, we must persist. Where our local government needs time to change, we must loudly be patient. Loudly, so they feel our support for change. Loudly so th...
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
For real though, the stage 3 Waterloo route would connect the 4 largest growth areas outside Uptown. The only thing is it would be ludicrous to not rezone the Boardwalk for mixed use, because it's actually the perfect candidate for retrofitting sprawl* *it's ludicrous we haven't done it yet period
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Sorry, we won't have Carolyn Whitzman herself, but our group will be discussing her book in downtown Kitchener. Are you interested in that?
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
We'll be discussing @cwhitzman.bsky.social's book Home Truths on November 23rd, 2pm, downtown Kitchener. DM us for the address if you'd like to join this book club!
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
link here: www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/about/...
scotiabank.com
Canadian Housing Affordability Hurts
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
This would be a substantial, but very worthy, investment in affordable housing. See our full piece here: static1.squarespace.com/static/5f6b5...
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
To do this, housing experts @cwhitzman.bsky.social and Priya Perwani call for the creation of “at least 4.4 million affordable homes" to meet the target of 20 percent of our housing stock being affordable. maytree.com/publications...
maytree.com
Scaling up affordable housing through a ‘Build Canada Homes’ proposal
With a $40B annual investment, "Build Canada Homes" could deliver 200,000 non-market housing units annually – 40% of federal targets – by partnering with non-market developers and retaining government...
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Housing formerly homeless people with supports and without pre-conditions significantly improves their life outcomes, even to the point that it leads to reduced costs to other areas of government. www.kansascityfed.org/documents/87... mentalhealthcommission.ca/what-we-do/a...
kansascityfed.org
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
We have a long way to go. A 2023 Scotiabank report found that if Canada were to double the social housing proportion of its housing market, this would merely take us to the rich country average. www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/about/...
scotiabank.com
Page Not Found | Scotiabank
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
With the federal budget introduced on November 4, it’s worth highlighting the opportunity Canada has to significantly increase its social housing stock through Build Canada Homes. This can help us end homelessness. 1/5
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
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Open New York @opennewyork.org · 30/10/2025
New housing stops landlords from raising rents—take it from the CEO of AvalonBay, one of NYC's largest landlords: "We're well-positioned… we face significantly less new supply. Land entitled for multifamily is hard to come by, the amount of time it takes to get those entitlements… sets us up well.”
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Melissa Bowman @dtkmelissa.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
PSA: Stacked townhomes, rowhouses, apartments, and yes, even 'towers' are RESIDENTIAL. #HousingForAll
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
We've seen opposition to immigration due to housing affordability, and it's important to push back as housing advocates ourselves- immigration is an important source of broader opportunity in an unequal world. We can't be for removing barriers to housing while pushing for + barriers to citizenship
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
You can sign the @migrantrightsca.bsky.social petition on Bill C-12 here: migrantrights.ca/actionslist/... 6/6
migrantrights.ca
Stop Bill C-12 - Migrant Rights Network
Send an Email Now! Bill C-12 is a cruel and violent law that aims to create a mass deportation machine: One-Year Refugee Deadline: Bill C-12 blocks anyone in Canada over one year from claiming refugee...
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
We are not full. While people congregate in cities for the opportunities they provide, we have space for more if we are willing to make room 5/6 Our full piece: static1.squarespace.com/static/5f6b5...
static1.squarespace.com
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Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard @wryimby.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Anyone who supports immigration but opposes more housing needs to grapple with the contradiction inherent in these two positions. Anytime you oppose multi-residential housing developments, you make it harder to convince other Canadians that we are not ‘‘full”. 4/6
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