NBD--just a work colleague on a #CHASE2026 talking about innovative planning!

And I think that's what they actually want to determine: not "did you take the GO for love" but "did Oakville hand you a bus ticket and tell you Hamilton would sort it out?"

There were some very good arguments made against the motion. Cllr. @cameronkroetsch.bsky.social made sure the debate stayed grounded - the typical bussed-in arguments were still anecdote-based.

You move to #HamOnt for love. Three weeks in, it turns violent. You have no one here and no way back. Hamilton council just voted 13-3 to study whether you'd even qualify for emergency shelter.

Today Hamilton council voted 13-3 to explore residency requirements for homelessness services. Emergency shelter is not a local amenity for residents only. By definition, people in crisis don't get to choose where their crisis happens.

Hamilton's infrastructure problems aren't bad luck. They're the compounded cost of repeatedly asking "do we really need to do this now?" Main St, the LRT delays, the RHVP - same pattern, different street. The $28.5M isn't extravagant. It's the bill for not acting sooner.

Every time Hamilton moves to fix major infrastructure, the same question gets asked: "But is it really that bad?" That question has a track record. It's why Main St. needed emergency interim fixes in the first place. Deferral isn't prudence. It's how you manufacture future crises.

Main Street is already safer. Why are we still spending $28.5 million to fix it? City collision numbers say Main isn’t as dangerous as some would suggest yet we’re about to spend $28.5 million to alter it

"Collisions dropped, so why redesign Main St?" B/c a road can produce fewer crashes while still being fundamentally hostile to pedestrians, cyclists and local business. Safety stats measure outcomes. Street design determines the conditions that produce them. #HamOnt

www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...

As a forty-something year-old, I would agree. That said, if I had spent more time on a basketball court in my younger years, maybe I wouldn't be so concerned with back pain now.

Council Quote of the Week (nothing will top this)

Gage Park basketball court scheduled to be build by 2051.

They will be age 41 in 2051, noted two teenagers to City Council, adding that will probably be more concerned about back pain than playing basketball by the time the court is built. #yhmcc

Let’s transform the heart of the Village into a walkable, car-free space! 🏳️‍🌈🚶‍♂️

We're proposing to pedestrianize Church St (Wellesley to Alexander) from June 19 - Aug 21 to celebrate The 519's 50th & our Cultural District.

Help make it happen! Sign here: ExperienceTheVillage.ca

Was he wearing polyester?

Fast fashion staples like Walmart, Old Navy, even Banana Republic and Levis, are about to get a lot more expensive.

That $10 t-shirt was never really a $10 t-shirt.

What’s interesting here is how the risk stacks.

Fast fashion isn’t just exposed to supply chain shocks - it’s multiple layers of the system failing at once: materials, geography, and logistics.

That’s what we’re watching happen now.

www.vogue.com/article/unde...

**bookmarks**

Hey, Bsky! A quick reminder to follow our Canadian Urbanism starter pack if you haven't found your community yet.

go.bsky.app/J7qtzqT

And public servants arguing the City's case back to them can be one of those problems, however it could just as well be the CoA, the interpretation of the policy, and whatever else may be coming down the pipeline that everyone needs to react to.

The friction people are reacting to isn't coming from a single actor; it’s the friction between layers interacting.

If we want better outcomes, we need to be more precise about where the bottlenecks actually are. "Planning is the problem" is a compelling narrative, but it's not a precise diagnosis.

But JM's argument collapses very different roles into one: planners, elected officials, and committees of adjustment. In practice, planners are trying to enable housing within political direction, regulatory frameworks, and market constraints.

Reading the full article, I still come back to the same issue: it’s treating planning as a single actor, when in practice it's a system with multiple decision-makers and constraints. Some of the frustration is valid. It IS hard to get housing approved and built!

‘A great relief’: Downtown Hamilton church gets green light for commercial parking lot Philpott Memorial Church says revenues will go toward outreach ministries in the core.

I tell you, this is a good news story for #HamOnt. While wE DoN't nEeD aNotHEr paRKiNg LOt in the downtown core, we do need to help ailing congregations with massive footprints figure out their next steps - this gives Philpott time to do that.

www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...

Headlight survey! Survey on headlights! Questions on car light too bright! Car make too light much bright car light!

Sorry, got excited. Transport Canada is collecting opinions on road user experiences with headlights that are too bright.

tc.canada.ca/en/corporate...

This feels like a pretty cynical read of planning.

In practice, planners spend a lot of time trying to enable supply within political, regulatory, and market constraints, not preserve scarcity.

Screenshot of a Committee of Adjustment meeting showing a zoning by-law presentation slide outlining general intent and policy considerations, with a presenter speaking in a video window on the right.

Update: The CoA has approved the conversion of the Philpott Memorial Church parking area to a commercial parking lot.

I wasn’t kidding—I wanted to see how this was handled, and I think the Church and Bousfields made a fantastic, impassioned pitch on both community need and the technical merits.

I'm excited for this one! We're hosting a Build Canada Homes webinar in April. 👇🏼

It states: "Everyone even a hair left of where the city’s right-wing establishments wants to move the local Overton Window to will be labelled a “radical”, an “extremist”, a “leftist activist”, or worse."

There you have it, folks. Sounds like it will be another boxing match this election.

This is quote from @chriserl.ca's excellent @theincline.email, which I relish reading every time he sends one out. There's a new one today! 1/2

Link: theincline.email/p/on-the-rad...

Moderator Sandra Longden, and panelists Adrian McInerney, Natalie Porcaro-Clermont, Michelle Diplock and Sarah Cipkar.

Michelle Diplock and Sarah Cipkar seated on stage during a panel discussion at the Cornerstone housing symposium, speaking into microphones with a colorful conference backdrop behind them.

Presentation slide displayed at a housing symposium showing speakers.

Bea and Michelle smiling for a selfie at the Cornerstone housing symposium, wearing conference badges in a large event space.

Attended the Cornerstone Housing Symposium yesterday — lots of discussion around ADUs, gentle density, and where the market might be heading next.

Great to see Michelle Diplock on the afternoon panel.

A mix of optimism about activity picking up and real concerns about delivery and affordability.