Eric Lombardi

Improving digital experiences for Toronto’s government isn’t a glamorous issue.

But if done well, it reduces service costs, improves access and transparency (for citizens and businesses alike), and leads to more innovation and public trust.

Great memo in @buildtoronto.com today! Check it out!

Toronto's digital services are stuck in the past – a patchwork of portals, paper forms, and outdated processes.

From paying taxes to renewing permits, residents face a maze of separate logins, different formats, or long wait times.

It's not that boomers are any more nimby than any other generation, it's that they have more time than any other generation to spend on opposing housing.

Just look at the nimbys of a new rental project downtown Toronto, or 5 new single-family homes in Aurora - lots of abundance in grey hairs.

Old Toronto Must Grow to Relieve the Suburbs Toronto’s inner core must grow. Pre-war suburbs have lost population since 1970, and 3.5-storey reforms and multiplex permissions aren’t enough to make redevelopment viable.

Read more on @buildtoronto.com

buildtoronto.com/memos/old-to...

3️⃣ An Urbanization Infrastructure Fund would support local services — financing targeted upgrades and offsetting development charges so growth pays for itself.

📌 Bold goal: Establish the Urbanization Zone — with modernized rules and infrastructure support — by 2027

The condo market is crashing. Here’s how we keep building as prices fall For years, restrictive zoning made the midrise apartment impossible. That fight isn’t over, but it is no longer the biggest obstacle. Beyond high development taxes, the emerging barrier today is

2️⃣ Modernized building code rules would apply only in the zone — piloting safe, efficient standards like single-egress stairwells and compact European elevators (as I recently wrote in the Toronto Star:

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

This zone as proposed would be bounded by Keele, Eglinton, Victoria Park, and the lake. Within this zone:

1️⃣ Six-storey apartments would be legal by default — a scale that makes redevelopment viable.

To fix this, Toronto must deliberately urbanize its inner suburban neighbourhoods — gradually, sustainably, and at human scale.

The memo proposes a pilot Urbanization Zone across Old Toronto’s pre-war suburbs, piggybacking on the concept of “Special Economic Zones” intro’d by the province.

This imbalance leaves the wrong places carrying the load: towers in post-war suburbs and the 905, while the old suburbs at the city’s heart remain frozen in time.

To fix this, Toronto must deliberately urbanize its inner suburban neighbourhoods — gradually, sustainably, and at human scale.

Toronto is growing fast, but most of that growth is concentrated in downtown towers, new high-rise clusters, and sprawl on the edge of the region.

Meanwhile, many of the neighbourhoods closest to the core have actually lost population since 1970.

Housing has always been at the center of my civic work, through @MoreNeighbours and my writing.

So of course, my first memo for @build_toronto is housing related:

OLD TORONTO MUST GROW TO RELIEVE THE SUBURBS.

- - - 🌆 🏗️👇- - -

Toronto cannot keep relying on downtown towers and suburban sprawl while the old suburbs closest to the core remain frozen in time. These inner neighbourhoods – with the best transit, schools, and infrastructure – have actually lost population since 1970.

Thank you :)

Congratulations Eric! We’ll be watching with interest from Calgary. We may not be a big city yet but we are growing fast and can certainly learn from one.

Build Toronto 🏗️🇨🇦 Build the Toronto you know is possible

This was also my first (of hopefully many) attempts at a walk & talk. Let me know if you like this format!

And if you are interested, please get involved and join our Launch Event on October 16th.

More details at buildtoronto.com

🌆🏗️ BIG NEWS🚀

I am thrilled to take on a new (volunteer) role as Chair of @build_toronto, the first municipal project of @build_canada

We’ll be working with civic & business leaders to push for ideas that improve governance, growth, prosperity, and opportunity in Toronto.

(Vid cut to 3M)

Build Toronto 🏗️🇨🇦 Build the Toronto you know is possible

Toronto has the talent, energy, and openness to lead. What we’ve been missing is urgency. Build Toronto is here to help change that.

👉 Sign up for updates on our website buildtoronto.com

We are equally proud to welcome @ericlombardi.bsky.social as Chair. Eric is a civic leader and housing advocate whose work with @moreneighboursto.bsky.social has made him one of the city’s strongest voices for change.

🚀 Announcing Build Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s largest city, its economic engine, and its greatest opportunity. If Toronto thrives, Canada thrives. But we all know the city faces deep challenges: unaffordable housing, strained infrastructure, governance gridlock, and a lack of urgency.

The condo market is crashing. Here’s how we keep building as prices fall For years, restrictive zoning made the midrise apartment impossible. That fight isn’t over, but it is no longer the biggest obstacle. Beyond high development taxes, the emerging barrier today is

Just in time for Single Stair Summer!

We support the two main calls from @ericlombardi.bsky.social to unlock in 2- and 3-BR units the same price drops we're seeing in condos:

1) Single stair buildings up to 6 storeys.

2) European elevators up to 10 storeys.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

The condo market is crashing. Here’s how we keep building as prices fall For years, restrictive zoning made the midrise apartment impossible. That fight isn’t over, but it is no longer the biggest obstacle. Beyond high development taxes, the emerging barrier today is

@ericlombardi.bsky.social of More Neighbours Toronto’s got an op-ed titled: “The condo market is crashing. Here’s how we keep building as prices fall.” The answer is to bring down hard costs to make projects viable at lower prices. Single-stair, elevator, European standards – time for code reform!

People keep saying this of Toronto YIMBYs and MNTO specifically, but it’s actually not true.

Eric Lombardi: Our politicians want you to forget about Canada’s biggest socioeconomic challenge. Yes, it’s still housing When it comes to Canada’s failures, all roads lead back to housing

Latest piece by @ericlombardi.bsky.social at @thehubcanada.bsky.social:

“Our politicians want you to forget about Canada’s biggest socioeconomic challenge. Yes, it’s still housing”

thehub.ca/2025/07/18/e...

Eric Lombardi: Our politicians want you to forget about Canada’s biggest socioeconomic challenge. Yes, it’s still housing When it comes to Canada’s failures, all roads lead back to housing

STANDING OVATION for @ericlombardi.bsky.social in @thehubcanada.bsky.social 👏 👏 👏 🙌 🎉 Rarely do we see something so well articulated with the nuance the topic deserves! This is a MUST READ! "When everyone says the right thing, but no one is willing to actually do the right thing."

Eric Lombardi: Our politicians want you to forget about Canada’s biggest socioeconomic challenge. Yes, it’s still housing When it comes to Canada’s failures, all roads lead back to housing

shorturl.at/evQIM

If you've not read this piece by @ericlombardi.bsky.social yet. He's to be credited for persuasively making the non-partisan case for more housing, via private market & gov't funded initiatives. Centrists, fiscal cons, socons, & soc-dems all have cause to agree with him.
#cdnpoli

Incredible new @chiosse.bsky.social video with @ilanaglazer.com on how New York became so unaffordable

More Neighbours Toronto is disappointed in City Council’s failure to legalize sixplexes across the City of Toronto. Mayor Olivia Chow should have shown clear leadership and stood up for this reform with the full spectrum of tools available to her.

1/3

Well this is awkward. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Carroll claimed that consultations were just virtual with "a couple of More Neighbours members" phoning in. Grossly false. North York members turned out for the in person consultation and others around the city. Hugely dismissive of the time and effort that our volunteers put in.

This is the exact type of situation explaining why former Mayor Tory wanted these powers.

If it comes down to it, the mayor will have a choice to show leadership - even with controversy - or acquiesce to the NIMBY status quo that has lead this city into the housing crisis to begin with. (3/3)