Charles Montgomery

YouTube video by William for Vancouver My name is William Azaroff and I'm seeking the mayoral nomination with OneCity

Nonprofit housing leader @wazaroff.bsky.social joins #Vancouver mayoral race, shooting for @onecityvan.bsky.social nomination: youtu.be/2MTf7QmcEpc?...

Divergent patterns of engagement with partisan and low-quality news across seven social media platforms | PNAS In recent years, social media has become increasingly fragmented, as platforms evolve and new alternatives emerge. Yet most research studies a sing...

On EVERY platform, low-quality, partisan news posts tend to get more engagement than high-quality news posts. So we all need to look in the mirror.

The study:
Divergent patterns of engagement with partisan and low-quality news across seven social media platforms www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Man goes for joyride on Hamilton bus, passengers still on board Police say the incident unfolded around 9 p.m. on Nov. 11, when a bus driver pulled into the McNab Bus Terminal.

Man steals a bus...then continues to pick up and drop off passengers like a responsible bus driver.

There's just something about public transit...
toronto.citynews.ca/2025/11/12/h...

Brussels’ Pedestrian Zone Is So Crowded It’s Restricting Bikes The Pietonnier’s popularity has led to frequent clashes between walkers and riders.

A new kind of spatial conflict.

Brussels will work it out, but this story shows that when we make awesome and safe non-motorized spaces, people really do show up.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Heyyyyyy, so excited to dive into Life After Cars by the team at @thewaroncars.bsky.social !

Car dependence is not inevitable. We built this hell and, together, we can fix it.

Congratulations @sarahgoldhagen.bsky.social @douggordon.bsky.social @naparstek.bsky.social

What a Mamdani-Style Agenda Could Look Like in Metro Vancouver What it would take—financially, politically, and institutionally—for Metro Vancouver to match New York’s new progressive vision

What a Mamdani-Style Agenda Could Look Like in Metro Vancouver.

I devoured this insightful read from @khelsilem.bsky.social

Lots for urbanists to debate here.

open.substack.com/pub/khelsile...

A Housing Complex Designed to Tackle Loneliness Wins Britain’s Best Building The Royal Institute of British Architects’ Stirling Prize goes to a London senior housing project that uses social space to tackle isolation among older adults.

Britain's best new building is a machine for building social relationships.

This project reflects so much of our work on social wellbeing in housing. Help people connect with neighbours AND the wider community

Bravo!

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Oceanfront swimming platform coming to North Vancouver in 2027 | CBC News The City of North Vancouver is set to build a floating swimming platform along its waterfront that will feature a salt water pool, swimming lanes and lounging areas by 2027.

Happy news from what is arguably becoming Metro Vancouver’s best City: an ocean swimming platform!

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Mariahilferstrasse

Mariahilferstrasse Vienna. Now the highest grossing street in Austria

What a 1970s Commune in Arizona Got Right About Desert Urbanism Architect Paolo Soleri’s experimental city, Arcosanti, was planned for 5,000 people; 50 years later, it holds just a fraction of that figure. But it still has lessons for living in extreme heat.

Just a lovely, thoughtful essay about Arcosanti and its desert legacies:

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Imagine what this happy city hero could achieve at the national level.🥳

There’s a Better Way to Win on Traffic Safety Backlash has undercut the success of 30km/hour speed limits. New research finds that a less controversial policy can be more effective in slowing cars.

If we really want safe, vibrant streets, we should focus on design rather than just lower speed limits. neat new work from Carlo Ratti's team: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

That feeling when the Governor signs your bill allowing more homes near public transit & you then walk from your 39-unit apartment building to get on the subway.

Housing + transit = perfect combo

How Build Canada Homes can go beyond affordability — Happy Cities What Canada can learn from non-market housing communities about social connection, health, and belonging.

Canada is spending millions on an ambitious affordable housing program.

If we design right, we can solve the affordability crisis and the social disconnection crisis at the same time!

Crucial lessons from @happycities.com for Minister @gregorrobertson.bsky.social

happycities.com/blog/afforda...

OpenAI’s new social video app will let you deepfake your friends Make a cameo appearance in someone else’s AI video.

OK so OpenAI is making "personal deepfakes" a feature of its TikTok competitor.

www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

Urbanistas ecuatorianos!

Estaré pasando unos días en Quito en diciembre. ¿Hay algún urbanismo transformador o vivienda colectiva que realmente deba ver?

Zahra Ebrahim: Messy Cities Does everything in a city need to be perfectly planned? Or can spontaneous solutions help cities thrive? Come hear renowned urbanist Zahra Ebrahim discuss her new co-edited book Messy Cities. She wil...

Vancouver! Monumental urbanist and Messy Cities co-author @Zahra Ebrahim will speak at the VPL with @fabulavancouver.bsky.social Oct 14. It's going to be a cracker.
vpl.bibliocommons.com/events/68b20...

YouTube video by Hugh Malkin We built a bike lane!

Neighbors built a protected bike lane between two Atlanta schools for just $10,000. Awesome! youtu.be/vMZ98Dre_Us?... via @YouTube

Trump Cancels Trail, Bike-Lane Grants Deemed ‘Hostile’ to Cars The Trump administration canceled grants for street safety measures, pedestrian trails and bike lanes in communities around the country this month, each time offering a simple rationale for yanking ba...

Get ready for more road deaths, America.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Hey Vancouver urbanists, what do you know about new mayoral candidate Rebecca Bligh?

Imagine turning a detached home into a 6-story micro tower.

I know so many friend groups who dreamed of living this way over the years.

With zoning changes, design accommodations and single staircase rules, they could have it.

I Am Once Again Asking You To Use A Balanced, Evidence-Focused Follow-Up Cutting through Russian disinformation with thirteen extra words

Russian disinformation gets recycled and spewed out by chatbots.

Expert says: if you want better answers you have to follow up and ask the chatbot for evidence.

How many ppl will do that?

@holden open.substack.com/pub/mikecaul...

if i write another book this probably needs to be the cover (Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press)

🛎️ Google.com Nears Sunset Plus: AI’s “Inbreeding” Problem, Eat the Bottom Tier

Google search is being replaced by AI chat. This means few people will click through to websites that do actual journalism. Google will scoop up ad dollars. Quality will keep sliding.

Me, I pay subscriptions for high quality journalism to avoid AI slop.

aisecret.us/google-com-n...

Bluesky now platform of choice for science community It’s not just you. Survey says: “Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky”…

While Twitter was once the platform of choice for a majority of science communicators, those same people have since abandoned it in droves. And of the alternatives available, Bluesky seems to be their new platform of choice.

Opinion | Disney and the Decline of America’s Middle Class

To understand America’s searing class divide, visit Disney World.

This story will break your heart.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/o...

The One Fix for Every Boring City Why Your City Is Bad, And How To Make It Better

Why is your city so damn boring, and how can you fix it?
@cobylefco suggests you start with more narrow streets and buildings. Quick read: open.substack.com/pub/building...

Scientist exposes anti-wind groups as oil-funded. Now they want to silence him. A report shows how fossil-funded legal groups file bogus lawsuits and spread disinfo about wind - then those lawyers threatened the authors.

'Fossil fuel companies have developed and funded a complicated network of fake public interest groups, politicians and lawyers to oppose wind power by spreading disinformation. Legal firms have also received fossil fuel funding to sue wind projects out of existence.
electrek.co/2025/08/25/s...

CityLab University: Understanding Homelessness in America As economic disruption threatens to trigger a spike in housing instability, here’s an essential primer on the causes and consequences of a thorny urban problem.

It's a good time to remember what actually causes homelessness.

A top cause: lack of affordable housing.

Not a top cause: character flaws among unhoused people.

More analysis in this older Bloomberg story: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

We Need a Reality Check on Crime, Safety and Transit Despite common assumptions, traveling by bus, subway or train is far safer than driving. How can transit agencies correct misinformation about the real risks?

Yes, it's still much safer to ride the bus than it is to drive.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...