Kyle Spaans

When I'm driving:

I ❤️ traffic Said no one ever More people biking, walking and using transit

benefits.

Via @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social

Locations of new homes built in Switzerland in 2018

Country-wide effects of new housing supply: Evidence from moving chains, by Lukas Hauck and Frederic Kluser

Another new paper on housebuilding and vacancy chains, this time with data on every Swiss resident & housing unit! An interesting context given Switzerland's high immigration, very large rented sector and strong tenancy rent controls... frederickluser.github.io/files/Moving...

I will believe that Canadian governments are actually serious about our prosperity and role in the world when they start funding our universities at an actually effective level rather than constantly cutting them.

Congrats to Edmonton for retaining the 8-unit limit on infill housing developments instead of reducing it to 6 units!

It’s the backtracking proposal that was covered in this video.

Black Public Joy by Jay Pitter | Penguin Random House Canada From one of North America’s most influential public space experts comes a powerful treatise celebrating Black people’s audacious, complex, and universally embraced public joy expressions.

The book is, in part, a call to renew civic systems and public spaces… and a timely counterpoint to some of the many challenges faced by cities and communities in the 21st century.

For more info, or to get your copy: bit.ly/3ZhTJE8

Happy Friday!

Lots of folks in tech are looking for work right now, so here's a thread of some tech for good (or at least, hopefully not explicitly evil) roles I found around the web.

It looks like one of the ways Toronto reduced its operating budget for 2026 was to eliminate capital costs from the operating budget. If true would be a good thing. Used to be ~$200M as "Transfers from Capital".

See eg engineering.

Bar graph showing the effective tax rate and estimated tax rate necessary to cover costs across Halifax's polling districts. Most would need ti increase taxes, districts 7, 8 and 9 could lower them and still cover costs.

Our elected representatives are spending a non-trivial amount if today figuring out how to reduce services and increase the relative tax burden of Districts 7, 8, and 9.

The "dense zoning" is being filled with non-Canadian invaders. Thats why. Canada is for Canadians. If the invaders aren't expelled peacefully by law, expect unprecedented violence. Life in prison for the orchestrators is the kind option.

Average Canadian housing discourse

The great thing about February is that it has only 28 days, unlike January which had 10,000

New zoning bylaw that could reshape city passes unanimously at council | CBC News Ottawa city council passed a sweeping overhaul of zoning rules on Wednesday, capping off a years-long process that’s supposed to make it easier to build housing in the city.

Ottawa, Canada’s capital & 4th largest city (1.1 m residents) just passed a substantial zoning reform that:
—Allows 4-unit buildings on lots citywide
—Increases allowed heights to 6 or 9 stories (& up to 30) on major transit corridors
—Eliminates most parking requirements
—Allows home based retail

commitment to the bit!

Episode 106: Mortgage Lending Standards with Kevin Erdmann (Incentives Series pt. 8) - UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies We built too much housing in the mid-2000s, right? Kevin Erdmann says no, explaining how this misunderstanding is at the root of unaffordability today.

Today on UCLA Housing Voice, I talk with @kevinerdmann.bsky.social about about the mid-2000s housing market pre-crash, resulting changes in federal mortgage lending standards, and their catastrophic effects on homeownership, rental affordability, and production. www.lewis.ucla.edu/2026/01/21/1...

Bien sûr, au lieu de trouver des moyens de réduire l'emballage de leurs produits, les fabricants veulent refiler la facture aux consommatrices et consommateurs 🤷🏻‍♀️

♻️

Si seulement le Gouvernement n'avait pas tabletté le projet pilote de caméras à bord des autobus scolaires... 🤦🏻‍♀️

#sécuritéroutière #visionzéro #polqc

Live in Toronto! Patreon Presale. | The War on Cars Get more from The War on Cars on Patreon

Toronto! We're coming to the modern birthplace of The War on Cars to rally the troops in their fight against Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Presale tix are available right now for our Patreon members as well as supporters of @cycletoronto.bsky.social. Sign up to get the promo code. This one will be big!

Matt Elliott: Olivia Chow’s low tax hike budget shows she’s skilled at ‘bare knuckle’ politics. There’s just one problem The new city budget shows that Mayor Olivia Chow is making sure she isn’t giving any gifts to her likely opponents in the coming mayor’s race.

"the transportation department’s budget shows that the percentage of local roads in decent condition is projected to fall from more than 70 per cent today to less than 50 per cent by 2035." Time for a municipal parking or vehicle registration tax for road maintenance. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

'Hogwash': Ford downplays speed camera effect as Toronto traffic fatalities hit record low in 2025 In 2025, Toronto’s streets were the safest in over a decade but not everyone is convinced that speed cameras were largely responsible

"Toronto doubled its number of speed cameras from 75 to 150 last year, a measure that studies show did change driving habits. By the end of 2025, the city saw its fewest fatalities and serious injuries since the beginning of the Vision Zero program."

Congestion pricing after one year: How life has changed. How life has changed in the New York area, according to data on traffic, transit and the responses of 600 readers.

Toronto is generally allergic to data when it comes to traffic planning, but the NYC congestion pricing experiment has basically been a slam dunk: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This is exactly what I mean. Every single day Canada picks and chooses when international law applies and when we can safely ignore it. Pretending otherwise is willful ignorance.

It's actually important that, to the extent you are able, you stop using oil

Today is Homeless Persons' Memorial Day.

As unhoused people are brutalized, criminalized, and vilified nationwide—and with so much invested in obscuring the root causes of homelessness—it's important to be clear: people are homeless because they have been deprived of housing they can afford.

Inflation is making homelessness worse Rising housing costs, combined with persistent inflation for basic necessities like gas and food, have left more Americans newly homeless and millions more fearing they’ll soon lose their homes.

Thinking today about this sentence:

"Every $100 increase in median rent is associated with a 9 percent increase in the estimated homelessness rate, according to a 2020 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office."

YouTube video by Oh The Urbanity! Not Just Bikes vs. Montreal (Two Years Later)

@ohtheurbanity.bsky.social Shows us the importance of showcasing how much our cities are regularly changing for the better. 🚲🚶🚌

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eDq...

I feel as though there should be a law that says if Pierre Poilievre gets defenestrated as CPC leader in January then he has to move to Battle River—Crowfoot and live there until the next election because I think this would teach everyone involved an invaluable lesson about shenanigans.

YouTube video by The Urbanist Agenda Podcast How to Actually Improve a City (w/Brent Toderian)

NEW/LISTEN! Been REALLY looking forward to this one — my interview with Jason from #NotJustBikes IS LIVE on many podcast platforms plus YouTube! We cover a LOT of really important ground on how to ACTUALLY ACHIEVE BETTER CITIES IN REAL PRACTICE! I’m looking forward to your thoughts and comments!

a church and parking graphic One of these places is considered holy ground & untouchable that must be protected at all costs and only discussed with the utmost reverence - the other is a church.

Reverence

The port has existed in its current form since the 1970's. The Peninsula had its peak population in 1956.

If congestion and movement of people and goods are being impacted today, the only cause is the number of cars on the road. the only solution is to reduce the count.

Can speed cameras make streets safer? Quasi-experimental evidence from New York City | PNAS Each year, approximately 40,000 people die in vehicle collisions in the United States, generating $340 billion in economic costs. To make roads saf...

Our new study provides rare causal evidence about NYC’s speed camera program. We find large reductions in collisions (30%) and injuries (16%) near intersections with cameras. www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... @astagoff.bsky.social ky.social @brendenbeck.bsky.social nbeck.bsky.social 🧪