The Urbanist Agenda

Canada's housing crisis is one of the worst in the world. But why? In this episode I talk to Mike Moffatt, Canadian economist and housing expert about what's going on in the Canadian housing market, as well as the common factors that are creating a housing crisis in almost every major city in the developed world.

The Missing Middle Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/@MissingMiddlePodcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-missing-middle-with-mike-moffatt-and-cara-stern/id1707954472

https://open.spotify.com/show/5USYeY0Z2sDp8uEfQ08EEq

Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes

Mike Moffatt: https://mikepmoffatt.medium.com/i-used-to-do-other-stuff-4b556eb2e8c6

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Trams are great. They create and enable some of the best urbanism around. And yet the streetcars in Toronto are slow and unreliable and painful to take. What is Toronto doing wrong, and what could other "streetcar" cities learn from their mistakes?

Financial capital of Canada pauses so streetcar driver can move tracks with big stick: https://www.thebeaverton.com/2016/06/financial-capital-of-canada-pauses-so-streetcar-driver-can-move-tracks-with-big-stick/

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Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes

RMTransit: https://youtube.com/@rmtransit

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What should you do when your city won't fix things, even after years of advocacy? The answer might be guerrilla urbanism, aka tactical urbanism. I talk to Bike Curious about the people who are tired of waiting, and just get things done by themselves. Is it legal? Well ... it's sometimes better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

Tactical urbanism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_urbanism

Explainer: Tactical Urbanism - https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2022/09/explainer-tactical-urbanism.49521

Tactical Urbanism: Short-Term Action for Long-Term Change - https://issuu.com/streetplanscollaborative/docs/tactical_urbanism

Manchester man draws penises around potholes so the city will fix them - https://www.theverge.com/2015/5/2/8535259/penis-pothole-activism-wanksy-england

Safe Street Rebel - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/

A Slower Safer Wiggle - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/blog/a-slower-safer-wiggle/

Safety Activists Close a Lane on Franklin - https://sf.streetsblog.org/2024/03/14/safety-activists-close-a-lane-on-franklin

City Wide Slow Rides - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/slow-rides/

People Protected Bike Lane (Polk) - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/polk/

Just A Minute (Valencia) - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/valencia/

Crosswalk Collective - https://crosswalksla.org/our-crosswalks.html

Guerrilla bus stop benches - https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/guerilla-bus-stop-benches-are-spurring-berkeley-officials-to-install-official-seating-for-transit-passengers/

Bike Curious: https://twitch.tv/bikecurious

Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes

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New York City was about to roll out congestion charging. The cameras were up, the staff were hired, the metro projects were financed, and thousands of people were lined up to make public transit better ... and then the governor cancelled it on vibes.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congestion_pricing_in_New_York_City
• https://thewaroncars.org/2024/06/07/kathy-hochuls-congestion-pricing-flip-flop-fiasco/
• https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/05/new-york-city-toll-hochul-democrats-00161930
• https://hellgatenyc.com/lawsuit-congestion-pricing-teachers/
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856409001256
• https://www.transportportal.se/SWoPEc/CTS2012-3.pdf
• https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2017/11/28/congestion-pricing-was-unpopular-in-stockholm-until-people-saw-it-in-action

The War on Cars: https://thewaroncars.org/

Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/notjustbikes

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Level boarding is simple enough: the floor of the train should be level with the platform. But it's not very common, is it? Why? And what can we do about it? Because once you learn the details of level boarding, you'll realise just how important it is.

The Campaign for Level Boarding: https://www.levelboarding.org.uk/

Passengers suffer serious injuries boarding Elizabeth line trains at west London station

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/elizabeth-line-ealing-broadway-bbc-transport-for-london-b1163562.html

Gareth Dennis: https://garethdennis.co.uk/

Rail Natter: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlPJmKp10F4pGqXgT3yg0sBEYSmvMnAWt

Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes

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When a bike lane was installed on Valencia Street in San Francisco, one business owner hated it so much he went on a hunger strike. Bike lanes are almost universally positive for business, so why do some business owners hate them so much? Jon from Bike Curious joins me to discuss.

San Francisco restaurant owner goes on 30-day hunger strike over new bike lane: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/18/san-francisco-bike-lane-hunger-strike/73359978007/

Advocates Punk SFMTA’s Valencia Bike Lane Clusterf*ck: https://sf.streetsblog.org/2023/07/21/advocates-punk-sfmtas-valencia-bike-lane-clusterfck

Why this Toronto restaurateur is giving city hall a big, icy middle finger: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.4494974/why-this-toronto-restaurateur-is-giving-city-hall-a-big-icy-middle-finger-1.4494981

Brent Todarian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brent-toderian-b1592b47_want-to-make-money-build-a-business-on-a-activity-7181396470825148418-f_D8

Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business | Parkdale (2016) and Danforth (2014): https://tcat.ca/resources/bike-lanes-on-street-parking-and-business-parkdale-danforth/

Business is Up on Bloor After Bike Lane, New Study Finds: https://tcat.ca/business-is-up-on-bloor-after-bike-lane-new-study-finds/

Measuring the Local Economic Impacts of Replacing On-Street Parking With Bike Lanes: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01944363.2019.1638816

Bloor Street West Bike Lane Pilot Project Evaluation: https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/8ef6-cycling-bloor-backgroundfile-107582.pdf

Bike Curious: https://twitch.tv/bikecurious

Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/notjustbikes

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As housing and transportation prices are skyrocketing around the developed world, Japan has remained (relatively) affordable. I talk to Greg from the YouTube channel Life Where I'm From about how Japan is different - from transportation to housing policy - and about what we can learn from Japanese cities.\

Relevant videos by Life Where I'm From:

• How an Average Family in Tokyo Can Buy a New Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGbC5j4pG9w
• Japanese Zoning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfm2xCKOCNk
• Tiny Buildings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6htrxbVN5PI
• Rich Neighbourhoods in Tokyo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MxspoxpC3w
• Japanese Shopping Streets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3jTamHd1Ow
• A Typical Tokyo Neighbourhood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TheOkz8oF_I
• Tokyo by Bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0x8EAf4GSg
• Japan's Housing for the Middle Class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ave4FiC2k8I

Life Where I'm From: https://youtube.com/@lifewhereimfrom

Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes

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For most of us, autonomous vehicles are this nebulous concept that might appear some time in our future, but there are other people living with this reality today - whether they like it or not. In this episode, I talk to Jon from the Twitch channel Bike Curious about what it's like to live in San Francisco, where autonomous vehicles are around you every single day and there's nothing you can do about it - except put a traffic cone on their hood.

Driverless car startup Cruise's no good, terrible year

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/30/1222083720/driverless-cars-gm-cruise-waymo-san-francisco-accidents

Driverless Car Gets Stuck in Wet Concrete in San Francisco

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/17/us/driverless-car-accident-sf.html

Waymo robotaxi accident with San Francisco cyclist draws regulatory review

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/driverless-waymo-car-hits-cyclist-san-francisco-causes-minor-scratches-2024-02-07/

Dead-End SF Street Plagued With Confused Waymo Cars Trying To Turn Around 'Every 5 Minutes'

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/dead-end-sf-street-plagued-with-confused-waymo-cars-trying-to-turn-around-every-5-minutes/

Cruise vehicle gets stuck in wet concrete while driving in San Francisco

https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/cruise-stuck-wet-concrete-sf-18297946.php

Bike Curious: https://twitch.tv/bikecurious

Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes

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Yup. Cars are REALLY expensive, and they're getting more expensive. And yet, most car owners seem completely oblivious to it.

• Canadians estimated to pay over $1,300 a month to own a car, report finds
• Car ownership cost me a LOT of money. I'm done. (YouTube)

RMTransit: https://youtube.com/@rmtransit

Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes

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Europe is known for its train networks, and the EU has been promoting trains as the preferred mode of travel. But the train networks are not functioning well, and it's not a coincidence that many EU countries are spending twice as much on roads than they do on rails.

• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/19/european-governments-railways-road-building-report-motorways-funding-rail
• https://www.railtech.com/infrastructure/2023/09/19/deutsche-bahn-and-german-government-launch-infrastructure-programme-on-unprecedented-scale/?gdpr=deny
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOzy1Ok58gI

Real Time History: https://www.youtube.com/@realtimehistory

Not Just Bikes: https://www.youtube.com/@notjustbikes

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