Jeff Rubin is someone who is influencing city planning considerably these days. The former CIBC chief economist lurks in the minds of planners as they contemplate his Peak Oil scenario. I’ve heard people in both Vancouver and Toronto say, for example, that one of the reasons to preserve industrial land close to central cities is […]
Entries from January 2016
Thinking about Jeff Rubin and his idea that peak oil will change our cities back into a small urban village
May 11th, 2012 · 75 Comments
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No-one named “director of planning” in new Vancouver re-org
May 10th, 2012 · 16 Comments
This out in the last few days from City of Vancouver general manager Penny Ballem. Your thoughts welcome on what this means, especially you, Brent Toderian. This follows on rumblings I’ve been hearing from here and there in the city about the higher-ups pondering not having a director, but a cluster of people heading up […]
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Province gives TransLink new powers to collect fine from fare evaders
May 7th, 2012 · 52 Comments
As the economic world goes to hell in a handbasket, we’re still obsessed here in B.C. with the idea that someone is riding a bus for free. To that end, Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom introduced new legislation today that will 1. Give TransLink new tools to go after fare evaders who are ticketed but don’t […]
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High end of Vancouver west-side real estate shows signs of weakening
May 7th, 2012 · 43 Comments
The party’s over. That’s what some realtors are quietly telling their west-side clients who were rosily dreaming of selling their shacks for $5 million. There’s been a slowdown in the higher end of real estate on the west side and, I suspect, a few other pockets as well that were attractive to a select group […]
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What would your mayor do to a reporter found standing somewhere near his/her personal residence?
May 2nd, 2012 · 31 Comments
Apparently Toronto Mayor Rob Ford charged towards the reporter screaming that he was spying on him, as per this story, now making the rounds on Twitter. Various reporters across Canada are already suggesting what their mayors would do in the same situation: offer lemonade; write a sharp letter to the editor if the reporter actually […]
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Vision council votes for bylaw to demand more liability insurance from oil tankers, oppose pipeline expansion
May 2nd, 2012 · 79 Comments
Listening to Vancouver councillors talk this morning about the security measures needed for oil tankers in the harbour, you would never know there’s actually a port authority already ensuring this. It was quite fascinating to listen to Kerry Jang say he doesn’t believe the current security measures, like having three tugs attached to any tanker, […]
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