Spacing National

At first glance, our house — or I should say, my landlord’s house — is a conventional Harbord Village home. On a quick walk, you’d notice little difference between our three-story semi-detached and the one next door. Yet the same square footage allotted to me and my seven housemates is shared by a retired coupleContinue reading "Hidden Density in Harbord Village: Notes from a Rooming House" The post Hidden Density in Harbord Village: Notes from a Rooming House appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

Do landowners own the air space above their properties? “In the 1920s, property lawyers were puzzling over the aeronauts because air travel was just invented,” said Cameron Murray, an Australian economist visiting the University of British Columbia later this month. “If you fly over someone’s house, are you trespassing?” The Latin expression Cuius est solum, eiusContinue reading "Upzoning Shouldn’t Be Given for Free, Says Economist" The post Upzoning Shouldn’t Be Given for Free, Says Economist appeared first on Spacing Vancouver.

In 2005, Ontario passed the Accessibility of Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which made accessibility for all public establishments a legal requirement by 2025. That goal won’t be met, unfortunately. To tell us about the progress that was made because of the legislation, and what still needs to happen, we speak to AODA Alliance ChairContinue reading "PODCAST: Spacing Radio 076, Time’s running out for accessible Ontario" The post PODCAST: Spacing Radio 076, Time’s running out for accessible Ontario appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

Anyone who delves into the visual records related to Toronto’s twentieth-century social history is likely to come across photographs taken between 1910 and 1940 by the city’s first Official Photographer, Arthur Goss. His surviving glass plate negatives and original prints are now housed at the City of Toronto Archives. Over three decades, Goss employed aContinue reading "The Urban Photography of Arthur Goss, Part 1" The post The Urban Photography of Arthur Goss, Part 1 appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

Municipalities routinely make land-use decisions that can impact a community’s long-term livability and sustainability. These decisions can also have implications on local government costs and finances, municipal budgets, and property taxes. To better understand the costs and revenues associated with ‘urban’ vs. ‘sprawl’ forms of residential development in Metro Vancouver, the regional district recently completedContinue reading "Municipal Infrastructure Costs For Housing—Highs and Lows" The post Municipal Infrastructure Costs For Housing—Highs and Lows appeared first on Spacing Vancouver.

With the Toronto budget about to be voted on shortly, we talk to crisis worker and homelessness advocate Diana Chan McNally about what the City needs to invest to help refugees and other unhoused people, whey the federal government needs to step up, and why the police don’t need another big budget increase. And, asContinue reading "PODCAST: Spacing Radio 075, What does change cost?" The post PODCAST: Spacing Radio 075, What does change cost? appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

Governments across Canada have an apparently bottomless appetite for foreign buyers’ taxes, a mild and very Canuck form of policy racism that begins with the premise that people from away are driving up the price of residential real estate hereabouts. This trend started in British Columbia — which had an actual problem with money launderingContinue reading "LORINC: Why is Toronto obsessed with taxing foreigners who buy real estate?" The post LORINC: Why is Toronto obsessed with taxing foreigners who buy real estate? appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

In 2019, Canada adopted the National Housing Strategy Act, which commits all governments in Canada to “progressive realization of the right to adequate housing,” with an emphasis on “improving housing outcomes for those in greatest need.” But many recent mid-way evaluations of the current National Housing Strategy make clear that all levels of government —Continue reading "Tools to address the affordable housing crisis facing Canada" The post Tools to address the affordable housing crisis facing Canada appeared first on Spacing National.

Let’s not talk about candidates and the horse race, just for a fleeting moment. The end of the John Tory era, which came to a screeching halt at about 8:40pm on Friday evening, is, of course, a calamity for the individuals involved. It’s a hot mess for a guy who promised to end the politics […] The post LORINC: Seizing the opportunity of Tory’s resignation appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

It feels like matters of policing, never far from view, have hung particularly heavily over the city’s business in this past month — an arc that began early in the new year with Mayor John Tory’s $50 million house-warming present for the new police chief, extends to the city’s ham-fisted response to violence on the […] The post LORINC: The Sad State of Police Governance in Tory’s Toronto appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

What is residential density and why is it so confusing? Residential density is critical to urban planning. It refers to the number of people living in a specific area and is significant because it helps us understand how densely populated an area is. It’s also very controversial. In certain folks, increasing density evokes fear about […] The post S101S – Understanding Residential Density: Why is it so Confusing? appeared first on Spacing Vancouver.

Toronto’s journey towards urban renewal could witness a new stage unfold with plans to transform overlooked areas beneath the Gardiner Expressway between Dufferin and the Don Valley Parkway. The Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan is a transformative vision seeking to reclaim and enliven this unique area of the city. With its focus on community building, arts […] The post Reimagining under the Gardiner appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

How safe is the TTC? Notwithstanding a media narrative that is solidifying faster than quick drying cement, the quick answer to this question is: very. According to the latest CEO’s report, the rate of offences against customers in January was just under two in 1-million boardings, and that number had been more or less the […] The post LORINC: How safe is the TTC? appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

Can anyone who pays attention to City Hall say they didn’t see this one coming? The latest news from the budget committee’s deliberations is that the City’s proposed fees for CafeTO may be high enough to kill off the popular program. The pilot-now-permanent-but-soon-to-be-DOA program had been operating in a state of fee-free bliss for these […] The post LORINC: The taxing discussion about a parking tax appeared first on Spacing Toronto.

With the launch of the annual budget slam dance, at the beginning of a new term of city council, on this, the 25th anniversary of amalgamation, it seems like as good a time as any to pose a timeless question to our municipal leaders: What have you done for us lately? On its face, plenty. […] The post LORINC: How to expedite affordable housing during a crisis appeared first on Spacing Toronto.