Geoff

A reminder you can hire me to take pictures and they are usually pretty swell.

Hear me out: elevated bike highways everywhere. Shade for the pedestrians below, zippy routes around the city for the bikes. No more debates about bus lanes or bike lanes. Do Kingsway first. Cost? What cost? Numbers are meaningless.

A vibrant arts scene doesn't start at the Orpheum – it starts in small DIY venues that are all too often at the margins. Today we're announcing Backstage Pass: our Arts & Culture Action Plan to legalize small venues, protect spaces at risk & take the politics out of arts funding decisions. 1/7🧵

"It was a tin-can telephone of boyhood where we shared a common admiration for unlikely heroes who embodied everything we had dreamt of being since we were little: they were all brave." heytherescottie.substack.com/p/we-need-mo...

For as long as I’ve been a reporter in this city the complaint has been that we build too many giant luxury condos in a few places and not enough medium density housing across neighbourhoods. But this week reaffirmed why that approach is so baked into the DNA and political culture of Vancouver.

Vancouver’s Villages plan isn’t even the bare minimum we need and still there’s people lining up to take it down. Good for my home equity, terrible for our city. What’s more important?

@jwhiteyvr.bsky.social why are we still rationing out homes in the villages plan? www.sightline.org/2025/07/28/o...

Vancouver is the final boss at HOA‘s.

New piece at the Globe and Mail! Despite their reputation, young people aren't more spendthrift than past generations. They drink less, they smoke less, they spend less on clothes, and housing takes up an increasing amount of their income. Read here:

Canada coach Jesse Marsch (who is from the US) said this last year: "Canada is a strong, independent nation that's deeply rooted in decency, and it's a place that values high ethics and respect, unlike the polarized, disrespectful and often now, hate-fueled climate that's in the U.S."

I love seeing the real effects of safe bike infrastructure. Every time we visit my wife’s family in holland, she transforms back into a cyclist. Maybe one day that’s all the time.

If existing players keep retreating from EVs, we should do everything in our power to support a major Canadian EV maker, or failing that, encourage Chinese manufacturing in Canada.

Hey, a mayor who gets it.

Quarterly reminder my day job is making you look good and talk pretty. Need a creative consultant who can do the work? Give me a ring!

Funny how the Chinese government forces JVs on any new entrants, and Chinese companies are less enthusiastic about it. Someone will take the conditions, there are 20 other large automakers in China and many are desperate for new markets.

Ken Sim won’t be defeated by posts, polls, or prayers. He’ll be defeated in a vote. That takes conviction in a single progressive candidate who can unify this city.

Be glad that your strata is boring and occasionally takes too long to respond to your emails.

Evo is doing unlimited 15 minute trips on weekdays between 10-3pm until the end of the month. I imagine the cars aren’t well used during that time and it’s an attempt to either shift behaviour, or shift cars, which cluster during the rush hour.

It's not complicated.

An interesting theory of political backlash to change. Last sentence is important.

Vancouver downzoned most of the city under TEAM in the 70’s.

Always gold.

Things I'd do if I was rich: I'd go to Norway (a place that builds with lots of wood) and find some well spoken, burly firefighter and pay them to do a tour of North America's firehalls, explaining why single stair egress is fine. Coalition building is hard, but we gotta do it.

Our neighbourhood would go bonkers for a block party. We have 500-600 children at our door every year. The neighbourhood has relatively narrow sidewalks, and a little more breathing space would be so welcome.

A wonderful vision of what the future could bring in Vancouver.

In a healthy housing market, pre-sales would sell for less than existing stock. More policy should think about how to achieve that.