Obama on housing: "We need to build more units, and clear out the outdated regulations that have made it hard to build." It's over for NIMBYs.

From Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau: "...[Obama] wanted this whole thing about how there's a lot of Democratic cities that have zoning laws and I was like we're not writing 'zoning laws' in the speech."

Toronto is sitting on billions of dollars of transit infrastructure already built — with all the disruption that goes along with transit expansion already behind us — yet chooses every day to waste it. Massive opportunity for a big potential gain.

Maxine Waters, one of the most respected politicians in California, literally just said "we need to deal with the NIMBYs" at the DNC breakfast, AND gave a shoutout to YIMBYs as the counterweight to them. Never been a better time to be part of this movement!

Another banger from Toronto Cycling and Pedestrian Projects

Look: Either you think it's good that it's illegal to build apartments, townhouses, and oftentimes even small lot single family homes or else you don't think it's bad. If you think it's bad, then join team YIMBY and also care about other things! x.com/matthewstoller…

pedestrianize john street yesterday

Alex Bozikovic Permanently pedestrianize: (1) John Street; (2) Yorkville; (3) Market street; (4) Ossington; (5) Geary; (6) Kensington Market; (7) Baldwin village; (8) Yonge street. It's wild that Toronto has no pedestrian streets.

The Economist just published a deeply-researched story about car bloat, and it's very, very damning: "For every life that the heaviest 1% of SUVs and trucks save, there are more than a dozen lives lost in other vehicles." Well worth your time: economist.com/interactive/un…

Church Street yearns to be pedestrianized too. People are always practically spilling onto the street anyways.

America has a killer-car problem. Its roads are nearly twice as dangerous as the rich-world average. It doesn’t have to be that way econ.st/4eaTYGq

US seeks new pedestrian safety rules aimed at increasingly massive SUVs and pickup trucks apnews.com/article/us-ped…

Its crazy how much energy Toronto puts into regulating privately held land- endless reviews and denials for someone who wants to build a basic apartment building- while at the same time we have the lowest standards for what we own together. Boring parks, poorly maintained.

This.

An organization that behaves like this cannot deliver good public space.

Forgiving Development Charges on rental and affordable rental homes would be a great way to get more rental and affordable rental homes built.