Politics
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When Local Planning Becomes Provincial Command: On Bill 13, Bill 15, and the End of Urban Democracy
In British Columbia, democracy is being redefined—not through elections or referendums, but through legislation with quiet names and sweeping...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Coriolis Effect, Part III: Reclaiming the Planner’s Toolkit
Parts I and Part II of The Coriolis Effect explored how market-aligned tools like the pro forma have subtly—but powerfully—steered urban planning in...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Coriolis Effect, Part II: Beyond the Spreadsheet
The Coriolis Effect, Part I went through a long gestation period as I humbly asked various people within the discipline for constructive feedback. I was...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Coriolis Effect, Part I: Planning by Spreadsheet
Just because there’s a number on it, it doesn’t mean that the number was arrived at properly…people gather statistics. People choose...
By Erick Villagomez -
Judge puts Ford back in his lane
Ontario superior court justice Paul Schabas this week granted an interim (“interlocutory”) injunction preventing Queen’s Park from...
By John Lorinc -
UCS #51: Careers in Vancouver
See our Launch and Introduction about the launch of the © Urban Cartoon Syndicate and the announcement by CityHallWatch. *** Related Readings:
By Urban Cartoon Syndicate -
UCS #50: Welcome to Jericho Water Park
See our Launch and Introduction about the launch of the © Urban Cartoon Syndicate and the announcement by CityHallWatch. *** Related Readings: Vancouver...
By Urban Cartoon Syndicate -
UCS #49: Vancouver Needs Hotels
See our Launch and Introduction about the launch of the © Urban Cartoon Syndicate and the announcement by CityHallWatch. *** Related Readings: Richard...
By Urban Cartoon Syndicate -
Cities are missing topic in the 2025 federal election campaign (UPDATE)
There’s nothing even the least bit surprising about the fact that cities, or urban affairs more generally, have had so little play in the federal...
By John Lorinc -
Minority Rules: A Retroactive By-Election Game
With Vancouver’s by-election behind us, the post-mortems have begun—and this one might be more fun than most. One thing was clear: voters wanted to send...
By Erick Villagomez -
Toronto in the 2025 Ontario election
Since the last Ontario provincial election in 2022, Toronto has been powerfully affected by the actions of Premier Doug Ford’s Conservative provincial...
By Dylan Reid -
Downtown in Transition: An Interview with Sean Bailey
As downtowns adapt to shifting work patterns and rising public expectations, planners and designers are being challenged to think beyond traditional...
By Erick Villagomez