By Dylan Reid
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REID: The beginning of the end for rush hour curb lanes?
One of the distinctive and ubiquitous characteristics of main streets in the older parts of Toronto is the rush hour curb lane. For two or four hours a...
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REID: Spotting (and reviving?) the neighbourhood corner commercial building
Like so many people during the current pandemic lockdown, I’ve started to get to know my neighbourhood much more closely on daily walks for exercise...
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REID: The secret small-town urbanism of TV Christmas movies
At first glance, the made-for-TV Christmas movies that have come to dominate the holiday season on certain channels – and recently, Netflix – are...
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REID: Do you have a personal rule for appreciating Toronto as you travel?
A couple of weeks ago I was travelling on the subway between the east side and downtown when, as I always do, I looked up and out over the Don Valley as...
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REID: Embedding municipal government in the constitution
Premier Doug Ford’s sudden and arbitrary interference in the 2018 Toronto municipal election – and the preliminary court decision that allowed him to...
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REID: On Public Etiquette
It’s not a coincidence that words for people who understand good etiquette – polite, urbane – are related to classical words for cities (Greek polis...
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REID: Yes, the City could plow local sidewalks in the old city
The City of Toronto plows snow from local sidewalks in most of the city, but not in a “no-plow” zone that encompasses the oldest and most...
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REID: Pedestrian buttons 2 – the rise of the audible signal
Four years ago, I wrote a piece explaining the different kinds of pedestrian buttons and how they work. The piece was in response to the introduction of...
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REID: Why ranked ballots are good for the city but not the country
In this year’s Ontario municipal elections, London was the first city to elect its leaders through ranked ballots, while referendums in Kingston and...
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REID: Heritage beyond a building’s walls
Hidden in the Distillery District, behind the unremarkable door of 36 Distillery Lane, is a staircase-museum. The simple stairway, necessary as an...
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REID: Ward councils for Toronto?
In the wake of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s mid-election decree shrinking Toronto City Council from a planned 47 councillors to just 25, there has been...
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REID: How do we improve cities without causing displacement? Discussion from the Salzburg Global Seminar
As demand for urban living continues to increase, how do we make our cities better without triggering displacement of low and middle-income people who...