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Eugene McCann

Eugene McCann

@ejmccann.bsky.social

1.6K followers 730 following 460 posts

Geographer at Simon Fraser University. Policy mobilities; urban politics; harm reduction; social movements. Managing editor, EPC: Politics & Space (journals.sagepub.com/home/epc). Host, 'Minor Revisions' podcast (http://bit.ly/3suN9ur). Views my own. .. more

Political science 43%

Public Health 19%

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Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · Dec 31

Didn't introduce myself here. Maybe should since the Nov 24 follower influx. I'm a critical urban political geographer, studying how #socialmovement activists use space & place, locally & globally. I also study the politics of urban development & public space. Some things published in 23 & 24 🧵👇

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 1d

Getting ready to teach a course with The 99% Invisible City as the textbook for the third time. Now the students have the CliffsNotes I guess …

99% Invisible @99pi.org · 3d

We've decided to share a set of four of our favorite stories from the half decade– each of which corresponds to one of the four main chapters of The 99% Invisible City.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts 🎧

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 1d

Hopefully we'll have others in upcoming years.

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

So many possibilities

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

Never good when these two are conflated in your wiki bio.

Wikipedia section heading saying “Personal life and legal situations”

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

Lovely. HNY.

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

But the song is about home, really, isn't it? Home, music, mobility, loneliness, camaraderie, independence, geography, love. What's wrong with that?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ...

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

I wonder if my largely suburban students might: (a) react to the song (probably not well—2026 marks the fiftieth (50th!) anniversary of the original's release); & (b) recreate it for their own place and time in a class assignment. Many may be less enamoured by the car (many are transit geeks!). 👇

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

There are other themes in the song, not least speed and modernity (it's not for nothing that his band is the "Modern Lovers"). Richman himself, in the intro to the 73 live version ☝️, describes Roadrunner as "our geographical song." It's a good contender for the best geographical song ever. 👇

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

He loves the highway & being a 'roadrunner,' even tho it's not a popular opinion. Or, perhaps, because it's not popular. "Doesn't anyone love the highway?" he asks plaintively. This is a rhetorical question, because he sure does. Maybe listeners are inspired to love too ... the power of art. 👇

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

While suburban/exurban landscapes and cars are frequently associated with loneliness and anomie, Richman's song, once described as "the first punk song," counters received wisdom by expressing love for the highway, the neon, the industrial parks, the "suburban trees" that smell "like heaven". 👇

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

Then there's the car and its radio ... Essential to the experience & (maybe?) the geography ("... got the power of the AM, got the Radio On!"). The importance of music to his geography is also clear in the 'driving' rhythm of the Velvet Underground guitar riff (the band was his primary influence.) 👇

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

I'm no expert on the Massachusetts (never been to Needham!), but the song is so evocative (especially in the extended geographical narrative in the live versions) that it inspires an attachment and nostalgia for a never-experienced world ...👇

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

in which the art is inspired by the geography. The detail of the places & his love for them ("I'm in love with the land where I grew up," he sings), & the specificity of nighttime/darkness ("Hey kid's don't you love the dark?" he asks rhetorically in one version 👇).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bo_...

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers- Roadrunner Live 1973

YouTube video by 13jalopy

www.youtube.com

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 2d

Listening to the "Roadrunner Thrice" live version of his classic celebration of suburban Boston after preparing two urban geography courses, I'm reminded of, & struck by, Roadrunner as a great example of art as geographical narrative 👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCkW... (h/t @birmingham81.bsky.social)

Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner (Thrice) - extended live version HQ

YouTube video by Birmingham 81

www.youtube.com

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 3d

Saw this post this morning and assumed Jonathan Richman had died. Which would have been sad. But it's part of a longer thread celebrating his birthday. Which is nice! You take your good news however it comes these days.

"Faster miles an hour ..."

Birmingham 81 @birmingham81.bsky.social · May 16

Here's a playlist of seven great versions of Roadrunner going back to 1972. Roadrunner Thrice is a particular fave
youtube.com/playlist?lis...

And this article by @ladymissbarton.bsky.social about "rock's most thrilling song" is a fantastic read (THREAD)
👀 www.theguardian.com/music/2007/j...

Roadrunner - Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers - YouTube

Reposted by Eugene McCann

99% Invisible @99pi.org · 3d

We've decided to share a set of four of our favorite stories from the half decade– each of which corresponds to one of the four main chapters of The 99% Invisible City.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts 🎧

Reposted by Eugene McCann

𓉔𓅂𓃭𓃭𓅱 @burneraccount.bsky.social · 5d

Road map of #Canada

Road map of Canada

Reposted by Eugene McCann

Vision Zero Vancouver @visionzerovancouver.ca · 7d

Genuinely asking reporters to read our style guide, language makes a difference

visionzerovancouver.ca/media-style-...

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 7d

Always nice to have a "hey, I know them!" moment when reading the news ... well, nice as long as they're in the news for the right reasons like you! 😂

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 8d

Geographer ( @hesterparr.bsky.social ) & her great project in the news ... "The pioneering light boxes helping Orkney islanders avoid seasonal affective disorder."
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

The pioneering light boxes helping Orkney islanders avoid seasonal affective disorder

Wintering Well boxes to counter effects of low light on mental health are ‘super popular’, says island librarian

www.theguardian.com

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 9d

Further to the thread above on "impermaculture" as a business model for developers who are being paid by governments to land bank and who, in turn, are supporting an ancillary community garden and dog park industry, this ...
bsky.app/profile/cope... @seanorr.bsky.social

COPE: The Coalition of Progressive Electors @copevancouver.bsky.social · 9d

“Why are we rewarding these people sitting on this land?" - Councillor @seanorr.bsky.social

globalnews.ca/news/1159037...

#vanpoli

‘Simply a scam’: B.C. community gardens growing big tax breaks for developers | Globalnews.ca

The province, through BC Assessment, can reclassify land from Class 6 business use to Class 8 recreational property/non-profit organization use for community gardens or dog parks.

Reposted by Eugene McCann

COPE: The Coalition of Progressive Electors @copevancouver.bsky.social · 9d

“Why are we rewarding these people sitting on this land?" - Councillor @seanorr.bsky.social

globalnews.ca/news/1159037...

#vanpoli

‘Simply a scam’: B.C. community gardens growing big tax breaks for developers | Globalnews.ca

The province, through BC Assessment, can reclassify land from Class 6 business use to Class 8 recreational property/non-profit organization use for community gardens or dog parks.

Reposted by Margreet Zwarteveen, Jeremy J. Schmidt

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 10d

bsky.app/profile/ejmc...

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 10d

Be our colleague… Hiring an Assistant Prof of Urban Geography & Climate Crisis.

www.sfu.ca/geography/ab...

Assistant Professor of Urban Geography/Climate Crisis

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Margreet Zwarteveen, Jeremy J. Schmidt , and 1 more Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Margreet Zwarteveen, Jeremy J. Schmidt, Clark Gray

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 10d

In what could plausibly represent a Christmas miracle* SFU Geography has two (2) new tenure track hires. One is urban/climate, which I will repost below. The other is a Landscape Ecologist. Please share ... #academicsky

*actually just the good decisions of our new Dean
www.sfu.ca/geography/ab...

Assistant Professor of Landscape Ecology

Reposted by Margreet Zwarteveen, Katherine Brickell, Jeremy J. Schmidt

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 10d

Be our colleague… Hiring an Assistant Prof of Urban Geography & Climate Crisis.

www.sfu.ca/geography/ab...

Assistant Professor of Urban Geography/Climate Crisis

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Raúl Pacheco-Vega, Colin M. Coates , and 1 more Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Raúl Pacheco-Vega, Colin M. Coates, Eugene McCann

Steven High @stevenhigh.bsky.social · 10d

Instead of spending big money to recruit a few dozen academics from outside of Canada, I wish the Liberals invested in the outstanding talent coming out of our PhD programs. Postdocs could be extended (#, duration) for large numbers for the same price. It is top-down, headline seeking politics.

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 11d

I'll always be a proud son of Ufiesort, or whatever ...

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 11d

In Spring each year my geography course’s self-guided field trip drives a surge in SeaBus ridership but I don’t see the local media making a big bloody deal about that!

Vancouver Is Awesome @viawesome.bsky.social · 11d

Shipyards Christmas Market drives surge in SeaBus ridership

Shipyards Christmas Market drives surge in SeaBus ridership

TransLink increased sailings this past weekend to reduce wait times and crowding

Reposted by Eugene McCann

Vancouver Is Awesome @viawesome.bsky.social · 11d

Shipyards Christmas Market drives surge in SeaBus ridership

Shipyards Christmas Market drives surge in SeaBus ridership

TransLink increased sailings this past weekend to reduce wait times and crowding

Eugene McCann @ejmccann.bsky.social · 14d

The otter's still the goat tho
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Escaped goat lassoed by police after Wiltshire village rampage

The goat, which was attempting to eat oranges on Christmas wreaths, was eventually captured.