Stefan Novakovic
@novakovicto.bsky.social
Writer + Editor | Architecture + Cities | Toronto + Elsewhere
Pinned
Multiculturalism Shapes Canadian Life. Does it Shape our Architecture? — EXPO the magazine
As the country’s diverse, multi-ethnic population now finds proud expression in arts and culture, the built environment stands at the precipice of a quiet evolution.
www.expothemagazine.com
"Multiculturalism Shapes Canadian Life. Does it Shape our Architecture?" Read the inaugural essay in my new monthly series of Canadian architecture criticism — EXPO. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
A chart I just want to bring to every housing conversation in the city of Toronto. H/T to @jensvb.bsky.social
February 18, 2026 at 2:44 PM
A chart I just want to bring to every housing conversation in the city of Toronto. H/T to @jensvb.bsky.social
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Many people in South Africa, where Elon is from, died to create a genuinely multiracial polity. They were killed by people who thought like Elon.
The people who thought like Elon also lost. Seems their “common culture” of white supremacy wasn’t enough.
bsky.app/profile/alan...
The people who thought like Elon also lost. Seems their “common culture” of white supremacy wasn’t enough.
bsky.app/profile/alan...
1/3 What Musk is really referring to here is, of course “race” - that construct that served to define the hierarchies of wealth & power structured by modern colonialism. Like other far right racists though, he uses the word “culture” as a seemingly less pernicious synonym.
February 15, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Many people in South Africa, where Elon is from, died to create a genuinely multiracial polity. They were killed by people who thought like Elon.
The people who thought like Elon also lost. Seems their “common culture” of white supremacy wasn’t enough.
bsky.app/profile/alan...
The people who thought like Elon also lost. Seems their “common culture” of white supremacy wasn’t enough.
bsky.app/profile/alan...
I can’t believe we’re already circling back around to the Bilbao Effect…
Call me sceptical that “Instagram-worthy hotspots” are what make a city great
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toron...
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toron...
The lesson from Sydney’s fish market
Canadian cities need more wow-factor attractions
www.theglobeandmail.com
February 15, 2026 at 2:24 PM
I can’t believe we’re already circling back around to the Bilbao Effect…
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
📢 @brenttoderian.bsky.social
Rubbing digital shoulders w/ @mbonsma.bsky.social @novakovicto.bsky.social @ianwalker.bsky.social @jaypitter.bsky.social @sgoodyear.bsky.social @davidzipper.bsky.social @modacitylife.com @tomflood.bsky.social @jasonthorne.bsky.social & @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social !✊🏾
Rubbing digital shoulders w/ @mbonsma.bsky.social @novakovicto.bsky.social @ianwalker.bsky.social @jaypitter.bsky.social @sgoodyear.bsky.social @davidzipper.bsky.social @modacitylife.com @tomflood.bsky.social @jasonthorne.bsky.social & @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social !✊🏾
I don’t know how many people join Bluesky each day, but my sense is that more & more people are discovering the outstanding community/conversation here (best on social media) about better cities. I still think STARTER PACKS are a superpower. I’ve made many, but here’s my first again. Please share.
February 11, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
We know gentle density can work; replace a single detached with a few townhomes, adding SDUs, even modest 4 st apartments that are well designed doesn’t alter the overall community, creates housing opportunities and sustainable #PlacesForPeople
@novakovicto.bsky.social
@alexbozikovic.bsky.social
@novakovicto.bsky.social
@alexbozikovic.bsky.social
A short-lived ‘experiment’ to densify housing on small sites in Croydon led to a boom in new homes and is now being touted as an example for other London boroughs, according to research by the think tank Centre for Cities
Short-lived Croydon policy led to infill housing boom, research shows
Short-lived Croydon policy led to infill housing boom, research shows
www.architectsjournal.co.uk
February 11, 2026 at 4:11 PM
We know gentle density can work; replace a single detached with a few townhomes, adding SDUs, even modest 4 st apartments that are well designed doesn’t alter the overall community, creates housing opportunities and sustainable #PlacesForPeople
@novakovicto.bsky.social
@alexbozikovic.bsky.social
@novakovicto.bsky.social
@alexbozikovic.bsky.social
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
that's riiight
Oh wow, congress making moves to support single stair and point access blocks
February 10, 2026 at 4:00 PM
that's riiight
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
February 11th of #BlackHistoryMonth in #TorontoDanforth Who were Lucie and Thornton Blackburn?
The Blackburns: Freedom seekers, entrepreneurs, anti-slavery activists and community benefactors and that was before they really got down to the business of transforming their new home of Toronto.
The Blackburns: Freedom seekers, entrepreneurs, anti-slavery activists and community benefactors and that was before they really got down to the business of transforming their new home of Toronto.
February 11, 2026 at 12:36 PM
February 11th of #BlackHistoryMonth in #TorontoDanforth Who were Lucie and Thornton Blackburn?
The Blackburns: Freedom seekers, entrepreneurs, anti-slavery activists and community benefactors and that was before they really got down to the business of transforming their new home of Toronto.
The Blackburns: Freedom seekers, entrepreneurs, anti-slavery activists and community benefactors and that was before they really got down to the business of transforming their new home of Toronto.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Important job alert! Toronto’s City Planning Division is looking for a new Director of Urban Design. If you have a passion for cities and for the importance of architecture, urban design, art and heritage in successful city-building, you should check out our job posting at tinyurl.com/3e8s3br8
February 10, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Important job alert! Toronto’s City Planning Division is looking for a new Director of Urban Design. If you have a passion for cities and for the importance of architecture, urban design, art and heritage in successful city-building, you should check out our job posting at tinyurl.com/3e8s3br8
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Reading that there are only 5 fulltime salaried books critics now bsky.app/profile/adam...
It's been a while since we did the architecture critic headcount but I think it is about the same
It's been a while since we did the architecture critic headcount but I think it is about the same
February 10, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Reading that there are only 5 fulltime salaried books critics now bsky.app/profile/adam...
It's been a while since we did the architecture critic headcount but I think it is about the same
It's been a while since we did the architecture critic headcount but I think it is about the same
A wonderful piece on how our ideas of self and society are always being made and unmade.
i wrote an essay about how people started treating me differently once i became a father, and how our social roles shift as we age:
okayfail.com/2026/the-rol...
okayfail.com/2026/the-rol...
The Roles We Play
A meditation on the shifting expectations society places on us, how our identity is a negotiation with our environment, and how our ideas of the world shape our reality.
okayfail.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:01 PM
A wonderful piece on how our ideas of self and society are always being made and unmade.
Excited to ride the Eglinton Crosstown LRT! First take: it’s a lot better (faster, more comfortable) underground than above ground. It gets way slower, and you’re stopped outside in freezing February with doors open. A subway underground, a streetcar above. 1 hr 7 min end to end for 19 km. Too slow.
February 8, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Excited to ride the Eglinton Crosstown LRT! First take: it’s a lot better (faster, more comfortable) underground than above ground. It gets way slower, and you’re stopped outside in freezing February with doors open. A subway underground, a streetcar above. 1 hr 7 min end to end for 19 km. Too slow.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Don’t let anybody tell you that developers won’t build single-stair buildings on larger sites. Three right in a row.
February 6, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Don’t let anybody tell you that developers won’t build single-stair buildings on larger sites. Three right in a row.
This is the “condo language” of Toronto architecture translated to an institutional setting. All the same moves — set backs, breaking up the massing, replicating the rhythm of varied storefronts at grade — in a different context. 1) It’s kind of forced. 2) That’s not what campuses feel like anyway.
Renderings of the new med school
wing @utoronto.ca, @mvrdv.bsky.social w @diamondschmitt.bsky.social.
wing @utoronto.ca, @mvrdv.bsky.social w @diamondschmitt.bsky.social.
February 5, 2026 at 6:09 PM
This is the “condo language” of Toronto architecture translated to an institutional setting. All the same moves — set backs, breaking up the massing, replicating the rhythm of varied storefronts at grade — in a different context. 1) It’s kind of forced. 2) That’s not what campuses feel like anyway.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
thanks for tip, excited to see, just subscribed. Great stuff @novakovicto.bsky.social & @jacquelineloch.bsky.social 💯.
I've appreciated related @spacing.bsky.social magazine for yrs, esp while unplanned staying in TO in Sept-Dec. Got stack of old issues at Spacing store!
bsky.app/profile/alex...
I've appreciated related @spacing.bsky.social magazine for yrs, esp while unplanned staying in TO in Sept-Dec. Got stack of old issues at Spacing store!
bsky.app/profile/alex...
. @novakovicto.bsky.social returns to the field with a new publication, Expo,
and an excellent essay on diversity in Canadian architefture. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
and an excellent essay on diversity in Canadian architefture. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Multiculturalism Shapes Canadian Life. Does it Shape our Architecture? — EXPO the magazine
As the country’s diverse, multi-ethnic population now finds proud expression in arts and culture, the built environment stands at the precipice of a quiet evolution.
www.expothemagazine.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:37 AM
thanks for tip, excited to see, just subscribed. Great stuff @novakovicto.bsky.social & @jacquelineloch.bsky.social 💯.
I've appreciated related @spacing.bsky.social magazine for yrs, esp while unplanned staying in TO in Sept-Dec. Got stack of old issues at Spacing store!
bsky.app/profile/alex...
I've appreciated related @spacing.bsky.social magazine for yrs, esp while unplanned staying in TO in Sept-Dec. Got stack of old issues at Spacing store!
bsky.app/profile/alex...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
. @novakovicto.bsky.social returns to the field with a new publication, Expo,
and an excellent essay on diversity in Canadian architefture. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
and an excellent essay on diversity in Canadian architefture. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Multiculturalism Shapes Canadian Life. Does it Shape our Architecture? — EXPO the magazine
As the country’s diverse, multi-ethnic population now finds proud expression in arts and culture, the built environment stands at the precipice of a quiet evolution.
www.expothemagazine.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:20 AM
. @novakovicto.bsky.social returns to the field with a new publication, Expo,
and an excellent essay on diversity in Canadian architefture. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
and an excellent essay on diversity in Canadian architefture. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Yes, we had a major snow event.
Yes, the city is triaging, and many sidewalks in particular still need work.
But it's been a week and arterial bikeways are remain unrideable and worse appear to be dumping grounds for snow-clearing.
What's the plan, Toronto?
www.torontotoday.ca/local/transp...
Yes, the city is triaging, and many sidewalks in particular still need work.
But it's been a week and arterial bikeways are remain unrideable and worse appear to be dumping grounds for snow-clearing.
What's the plan, Toronto?
www.torontotoday.ca/local/transp...
Toronto cyclists frustrated by snow-blocked bike lanes week after record storm
Biking advocate Michael Longfield of Cycle Toronto is calling on the city to communicate a clear plan for removing snow from bike lanes
www.torontotoday.ca
February 1, 2026 at 10:18 PM
Yes, we had a major snow event.
Yes, the city is triaging, and many sidewalks in particular still need work.
But it's been a week and arterial bikeways are remain unrideable and worse appear to be dumping grounds for snow-clearing.
What's the plan, Toronto?
www.torontotoday.ca/local/transp...
Yes, the city is triaging, and many sidewalks in particular still need work.
But it's been a week and arterial bikeways are remain unrideable and worse appear to be dumping grounds for snow-clearing.
What's the plan, Toronto?
www.torontotoday.ca/local/transp...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
We are all immigrants. Unless you came over on the Mayflower. I am an immigrant to Canada having grown up in the US. America was built by immigrants. Some people have forgotten that.
January 31, 2026 at 7:35 PM
We are all immigrants. Unless you came over on the Mayflower. I am an immigrant to Canada having grown up in the US. America was built by immigrants. Some people have forgotten that.
"Multiculturalism Shapes Canadian Life. Does it Shape our Architecture?" Read the inaugural essay in my new monthly series of Canadian architecture criticism — EXPO. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Multiculturalism Shapes Canadian Life. Does it Shape our Architecture? — EXPO the magazine
As the country’s diverse, multi-ethnic population now finds proud expression in arts and culture, the built environment stands at the precipice of a quiet evolution.
www.expothemagazine.com
January 31, 2026 at 11:11 PM
"Multiculturalism Shapes Canadian Life. Does it Shape our Architecture?" Read the inaugural essay in my new monthly series of Canadian architecture criticism — EXPO. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
An extraordinary paragraph. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
January 27, 2026 at 10:44 PM
An extraordinary paragraph. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
extremely wholesome scenes in my neighborhood (I bet in yours too): kids building snow forts, neighbors freeing each others' cars and sidewalks from ice. nice to get the opposite of the doomscroll in
January 26, 2026 at 10:53 PM
extremely wholesome scenes in my neighborhood (I bet in yours too): kids building snow forts, neighbors freeing each others' cars and sidewalks from ice. nice to get the opposite of the doomscroll in
Another entry in the proud North American tradition of clear roads and snowy sidewalks.
January 27, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Another entry in the proud North American tradition of clear roads and snowy sidewalks.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Been in Minneapolis the past week ish. Here are some photos I took while I was here.
January 24, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Been in Minneapolis the past week ish. Here are some photos I took while I was here.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
I'm sorry to pile onto Finch West LRT further, but 350 delays in December is wild, considering it was only scheduled for 392 operating hours in December; that's nearly 1 delay per hour - and that ignores the hours it was supposed to be running but wasn't!
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Toronto's new Finch West LRT experienced 350 delays in December, city data shows | CBC News
Toronto’s new Finch West LRT line experienced 350 delays in December, city data shows.
www.cbc.ca
January 23, 2026 at 5:35 AM
I'm sorry to pile onto Finch West LRT further, but 350 delays in December is wild, considering it was only scheduled for 392 operating hours in December; that's nearly 1 delay per hour - and that ignores the hours it was supposed to be running but wasn't!
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Hotter, drier summers in the UK are shrinking clay-rich soil and destabilizing building foundations. "Well over a million London properties will be at risk of subsidence by 2030 as temperatures rise." Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Multimillion-Pound London Homes Hit by Sudden, Gaping Cracks
Londoners face a dangerous acceleration of subsidence risks, as record temperatures fueled by climate change destabilize the clay foundations on which most of the UK capital’s homes are built.
www.bloomberg.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Hotter, drier summers in the UK are shrinking clay-rich soil and destabilizing building foundations. "Well over a million London properties will be at risk of subsidence by 2030 as temperatures rise." Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
"Toronto doubled its number of speed cameras from 75 to 150 last year, a measure that studies show did change driving habits. By the end of 2025, the city saw its fewest fatalities and serious injuries since the beginning of the Vision Zero program."
'Hogwash': Ford downplays speed camera effect as Toronto traffic fatalities hit record low in 2025
In 2025, Toronto’s streets were the safest in over a decade but not everyone is convinced that speed cameras were largely responsible
buff.ly
January 12, 2026 at 12:15 PM
"Toronto doubled its number of speed cameras from 75 to 150 last year, a measure that studies show did change driving habits. By the end of 2025, the city saw its fewest fatalities and serious injuries since the beginning of the Vision Zero program."