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thesidewalkballet.bsky.social
Frank Murphy 🇺🇦 🇮🇪 🇨🇦
@thesidewalkballet.bsky.social

#Cities
⚪The economy of cities
⚪The short block street grid
⚪3mph urban design...

#architecture #urbandesign #books #LFC https://nanaimocommons.blogspot.com/

"Three cheers for the dogged persistence and mysterious vitality of diversity.” #JaneJacobs
Pinned
E&N train station. #ycd #sketchup
The front page.
November 23, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Building Blocks. The Rise of the Neighbourhood in Canada 1880s–2020s, R. Harris. Messy Cities: Why We Can’t Plan Everything, edited by @dylanreid.bsky.social, Zahra Ebrahim, Leslie Woo, @johnlorinc.bsky.social

@fabulavancouver.bsky.social @reviewcanada.bsky.social
reviewcanada.ca/magazine/202...
Building Blocks | Literary Review of Canada
Frances Bula reviews “The Rise of the Neighbourhoodin Canada, 1880s–2020s” by Richard Harris and “Messy Cities,” edited by Dylan Reid, et al.
reviewcanada.ca
November 21, 2025 at 12:46 AM
California Has a Legal Clause for Housing That Could Put NIMBYs in a Corner.

For years the state has been nudging its cities to build housing to address a severe shortage. Maybe what they needed was a shove.​

Gift article. @conordougherty.bsky.social @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/b...
The Housing Strategy That Has California NIMBYs in a Corner
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:45 PM
In Madrid, the metro system will dispatch special subway trains open only to visiting fans, picking them up and whisking them to the stadium – "a test of logistics complicated by the need to herd people whose capacity to follow instructions tends to be hampered by beer and loud singing."
November 18, 2025 at 6:44 PM
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The winners of the top architectural awards in British Columbia have been announced.
AFBC Architectural Awards of Excellence winners announced
The winners of the top architectural awards in British Columbia have been announced.
www.canadianarchitect.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:26 PM
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I spoke to Mahmood Mamdani about his new book, his expulsion from Uganda, his son Zohran, and *that* NYT article.
Mahmood Mamdani on Zohran, Uganda and forced expulsion: ‘Who is part of the nation and who is not?’
After being expelled from his homeland in 1972, the academic has grappled with questions of political belonging – a major theme of his son’s mayoral campaign
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
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Episode #217: The Economics of Podcasts

Hosts @adamtooze.bsky.social and Cameron Abadi discuss the economics of podcasts, a multibillion-dollar industry: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
The Economics of Podcasts
Podcast Episode · Ones and Tooze · 11/14/2025 · 50m
podcasts.apple.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:18 PM
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The corruption scandal rocking Ukrainian politics is bad. The timing - as Russian troops enter Pokrovsk, and the energy grid buckles under the strain of attacks - is even worse.

My analysis
Corruption scandal in Ukraine raises fears the West will abandon it to its fate
Alleged mastermind of the scheme is a close associate of Zelensky
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:37 PM
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Episode #216: Venezuela

U.S. President Donald Trump is contemplating military action against Venezuela. Hosts @adamtooze.bsky.social and Cameron Abadi discuss: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...
Venezuela
Podcast Episode · Ones and Tooze · 11/07/2025 · 43m
podcasts.apple.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:59 PM
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‘This select­ion of almost two hundred images, displayed as small or medium-sized black and white prints, draws attention to the camera’s ambiguous role in representing popular movements that sought to challenge power.’

Daniel Trilling on Steve McQueen’s ‘Resistance’
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Daniel Trilling · At Modern Two: Protest Photography
Although the events depicted in Resistance are familiar territory for an exhibition concerned with social history –...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 5:10 PM
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MVVA will create design guidelines that shape the long-term transformation of this future Toronto landmark.
MVVA selected as winner of YZD Runway Roadmap
MVVA will create design guidelines that shape the long-term transformation of this future Toronto landmark.
www.canadianarchitect.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:34 PM
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Great piece that argues, Less playable art, more everyday play
November 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Caixa Forum.
Paseo del Prado, Madrid. Architects Herzog & de Meuron.
November 13, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Dorchester Square: In the Midst of the Fray

Architects unearth layers of history under one of Canada’s oldest cities while renovating a small downtown plot in the heart of Montreal, where Quebec's modern social debates play out to this day. @cbcgem.bsky.social
gem.cbc.ca/absolutely-c...
Dorchester Square: In the Midst of the Fray | Absolutely Canadian | CBC Gem
Absolutely Canadian is a national one-hour series showcasing documentaries and performance programs that tell unique stories from communities across Canada. All programs are produced locally.
gem.cbc.ca
November 13, 2025 at 4:28 AM
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Trump attacks Brutalism (again): the people movers were part of the original Saarinen design washingtonian.com/2016/11/21/m...

Bonus excerpt from the Eames film "The Expanding Airport" about them
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL-m...
A Trump nominee to the advisory board overseeing Dulles International Airport plans to push for an end to its signature “people movers,” saying the shuttles that drew headlines this week for a crash that hospitalized 18 people are outdated and dangerous.
Trump airport nominee wants to eliminate Dulles ‘people movers’
The unique shuttles, which have been in operation since 1962, have been blamed for delays and accidents. A White House official Tuesday called them “notorious.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:17 PM
If You Know Frank Lloyd Wright, You Should Know Marion Mahony Griffin - ​ @dwell.bsky.social www.dwell.com/article/mari...
If You Know Frank Lloyd Wright, You Should Know Marion Mahony Griffin
Though underrecognized during her lifetime, the unsung architect played a key role in shaping the more famous architect’s work.
www.dwell.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:38 PM
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“Lack of zoning does not mean that land use…is unregulated; instead, it means that property owners get to conceive and enforce many of the most important rules through covenants written into deeds.” —Samuel Stein
Reshaping the City | Samuel Stein
What does zoning reform have the power to change?
www.nybooks.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:06 PM
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They killed Sesame Street! An excellent column from Shawn Micallef about countering small-minded Nimbys.
I would like convenience stores in my neighbourhood (four have closed in the past five years.) Maybe you'd like interesting retail and cafes too. We have to make our voices heard.
November 10, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Walter Benjamin, Berlin Childhood. Circa 1900.
November 11, 2025 at 5:52 PM
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My latest for the @nytimes.com --- A wave of small and midsize cities are betting on stadiums anchoring mixed-use development as engines of growth. But the mixed-use ambitions often fade or slow once the games start. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/r...
Can Soccer Stadiums Revitalize American Cities?
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:09 PM
November 10, 2025 at 10:06 PM
"The widespread practice of allowing cars to ‘turn right on red’ at intersections is unthinkable in cities that want to invite people to walk and bicycle.” It is banned in the Netherlands. — Jan Gehl #WalkableCity
November 10, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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The redevelopment aims to modernize Lansdowne Park into a more accessible hub for both the City’s residents and visitors. But Ottawa architect and writer Toon Dreesen asks: is this the right approach?
Op-ed: A look at the many risks of Lansdowne 2.0
What happens if, in 17 years, we have no profits, no sports team, and no plans for maintenance?
www.canadianarchitect.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:05 PM