Damien Moule
@damienmoule.bsky.social
Toronto municipal policy wonk, engineer, urbanist, father.
Consider donating to effective charities: https://www.givewell.org/
Consider donating to effective charities: https://www.givewell.org/
Opposing a purpose built rental apartment on behalf of tenants. Or something.
November 27, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Opposing a purpose built rental apartment on behalf of tenants. Or something.
Every budget season you will see these charts from the TTC. A lot of people will look at this and say oh there's an enormous funding issue, our SOGR backlog is huge. I urge you to resist that thought. Go look up the projects list and the costs. Compare them to other (non-US) countries.
November 27, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Every budget season you will see these charts from the TTC. A lot of people will look at this and say oh there's an enormous funding issue, our SOGR backlog is huge. I urge you to resist that thought. Go look up the projects list and the costs. Compare them to other (non-US) countries.
Pie and YIMBYism. Yum.
November 26, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Pie and YIMBYism. Yum.
Well.. are we sure about that?
November 26, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Well.. are we sure about that?
A certain genre of housing article shows up every few months to argue for non-market housing and that's fine. But this is my PSA that the phrase "what kind of housing and for whom" is at this point a cliche that to me is a hallmark of bad analysis and I would avoid using it.
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 PM
A certain genre of housing article shows up every few months to argue for non-market housing and that's fine. But this is my PSA that the phrase "what kind of housing and for whom" is at this point a cliche that to me is a hallmark of bad analysis and I would avoid using it.
Here's his voting similarity for the 2nd Tory term. Basically lock step with McKelvie and Bailao (both now federal Liberals in one way or another). Combined with Liberal MP mom, I think it was fair to say he was starting as a conventional capital L Liberal.
November 25, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Here's his voting similarity for the 2nd Tory term. Basically lock step with McKelvie and Bailao (both now federal Liberals in one way or another). Combined with Liberal MP mom, I think it was fair to say he was starting as a conventional capital L Liberal.
I need a unified theory for why some Liberal affiliated politicians stay sane municipally (Matlow, Keesmat, Myers, McKelvie, etc.) and why some go full reactionary (those cited below but most especially Bradford and Kandavel).
November 25, 2025 at 6:57 PM
I need a unified theory for why some Liberal affiliated politicians stay sane municipally (Matlow, Keesmat, Myers, McKelvie, etc.) and why some go full reactionary (those cited below but most especially Bradford and Kandavel).
And right on schedule after we point to the enormous cost problems for TTC capital spending that all our politicians should be trying to address, the municipal right gives us... something completely pointless that would be so laughably unworkable I don't even know what to make of it.
November 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
And right on schedule after we point to the enormous cost problems for TTC capital spending that all our politicians should be trying to address, the municipal right gives us... something completely pointless that would be so laughably unworkable I don't even know what to make of it.
The estimated budget for the Waterfront East "LRT" (streetcar with tiny tunnelled section) is $2 billion?!?! Subway prices for 4km of streetcar. Glad we'll spend next year's municipal election talking about a made up crime surge.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
November 25, 2025 at 2:45 PM
The estimated budget for the Waterfront East "LRT" (streetcar with tiny tunnelled section) is $2 billion?!?! Subway prices for 4km of streetcar. Glad we'll spend next year's municipal election talking about a made up crime surge.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
When the online Toronto urban policy sphere is so small that you can instantly recognize the racist perennial failed municipal candidate and internet troll just from his first name.
November 23, 2025 at 10:07 PM
When the online Toronto urban policy sphere is so small that you can instantly recognize the racist perennial failed municipal candidate and internet troll just from his first name.
I'm worried that these homes currently for sale around Lawrence Plaza aren't affordable for the current residents, including the large senior population. Better get Mike Colle in here to ask that these developments be changed.
November 21, 2025 at 1:16 PM
I'm worried that these homes currently for sale around Lawrence Plaza aren't affordable for the current residents, including the large senior population. Better get Mike Colle in here to ask that these developments be changed.
He's worried about affordability.. so of course he wants far fewer units. Nope, no conceptual issues here at all.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/law...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/law...
November 21, 2025 at 12:53 PM
He's worried about affordability.. so of course he wants far fewer units. Nope, no conceptual issues here at all.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/law...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/law...
Mike Colle speed running NIMBY talking points around Lawrence Plaza. He's worried that redeveloping a shopping plaza will make units that will be unaffordable... How many affordable units did the shipping plaza have?
November 21, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Mike Colle speed running NIMBY talking points around Lawrence Plaza. He's worried that redeveloping a shopping plaza will make units that will be unaffordable... How many affordable units did the shipping plaza have?
This was last week from @mattyglesias.bsky.social and it seems correct to me.
November 19, 2025 at 12:18 AM
This was last week from @mattyglesias.bsky.social and it seems correct to me.
Mike Colle's AI generated version of people walking hand in hand in a plaza vs. reality. And since it's Mike Colle NIMBYism the instagram post starts of course with we don't need more condos.
November 18, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Mike Colle's AI generated version of people walking hand in hand in a plaza vs. reality. And since it's Mike Colle NIMBYism the instagram post starts of course with we don't need more condos.
The enormous progress in reducing global poverty was led by increases in income to a large number of countries all over the world. But to make further progress, we'll need to figure out what to do in the remaining countries that have seen no significant growth for a long time.
November 17, 2025 at 5:13 PM
The enormous progress in reducing global poverty was led by increases in income to a large number of countries all over the world. But to make further progress, we'll need to figure out what to do in the remaining countries that have seen no significant growth for a long time.
I think the focus on the neighbourhood interiors has sorted of distracted people from the big change to capital M Major Streets in residentially zoned areas. These are not a hyper limited set of uses. I might quibble with the floor space cap at 150m2 per unit but it's still sizable.
November 15, 2025 at 8:32 PM
I think the focus on the neighbourhood interiors has sorted of distracted people from the big change to capital M Major Streets in residentially zoned areas. These are not a hyper limited set of uses. I might quibble with the floor space cap at 150m2 per unit but it's still sizable.
Shoutout to my favourite local neighbourhood retail place, UFO, the Vietnamese restaurant/convenience store. Congratulations on going from legal non-conforming to legal slightly-less-non-conforming.
November 14, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Shoutout to my favourite local neighbourhood retail place, UFO, the Vietnamese restaurant/convenience store. Congratulations on going from legal non-conforming to legal slightly-less-non-conforming.
For all the crocodile tears shed by residents associations around lack of consultation (which is BS), they understand exactly what's being proposed and their explicit to demand to city council is to gut all of it. More outreach won't change anything. This is a question of values. Time to vote.
November 11, 2025 at 10:45 PM
For all the crocodile tears shed by residents associations around lack of consultation (which is BS), they understand exactly what's being proposed and their explicit to demand to city council is to gut all of it. More outreach won't change anything. This is a question of values. Time to vote.
Looks like they repointed the CAMH wall as part of the new building construction projects.
November 11, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Looks like they repointed the CAMH wall as part of the new building construction projects.
My run last night brought me outside the crooked cue, which I'd never been to before. Can't tell you how much disdain I have for the owner, who having set up shop in one of the like 3 walkable sections in Etobicoke, is now conspiring with the premium to turn it back to a highway.
November 11, 2025 at 3:27 PM
My run last night brought me outside the crooked cue, which I'd never been to before. Can't tell you how much disdain I have for the owner, who having set up shop in one of the like 3 walkable sections in Etobicoke, is now conspiring with the premium to turn it back to a highway.
The amount which I hear these 3 complain that "one size doesn't fit all" and that housing is being forced on them from outside. Yet here they are forcing one size (single detached) on people outside any of their wards.
November 11, 2025 at 3:38 AM
The amount which I hear these 3 complain that "one size doesn't fit all" and that housing is being forced on them from outside. Yet here they are forcing one size (single detached) on people outside any of their wards.