NEW - BC has introduced legislation that will allow condo towers of up to 20 storeys near SkyTrain stations, up to 12 storeys near Metro Van "bus exchanges" and up to 10 storeys in Victoria/Kelowna bus exchanges. Municipalities can also choose to go higher on their own.

We need innovative solutions and new tools to tackle this housing crisis. 🏡 That’s why today we announced B.C. is creating new pre-approved residential designs for triplexes, fourplexes and laneway homes. 🧵 [1/3]

Similar logic to ‘there’s no brownfield left in UK cities!’

I've not seen data on resi parking use downtown, but anecdotally, there are a surprising number of free spaces

The Digital Code of Practice is now official operational policy, thanks to input from across #BcGov. - Find the full code at digital.gov.bc.ca/dcop/ - Use the alignment guides to elevate your team's digital game Together, we can build more inclusive digital services. #DigitalBC

It was estimated that, due to the fact that pre WWII Britain demanded compensation for value lost due to planning restrictions that authorities zoned enough land for development to accommodate 290 million people.

Good example of city regions still being too small/influenced by some resident groups, to unblock planning.

Devolve power properly and this kind of innovation can occur then be scaled

But also Spaxman, LOL. The former head of the CoV planning department who oversaw the downzoning of Vancouver apparently can't imagine housing that's denser than single-detached subdivisions.

Interesting parallels between construction and software in using a stable cross functional team to build

It's also kind of amazing, here's the Justin Trudeau funding requirements. The part on "predictable funding for public transit" ties future money to allowing density w/in 800m of a transit line, and a housing needs assessment — also BC-pioneered reforms, already passed.

And that requires rebuilding capacity in local government, which is going to take time, money and political capital. From today’s Inside Politics newsletter by Jennifer Williams

Big UK developers are thought to stifle competition and innovation. Construction firms being *too small*, also a UK dynamic, may also reduce investment and productivity.

Canadian physical retail generally does well. Would guess that relatively slow online delivery is the cause. Amazon Prime here often means 4-7 day delivery...

A friend of mine is opening two warehouses 60 minutes from each other in similar neighborhoods. One in Washington State another in British Columbia. The US one was built and operational in 3 months. The Canadian took 24 months *just* to get gov't approvals required.

For decades, cities only built tall or built sprawl. We’re changing that — by legalizing four units as-of-right.

Not just the public sector struggling with accounting approaches to software development

Fascinating read on the politics that enabled the New Zealand land use reforms. Especially interesting from the perspective of recent reforms in BC. And the central insight that breaking through NIMBY opposition requires intervention by higher levels of government.