British Columbia
Vancouver's exploding housing prices are caused by income inequality, housing scarcity, and a housing bubble, not by foreign investors and vacant housing units.
Sightline
Seattle is faced with an affordable housing crisis that has led the new Planning & Community Development Director Sam Assefa to look globally for solutions.
The Planning Report
Urbanist Brent Toderian does not begrudge NIMBYs; he values them. In an interview with David Roberts of Vox, he explains that the problem doesn't lie with development opponents as much as it does with the decision-makers.
Vox
Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver have all prioritized the design and implementation of bike infrastructure. A study of how each is implementing its goals reveals the many ways cities can decide to make healthy, active transportation a priority.
Sightline Institute
Needle exchanges are still controversial in some parts of the country, so expect "supervised injection facilities" to be even more so.
Governing
While some cities debate secondary units and parking controversies, the city of North Vancouver is allowing three units on every single-family lot in the city—parking requirements not included.
North Shore News
The second project bearing Trump's name will open next week in Canada. Donald Jr. and Eric Trump will be on hand for the opening. The mayor of the city will not.
Associated Press via The Mercury News
Bike infrastructure is a source of political controversy, even in cities where biking is already popular.
The Globe and Mail
A transit funding formula, courtesy of Vancouver, British Columbia: Sell 13.8-acre property for $440 million; use cash to finance transit improvements.
Business in Vancouver
What does Vancouver’s housing market implosion mean for the Seattle area?
Crosscut
The young prime minister's approval to almost triple the capacity of the Kinder Morgan pipeline comes as a surprise given Trudeau's concern for climate change. He approved another Alberta oil sands pipeline but rejected a third.
The New York Times
A new tax on foreign buyers and a threatened tax on vacant homes have contributed to a significant drop in home sales in October.
The Seattle Times
The city of Vancouver has emerged as a leader in "laneway" housing: secondary units built onto existing lots, often facing an alleyway. To boost supply, the city may expedite permitting for modular units.
Vancouver Sun
Shoppers at the newly opened Tsawwassen Mills shopping mall found themselves in an hours long traffic nightmare as they tried to leave the mall's parking lot.
Daily Hive
It hasn't always been like this, but in recent years, Vancouver has attracted international talent to design some of its splashiest new projects.
Business Vancouver
The founders of Vancouver-based Biddwell are hoping to change the way landlords and potential tenants find each other, but a renters' advocacy body sees the new company as bad news for tenants in an increasingly tight housing market.
The Globe and Mail
Vancouver has a new chief planner, and a former chief planner already has a to-do list for the new guy.
Daily Hive
On August 2nd, a new 15 percent tax on real estate deals with foreign buyers went into effect. The goal was to cool the hyperactive housing market, but the implementation has caught many by surprise.
CBC News
Political junkies, map nerds, and transit fans all got plenty of big news to digest during the last week of July 2016.
Planetizen
As car sharing services like Car2Go have infiltrated cities including Vancouver, B.C., benefits of reduced car ownership and greenhouse gas emissions are being realized, a new study finds.
The Vancouver Sun
