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lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Lanrick Bennett
@lanrickbennett.bsky.social
13K followers 330 following 3.6K posts
Working within the active transportation, environmental protection, affordable housing and placemaking sphere. Always advocating #BikeTO #TransformTO #BLM #TweetsAreMineByDefault
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lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · Oct 3
The broken record will continue 🚲The War on Cars is over. We need to decouple our dependency on single occupancy vehicles!

Appreciate @tvotoday.bsky.social allowing me space for this important discussion.

h/t #UofTCities

#ActiveTransportation + #PublicTransportion = #LeaveTheCarBehind
therundowntvo.bsky.social The Rundown @therundowntvo.bsky.social · Oct 3
"Single occupancy vehicles are not the way to continue to move people forward." – @lanrickbennett.bsky.social. How can Toronto's traffic be fixed? Tonight at 8/11pm with Jennifer McKelvie, Giles Gherson (Toronto Region Board of Trade), Baher Abdulhai (uoft.bsky.social) & @spaikin.bsky.social #topoli
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
LBJ's Humpday Podcast Picks for Nov 26th

This week’s picks turn everyday phenomena into existential rabbit holes, reminding us that reality is not only incomplete, but wildly more bizarre than fiction.

h/t @cancerresearchuk.org @vsauce.bsky.social
medium.com/@lanrickbenn...
Image with headphones around a mic Text "LBJ's Humpday Who am I listening to Today? Podcast Picks" The Rest is Science with Michael Stevens (aka Vsauce) and Hannah Fry beside each other Brought to you by Cancer Research UK Goalhanger The Rest is Science with Michael Stevens (aka Vsauce) and Hannah Fry and a cup of lava between them The Rest is Science with Michael Stevens (aka Vsauce) and Hannah Fry and an apple between them
November 26, 2025 at 2:23 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Doing this very cool thing in #halifax tomorrow evening at @dalhousie.bsky.social ‘THE HUMAN-POWERED CITY: BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES, ONE RIDE AT A TIME’ part of the College of Sustainability ESS Lecture Series.
h/t @uoftcities.bsky.social #TransformTO #MakingNoise www.dal.ca/faculty/sust...
FALL 2025 ESS LECTURE SERIES THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER 7:15-8:30PM ROWE MANAGEMENT BUILDING, POTTER AUDITORIUM THE HUMAN-POWERED CITY: BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES, ONE RIDE AT A TIME Lanrick Bennett Jr. is Toronto's first Bicycle Mayor. He is Urbanist-in-Residence at the University of Toronto's School of Cities, where he advocates for equitable mobility and sustainable city-building. His work focuses on climate justice, public space, and building cities that prioritize people over cars. Image of my children on a bridge for Open Streets Toronto Introduction: Finding Policy in Plain Sight How did you get here today? What did you notice? That's urban policy.
November 26, 2025 at 1:38 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
A reminder regarding Chris Selley… you can draw your own conclusions as to his level of empathy or his understanding about the significance of how bad our shelter system is in Toronto.

✊🏾📢❤️ @anotherglassbox.bsky.social
Image of Chris Selley and Anna Fitzpatrick’s back and forth on Twitter Chris Selley @selley X.com Shelters aren't full. You can Google that. But I would definitely sleep on the subway before I would in a shelter. Anna Fitzpatrick @bananafitz• 1d Taking a photo of a person sleeping on the subway, in Toronto, in November, while shelters are full, and claiming *you* feel unsafe. Do you know what’s not safe? Trying to sleep outside in this weather!!! Not having reliable access to a bathroom, or clean water!!! Anna Fitzpatrick @bananafitz • 1d Shelters are full. Chris Selley @cselley • 1d OK, not sure why the city would lie about that, Image of Dan’s tweet and Chris’ response Chris...is your argument that >90% to <100% isn't technically full? Because I tried googling exactly like you said-both the Al summary and the first article seemed to suggest capacity is an issue. - with two additional Images of text 1) Yes, Toronto's shelter system is frequently at or near full capacity, and many people seeking shelter are turned away each night. This is due to a combination of factors, including a lack of affordable housing, increased living costs, and a rising number of asylum seekers needing emergency shelter. Despite the city adding more shelter spaces, the demand continues to exceed the available capacity. • Frequent high occupancy: The shelter system is often at capacity, with reports indicating 99% occupancy for many beds and shelters consistently over 90% full. • Unmet demand: On average, many people are turned away nightly because there is no space available. For example, one report found that 160 callers requesting shelter could not be matched to a bed on an average night in Q1 2024. • Contributing factors: The high demand is linked to insufficient affordable housing, high inflation, and an increase in asylum seekers, as noted by the City of Toronto. 2) Over 150 turned away from shelters nightly in October Cook said the city's winter services plan for people experiencing homelessness is disappointing given the huge need for shelter in Toronto. According to the city's own data, an average of 154 people were turned away from city shelters nightly in October. Chris’ response Chris Selley @cselley • 1d I'm going by the city's numbers, which are reported daily: toronto.ca/city-governmen... G... Clearly capacity is strained. Dil TORONTO Daily Shelter & Overnight Service Usage toronto.ca Image of two of Dan’s Twitter response "The shelters aren't full." Ohohoho, I thought you might say that. In that case, is this glass full? Bless you and your feeble intellect, anyone can plainly see there is capacity for at least 0.5 ml of water. Time to very carefully raise this cup to my lips for a victory sip...” - with two photos of a glass of water, one a distance away the other zoomed showing the near full glass of water Quoted Tweet “Ok so considering the City’s numbers, the approximately 150 people turned away nightly, the folks who have been turned away previously so don’t try, and ~350 encampments…is it fair to say the shelters are *effectively* full? That there isn’t capacity to meet full demand?” Chris Selley @cselley Bonjour/hi! Columnist for the National Post: Queen's Park, Toronto, Canada, and beyond the infinite. cselley@nationalpost.com ° Toronto @ twitter.com/cselley • Joined October 2009
November 26, 2025 at 12:11 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
It’s going to foggy outside. My watch already told me so. #BlurryMorning
Image of watch with screen slightly blurred “Good Morning Lanrick”
November 26, 2025 at 11:53 AM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
This can’t end well.

Cc: @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social
mtlgazette.bsky.social Montreal Gazette @mtlgazette.bsky.social · 18h
Montreal's bike lanes dominate question period at first city council meeting montrealgazette.com/news/local_p...
November 25, 2025 at 9:06 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Whelp!

h/t @shoshana.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
❤️📢✊🏾

“Today is my last day as the Director of the City of Toronto's Indigenous Affairs Office. It has been an honour and privilege for me, on behalf of my ancestors and community, to contribute to changing systems and culture.“ - Selina Young Toronto’s first Indigenous Affairs Office Director
Selina Young • 1st Kind, Competent Métis Leader Who Loves to Build Up Peo... 1h • Edited • O Today is my last day as the Director of the City of Toronto's Indigenous Affairs Office. It has been an honour and privilege for me, on behalf of my ancestors and community, to contribute to changing systems and culture. I am tremendously happy that I had the opportunity to work across the organization since June 2018 as IAO's first Director. I am learning to honour myself so want to highlight 3 contributions I have made (public servants do love things in threes): 1. Acknowledgement and promotion of First Nations, Inuit and Metis staff throughout the Toronto Public Service, including solidarity work with Black and Indigenous staff. 2. Giving (over)due access to First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities across Toronto 3. Prioritizing First Nations, Inuit and Metis throughout the work, across divisions and agencies. None of this would be possible without relationships - incredible community members who helped me learn and unlearn, and dedicated colleagues who opened their hearts and minds and believe in the importance of justice, reciprocity and restitution. I have so many emotions - sadness, excitement, anxiety and hope. I am sad to leave the best team that ever was. I cannot fathom anyone being able to fill their moccasins. I am excited to see where the IAO and work with First Nations, Inuit and Metis goes. I see this as an opportunity to create space for new leadership, ideas and continued growth. I am leaving the IAO filled with pride and joy as continue my professional journey. More on that to come.
November 25, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Lanrick Bennett
hugobookclub.bsky.social
Canada is releasing a set of stamps celebrating the nation's graphic novelists.

These stamps feature Kate Beaton, Jimmy Beaulieu, Guy Delisle, Julie Doucet, Bryan Lee O’Malley and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, alongside some of their famous works.
Stamps featuring Kate Beaton, Jimmy Beaulieu, Guy Delisle, Julie Doucet, Bryan Lee O’Malley and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
November 21, 2025 at 7:06 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Need to rock this dress by Athena Macke

'Why does the bike path just end here?

…Then I'll just bring my own bike path.

Specifically, the "bike path dress" from my bachelor's collection "Fashion and Urban Development."'
www.instagram.com/athena.macke

h/t @brendanjharkin.bsky.social
Photo on the left has a person wearing a dress with a train that turns in a painted bike lane athena.macke • Rathenauplatz 319 likes „Warum hört der Fahrradweg einfach hier auf?“ …Dann bringe ich eben meinen eigenen Fahrradweg mit. Und zwar das "Fahrradweg-Kleid" aus meiner Bachelorkollektion „Mode und Stadtentwicklung“ Foto: Esther Reichard @estherreichard Shooting-Assistenz: @lotta_dressler @tigerperle Care-Arbeit: @phantasilas @htw_fashiondesign @htwberlin @htw_cultureanddesign BA-Betreuung: Jonas Togler & Horst Fetzer #fahrradwegkleid #städtefürmenschen #criticaldesign #protest #visionzero #htwberlin #modedesign #aktionskunst Close up image of a painted bike lane dress Another view of a dress with a painted bike lane train
November 25, 2025 at 1:27 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Why do we find it so hard to re-imagine streets + parking to exist without cars? When we know that space can work so much better when it is prioritized for people!
November 25, 2025 at 11:40 AM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
So proud of my friend @andrewlochhead.bsky.social knocking it out of the park this evening h/t @torontomet.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Reposted by Lanrick Bennett
modacitylife.com
We’re taking “Women Changing Cities” to China!

Next week, we’re heading to Shanghai, and are excited to partner with Duke Kunshan University for a special “Author Talk” event Saturday, December 6th.

Tickets are free and open to the public, but registration is required.

www.modacitylife.com/events
A promotional graphic for a Duke Kunshan University Author Talk event featuring the book “Women Changing Cities” by Melissa and Chris Bruntlett.
November 24, 2025 at 7:00 AM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
#HappyMonday

Sharing my collection of #IdeasAtWork video playlist for November 24th

h/t @nytimes.com @jackconte.bsky.social @hankgreen.bsky.social @caseynewton.bsky.social @kevinroose.com @bradsartschool.com @cnet.com @jay.bsky.team
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Video Playlist for Nov 24th, 2025 #IdeaAtWork 1. I’m Building an Algorithm That Doesn’t Rot Your Brain - New York Times Opinion 2. The State of the AI Industry is Freaking Me Out - Hank Green 3. Demis Hassabis & Josh Woodward tell us why Gemini 3.0 puts Google in front of the A.I. race - Hard Fork 4. This? This was the Big Affinity and Canva Announcement? - Brad Colbow 5. I Switched From iPhone to Android and It Was a Mess | Prove It - CNET 6. How Bluesky Grew From A Twitter Side Project To An X Competitor - CNBC 7. Cars are Aging Like Milk - Aubrey Janik A better Algorithm with an image of a three post-it notes, a red brain, and photo of Jack Conte Image of Carly Marsh holding on to a phone while tossing the Apple and Android logos in the air Image of Aubrey Janik in front of a car dashboard "It's too damn much"
November 24, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Lanrick Bennett
jamaps.bsky.social
Charting number of rental units in apartment buildings in Toronto by year of construction

(This is a quick update to a similar chart I made ~2.5 years ago)

#toronto #housing #dataviz #NationalHousingDay
Stacked bar chart showing the number of apartment units in Toronto by year of construction with categories for private, TCHC, and other social housing. The vast majority were built in the 1960s and 1970s, with a minor up-tick in recent years.
November 22, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Lanrick Bennett
papyrusbrigade.bsky.social
The only unknowns in the whole equation are exactly who will fall through the cracks, and where they will find shelter when it happens.

But the system guarantees this catastrophe will be inflicted on thousands of people.
November 23, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Lanrick Bennett
jnyyz.bsky.social
National Housing Day Rally (Bill 60)

Today was a large rally organized by several different tenant organizations to protest Bill 60 which is up for passage on Monday. Although public pushback forced the government to walk back the most controversial aspect of the bill that would have removed…
National Housing Day Rally (Bill 60)
Today was a large rally organized by several different tenant organizations to protest Bill 60 which is up for passage on Monday. Although public pushback forced the government to walk back the most controversial aspect of the bill that would have removed "security of tenure rules" that would have allowed landlords to evict tenants when leases expired, many other aspects of the bill degrade tenant rights&hellip;
jnyyz.wordpress.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:16 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
The Real Disorder Isn’t Encampments. It’s a System That Pretends Shelters Are Accessible When They Aren’t

Our elected municipal reps are failing people and failing society. Many are using vulnerable people as a political football to score points. It's a game to them.

medium.com/@lanrickbenn...
November 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
#HearThis Sharing 3 pieces of Black specific content with my kids this week.

1. Mural to honour Black community of Queen’s Bush Settlement
2. Astead W. Herndon Joins Vox
3. For The Culture Season 2 with Amanda Parris

I think these stories are all worth #Amplifying

medium.com/@lanrickbenn...
THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 23RD #HEARTHIS SHARING 3 PIECES OF BLACK SPECIFIC CONTENT WITH MY KIDS THIS WEEK 2025 EDITION Kitchener-Waterloo 'Make history visible': Mural to honour Black community of Queen's Bush Settlement Carmen Groleau • CBC News • Posted: Nov 17, 2025 11:09 AM EST | Tracy Lee Johnson is a member of the Queen's Bush Settlement Advisory Committee. She is also a descendent of the settlement. (Aastha Shetty/CBC) VOX PRESS ROOM Astead W. Herndon Joins Vox as Host and Editorial Director by Vox Communications Oct 16, 2025, 7.05 AM EDT Vox® Image of Amanda Paris FOR THE CULTURE with Amanda Parris SEASON 2 WORLD PREMIERE Thursday, Nov 27th 7:00PM Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema Free tickets available now sponsored by OBAC
November 23, 2025 at 12:31 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Just one of Jamil Jivani’s friends yapping about things they know nothing about. #OhCanada
November 22, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Lanrick Bennett
jm-mcgrath.bsky.social
Apparently "build enough homes"
mdruker.app Michael Druker @mdruker.app · 4d
I want to hear your uncomfortably big ideas for Canada!
November 22, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Lanrick Bennett
serenaperuzzo.com
We often get asked how @1rg.space started - here's a sneak peek of that story words.1rg.space/a-brief-hist...
A brief history of community dinner
Community Dinners are at the core of the 1RG origin story. I might go as far as saying that 1RG would not exist if it wasn't for this tradition. Back in February 2022 Max and I were on a phone call r...
words.1rg.space
November 21, 2025 at 9:17 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
If you’re in Hamilton, Ottawa, K/W, Guelph, Burlington, Oshawa, Markham, Richmond Hill, Kingston, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Toronto, London, Niagara Falls, Sudbury; or anywhere in one of 300+ municipalities in Ontario, someone being killed by a driver is just another day

smh @ffsafestreets.bsky.social
Friends and Families for... @ffsafestr... • 2d Excellent coverage of yesterday's World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims event. Thank you to everyone who joined us this year. We will never stop fighting until our streets are safe. #WDoR2025 #RememberSupportAct #SpeedKills #SpeedCamerasSaveLives www.thestar.com/news/gta/we-... We will never stop fighting': Queen's Park vigil honours traffic violence victims The ceremony was organized by a group of collision survivors pushing for improved roa...
November 20, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Reposted by Lanrick Bennett
uoftcities.bsky.social
We’re hiring! The Toronto Black Histories AI Project, led by SofC Urbanist-in-Residence Kofi Hope, will use generative AI to animate the stories of Black Torontonians from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Apply by Dec 1. https://schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/job-opportunities/
November 19, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Lanrick Bennett
hertzbarry.bsky.social
Fair to say CRTC's new definition of "Canadian content" (and its expanded points system to unlock funding, which took endless consultation) has been greeted by film & TV industry with disappointment bordering on hostility. And that's just from orgs that'll say anything publicly.
November 19, 2025 at 7:00 PM
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Congrats to @housingnowto.bsky.social’s Mark Richardson

h/t @utoronto.ca @uoftcities.bsky.social #HousingNowTO
Mark Richardson Mark is a community partner and expert mentor in the Multidisciplinary Urban Capstone Project (MUCP), delivered through U of T's School of Cities. The course attracts final-year undergraduate students from all disciplines to address real-world urban challenges. Since 2021, Mark has mentored six student teams in the MUCP program, skillfully guiding them toward solutions and providing valuable career advice. Mark has also mentored graduate students in Geography and Planning. Though not an alumnus, Mark's is profoundly committed to the project and to city-building and youth mentorship more broadly.
November 19, 2025 at 7:56 PM