Malcolm MacMahon
@amacmahon.bsky.social
Writer, public employee, cyclist
Doesn't the Netherlands have good intercity trains? And Amsterdam has a decent subway network for what's ultimately a pretty small city.
January 2, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Doesn't the Netherlands have good intercity trains? And Amsterdam has a decent subway network for what's ultimately a pretty small city.
If the high speed rail ever gets built, we're gonna call Carleton and Kanada GTA.
January 2, 2026 at 1:10 PM
If the high speed rail ever gets built, we're gonna call Carleton and Kanada GTA.
If you ban billionaires, who will make these chains link by link and yard by yard?
December 25, 2025 at 3:17 AM
If you ban billionaires, who will make these chains link by link and yard by yard?
Reposted by Malcolm MacMahon
That being said, Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough *still* have lower densities than what they thought they should aim to achieve by 1980.
December 20, 2025 at 12:08 AM
That being said, Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough *still* have lower densities than what they thought they should aim to achieve by 1980.
This is unfortunately correct - you need a majority government who is about as dependent on the 905 as the Rae majority, and the only reason he wasn't dependent on it was because the 905 was much less populated then!
December 16, 2025 at 8:00 PM
This is unfortunately correct - you need a majority government who is about as dependent on the 905 as the Rae majority, and the only reason he wasn't dependent on it was because the 905 was much less populated then!
Also a 1 hour train trip makes Ottawa and Montreal part of one labour and real estate market. Ticket price and last mile will matter a lot, but the Toronto leg won't have that economic impact - it'll be about air/vehicle traffic mitigation for business and leisure travel.
December 12, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Also a 1 hour train trip makes Ottawa and Montreal part of one labour and real estate market. Ticket price and last mile will matter a lot, but the Toronto leg won't have that economic impact - it'll be about air/vehicle traffic mitigation for business and leisure travel.
On the production side, it's filming 10+ pages a day, absolutely no unions, and combining jobs like a student film. Then it's microtransactions and ads? I'm not sure who the audience is - I guess it's old soap opera audiences.
December 12, 2025 at 1:44 PM
On the production side, it's filming 10+ pages a day, absolutely no unions, and combining jobs like a student film. Then it's microtransactions and ads? I'm not sure who the audience is - I guess it's old soap opera audiences.
If this same logline was for horror-litfic, it would sell more than 1200 copies.
December 11, 2025 at 5:42 PM
If this same logline was for horror-litfic, it would sell more than 1200 copies.
A bit surprising that the millennial candidate doesn't list "housing" as an outcome she cares about in Ontario? I guess it falls under "areas within provincial jurisdiction" but still, not a good sign that politicians haven't moved on from housing at this point.
December 10, 2025 at 10:49 PM
A bit surprising that the millennial candidate doesn't list "housing" as an outcome she cares about in Ontario? I guess it falls under "areas within provincial jurisdiction" but still, not a good sign that politicians haven't moved on from housing at this point.
The discourse around AI/TikTok and IndyRef3 is going to be horrible. And there'll be a big redux of foreign election interference discourse again.
December 9, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The discourse around AI/TikTok and IndyRef3 is going to be horrible. And there'll be a big redux of foreign election interference discourse again.
Nunziata, Ainslie, McKelvie, Colle, they were all really reliable votes for Tory. The mayor creates a centre of gravity. Though I guess people could argue Tory wasn't as right leaning as Bradford is positioning himself.
December 9, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Nunziata, Ainslie, McKelvie, Colle, they were all really reliable votes for Tory. The mayor creates a centre of gravity. Though I guess people could argue Tory wasn't as right leaning as Bradford is positioning himself.
We're dealing with analogue cranks here, and having seen IntegrityTO, I vastly prefer the analogue.
December 9, 2025 at 7:02 PM
We're dealing with analogue cranks here, and having seen IntegrityTO, I vastly prefer the analogue.
If this was paired with an easy strata agreement for multiplexes (which Matlow requested years ago, and Build Toronto have recently requested) that might move the needle!
December 2, 2025 at 4:19 PM
If this was paired with an easy strata agreement for multiplexes (which Matlow requested years ago, and Build Toronto have recently requested) that might move the needle!
There are relatively few houses even in Cabbagetown that sell for $3m, and those that do frequently have things like wine cellars, car elevators, etc. Even some of the gutted renos go for $1.8m. I think we can say $3m is luxury.
December 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
There are relatively few houses even in Cabbagetown that sell for $3m, and those that do frequently have things like wine cellars, car elevators, etc. Even some of the gutted renos go for $1.8m. I think we can say $3m is luxury.
Mark Andreesen, who is one of the funders of this project, has publicly objected to zoning reform in his own town!
December 2, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Mark Andreesen, who is one of the funders of this project, has publicly objected to zoning reform in his own town!
I agree, but some councillors change! Matlow went from council villain to being very good on equity and land use. Though the councillor responsible for Rosedale I think could be hard to reach.
December 1, 2025 at 1:54 PM
I agree, but some councillors change! Matlow went from council villain to being very good on equity and land use. Though the councillor responsible for Rosedale I think could be hard to reach.
I wonder if the next step is deputing and saying that. If it's contained in the report it falls under speaking to the item. The type of councillors who value equity are also a bit more concerned about hypocrisy and shame.
December 1, 2025 at 1:16 PM
I wonder if the next step is deputing and saying that. If it's contained in the report it falls under speaking to the item. The type of councillors who value equity are also a bit more concerned about hypocrisy and shame.
But you and the story are broadly right - we can't 100% rely on the market, especially during a slowdown. Govt should be building during a recession. The hope is that in good times - like 2012-2019 - the market builds too much. But it didn't, and zoning/discretion plays a big part in that.
November 28, 2025 at 7:21 PM
But you and the story are broadly right - we can't 100% rely on the market, especially during a slowdown. Govt should be building during a recession. The hope is that in good times - like 2012-2019 - the market builds too much. But it didn't, and zoning/discretion plays a big part in that.
I agree, but I think they're downstream of building. The region hasn't tried supply as a fix. Even when we cook the books on starts by including things like prisons and LTC beds, we still don't hit our targets. Edmonton has worse tenant regulations and the same financing, and is way more affordable.
November 28, 2025 at 7:19 PM
I agree, but I think they're downstream of building. The region hasn't tried supply as a fix. Even when we cook the books on starts by including things like prisons and LTC beds, we still don't hit our targets. Edmonton has worse tenant regulations and the same financing, and is way more affordable.
But honestly the big supply elephant in the room is the GTA. Toronto itself often hits its targets or is close to, but then Brampton, Mississauga, Aurora, have months with 1 unit completion. And that's all in the same job/commuting/tenancy market. Needs real provincial action!
November 28, 2025 at 5:34 PM
But honestly the big supply elephant in the room is the GTA. Toronto itself often hits its targets or is close to, but then Brampton, Mississauga, Aurora, have months with 1 unit completion. And that's all in the same job/commuting/tenancy market. Needs real provincial action!
A big problem in Toronto is that we make almost no housing as-of-right. Everything is developers proposing a building, then an RA demanding 30-50% fewer units. We have an official plan, but almost every building requires a plan amendment, and all that time, fee, and catering to NIMBYs.
November 28, 2025 at 5:34 PM
A big problem in Toronto is that we make almost no housing as-of-right. Everything is developers proposing a building, then an RA demanding 30-50% fewer units. We have an official plan, but almost every building requires a plan amendment, and all that time, fee, and catering to NIMBYs.
Macro trends makes a similar mistake with the split adjustment, says that $1000 at the IPO would be worth $9m today. I think there's an additional split in there, but still seems to be off by orders of magnitude. Maybe they're using AI and it's wrong in a different way.
November 25, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Macro trends makes a similar mistake with the split adjustment, says that $1000 at the IPO would be worth $9m today. I think there's an additional split in there, but still seems to be off by orders of magnitude. Maybe they're using AI and it's wrong in a different way.
If home prices are near historic highs, how do people with near median incomes buy those houses without a price drop? Do we subsidize housing purchases for households with $150k incomes? And what do we trade off for the ability to do that?
November 25, 2025 at 2:12 PM
If home prices are near historic highs, how do people with near median incomes buy those houses without a price drop? Do we subsidize housing purchases for households with $150k incomes? And what do we trade off for the ability to do that?