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Charles Montgomery

@charlesincities.bsky.social

10K followers 2.3K following 260 posts

Author, Happy City. Founder, Happy Cities. But speaking only here for myself! Design + social trust. 🧠🏙️🌈🏔️

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Nov 8

Hey Bluesky!
Here for evidence-based solutions on design + human wellbeing. 🌇

I'm the author of Happy City and co-founder of the interdisciplinary team at Happy Cities.

My next book digs into ways we can design the world to rebuild social trust. I'm excited to learn from you all.🌱🌃🌈

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · 6d

Canada is spending millions on an ambitious affordable housing program.

If we design right, we can solve the affordability crisis and the social disconnection crisis at the same time!

Crucial lessons from @happycities.com for Minister @gregorrobertson.bsky.social

happycities.com/blog/afforda...

How Build Canada Homes can go beyond affordability — Happy Cities

What Canada can learn from non-market housing communities about social connection, health, and belonging.

happycities.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · 7d

OK so OpenAI is making "personal deepfakes" a feature of its TikTok competitor.

www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

OpenAI’s new social video app will let you deepfake your friends

Make a cameo appearance in someone else’s AI video.

www.theverge.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · 12d

Urbanistas ecuatorianos!

Estaré pasando unos días en Quito en diciembre. ¿Hay algún urbanismo transformador o vivienda colectiva que realmente deba ver?

Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · 13d

Vancouver! Monumental urbanist and Messy Cities co-author @Zahra Ebrahim will speak at the VPL with @fabulavancouver.bsky.social Oct 14. It's going to be a cracker.
vpl.bibliocommons.com/events/68b20...

Zahra Ebrahim: Messy Cities

Does everything in a city need to be perfectly planned? Or can spontaneous solutions help cities thrive? Come hear renowned urbanist Zahra Ebrahim discuss her new co-edited book Messy Cities. She wil...

vpl.bibliocommons.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · 14d

Neighbors built a protected bike lane between two Atlanta schools for just $10,000. Awesome! youtu.be/vMZ98Dre_Us?... via @YouTube

We built a bike lane!

YouTube video by Hugh Malkin

youtu.be

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · 15d

Get ready for more road deaths, America.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Cancels Trail, Bike-Lane Grants Deemed ‘Hostile’ to Cars

The Trump administration canceled grants for street safety measures, pedestrian trails and bike lanes in communities around the country this month, each time offering a simple rationale for yanking ba...

www.bloomberg.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · 15d

Hey Vancouver urbanists, what do you know about new mayoral candidate Rebecca Bligh?

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · 15d

Imagine turning a detached home into a 6-story micro tower.

I know so many friend groups who dreamed of living this way over the years.

With zoning changes, design accommodations and single staircase rules, they could have it.

Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 16d

Vancouver (Extra) Special

33' lots
4 and 6 storey single-stair buildings.
3Br accessible flats, adjacent to a park.

(sketchup / ai render)

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · 21d

Russian disinformation gets recycled and spewed out by chatbots.

Expert says: if you want better answers you have to follow up and ask the chatbot for evidence.

How many ppl will do that?

@holden open.substack.com/pub/mikecaul...

I Am Once Again Asking You To Use A Balanced, Evidence-Focused Follow-Up

Cutting through Russian disinformation with thirteen extra words

open.substack.com

Reposted by Charles Montgomery

Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 28d

if i write another book this probably needs to be the cover (Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press)

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Sep 8

Google search is being replaced by AI chat. This means few people will click through to websites that do actual journalism. Google will scoop up ad dollars. Quality will keep sliding.

Me, I pay subscriptions for high quality journalism to avoid AI slop.

aisecret.us/google-com-n...

🛎️ Google.com Nears Sunset

Plus: AI’s “Inbreeding” Problem, Eat the Bottom Tier

aisecret.us

Reposted by Charles Montgomery

Bruce Little @brucedlittle.bsky.social · Aug 27

While Twitter was once the platform of choice for a majority of science communicators, those same people have since abandoned it in droves. And of the alternatives available, Bluesky seems to be their new platform of choice.

Bluesky now platform of choice for science community

It’s not just you. Survey says: “Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky”…

arstechnica.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 28

To understand America’s searing class divide, visit Disney World.

This story will break your heart.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/o...

Opinion | Disney and the Decline of America’s Middle Class

www.nytimes.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 26

Why is your city so damn boring, and how can you fix it?
@cobylefco suggests you start with more narrow streets and buildings. Quick read: open.substack.com/pub/building...

The One Fix for Every Boring City

Why Your City Is Bad, And How To Make It Better

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Charles Montgomery

paulusthewoodgnome @paulusthewoodgnome.bsky.social · Aug 25

'Fossil fuel companies have developed and funded a complicated network of fake public interest groups, politicians and lawyers to oppose wind power by spreading disinformation. Legal firms have also received fossil fuel funding to sue wind projects out of existence.
electrek.co/2025/08/25/s...

Scientist exposes anti-wind groups as oil-funded. Now they want to silence him.

A report shows how fossil-funded legal groups file bogus lawsuits and spread disinfo about wind - then those lawyers threatened the authors.

electrek.co

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 22

It's a good time to remember what actually causes homelessness.

A top cause: lack of affordable housing.

Not a top cause: character flaws among unhoused people.

More analysis in this older Bloomberg story: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

CityLab University: Understanding Homelessness in America

As economic disruption threatens to trigger a spike in housing instability, here’s an essential primer on the causes and consequences of a thorny urban problem.

www.bloomberg.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 21

Yes, it's still much safer to ride the bus than it is to drive.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

We Need a Reality Check on Crime, Safety and Transit

Despite common assumptions, traveling by bus, subway or train is far safer than driving. How can transit agencies correct misinformation about the real risks?

www.bloomberg.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 15

Here is a clear analysis of the BC Supreme Court's decision to recognize that the Cowichan Tribes, Stz’uminus, Penelakut, and Halalt nations hold Aboriginal title to some land in Richmond. Thank you @khelsilem.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/khelsile...

The Truth About the Cowichan Title Decision

Separating fearmongering from facts in B.C.’s historic Aboriginal title case.

open.substack.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 15

Trump is disgusted by American cities. His fix harkens back to a Gilded Age movement known as City Beautiful, which put aesthetics before equality. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Trump’s Politics of Urban Disgust

The president’s unprecedented takeover of Washington, DC law enforcement weds a crime crackdown to a gilded vision for remaking the capital.

www.bloomberg.com

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 11

Thank you, one day I will!

Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 10

I am. Thanks for reading.

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 8

What kinds of density produce lower levels of disgust among opponents? Can city-builders nurture different feelings about density by sharing accurate information about health outcomes?
After all, research is clear that people live longer in denser, walkable places than in auto-dependent sprawl.

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 8

4/5 The density debate affects housing affordability, city livability and economic resilience. So it is crucial to understand the relationship between human emotions, perceptions and urban form.

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 8

3/5 " Disgust, which evolved to protect people from sources of disease and contamination, is associated with how people perceive density."

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Charles Montgomery @charlesincities.bsky.social · Aug 8

2/5 "The research asks if subconscious, but deeply-rooted, psychological and emotional factors could underpin people’s divergent responses to density," writes Michael Hooper. "The answer provided by the research is, in short, yes."

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