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Jay Pitter

@jaypitter.bsky.social

11K followers 300 following 550 posts

Award-Winning Placemaker (25+ North American Cities). Author. Speaker. Urban Planning Adjunct Professor. Subdivided Co-Editor. Two Book Deal w/ Penguin Random House Canada. Hip Hop & a lil Punk Rock. Hopeful.

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · Nov 13

Check out my 10 Rules For Better Public Spaces 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾
This is not intended to be an exhaustive list; I didn’t include public space healing, which is a significant part of my practice. But I’ve captured several key ideas. Thoughts? Additional ideas? #cities #public #space

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Reposted by Jay Pitter

Stereogum @stereogum.bsky.social · 2d

Tori Amos says her new album ‘In Times of Dragons’ is “a metaphorical story about the fight for Democracy over Tyranny, reflecting the current abhorrent non accidental burning down of democracy in real time by the ‘Dictator believing Lizard Demons’ in their usurpation of America.”

Tori Amos Prepping New Album 'In Times of Dragons' "About The Fight For Democracy Over Tyranny"

New Tori Amos is on the way. Today, the Little Earthquakes musician announced a new studio album titled In Times of Dragons, which is slated for next spring via Universal’s recently relaunched Fontana...

www.stereogum.com

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · 4d

In every school album I had as a little girl, there was a line that asked: What do you want to be when you grow up? From wobbly printing in Grade 2 to confident cursive years later, I always wrote the same thing: writer. Although I’ve been previously published, this book is what that kid meant :)

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · 14d

These intersections — between democracy, flourishing, style/swagger, sacred rituals, and the overall phenomenon of Black people’s expressions of joy — are at the heart of my forthcoming book, Black Public Joy.

Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · 14d

This is also where public joy intersects with democracy: both depend on whose voices, freedoms, talents, and celebrations we choose to uphold in the public square.

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · 14d

The fact that some voices are restored in a matter of days while others are erased from large platforms without the same support says something about who we collectively choose to defend in the name of democracy & free speech. It says something about who’s deserving of professional & physical space.

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · 14d

Where was this collective rallying when renowned journalists like Tiffany Cross, Joy Reid and Karen Attiah faced suppression and firings? Where were the bans and massive public calls for their right to speak freely—for their place in the public square?

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · 14d

I’m genuinely glad to see Jimmy Kimmel reinstated. The outpouring of public support for him this past week is a reminder of how democracy works in the contemporary public square. But I can’t celebrate this moment without naming a significant disparity.

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Reposted by Jay Pitter

lukelukeluke @lukelukeluke.bsky.social · 18d

Here are some nice mushrooms

A quartet of jewel like golden pholiota mushrooms grow from a crack in a mossy log under a sunlit green canopy. All photos by me

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Reposted by Jay Pitter

Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 19d

This is tiresome: a couple builds a 4100 ft.² second home, but reuses materials and so it is supposedly eco-friendly.

What’s even greener:
- Keeping the existing building
- Not having a second home at all

Maclean’s Magazine @macleans.bsky.social · 19d

Canada sends millions of tonnes of construction waste to landfills each year. Here’s how one B.C. couple turned an aging house into a carbon-neutral test case for salvaged design. https://macleans.ca/economy/realestateeconomy/the-great-unbuild/

The Great Unbuild - Macleans.ca

A Vancouver couple salvaged materials from an ’80s home to build a carbon-neutral barn by the sea

macleans.ca

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · Sep 8

All kinds of people require benches for numerous reasons and benches are an important type of social infrastructure. I clearly wrote that I am not suggesting that benches aren’t important.

Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · Sep 7

aspects of elder-centred placemaking but there’s more.

Imagine if placemaking processes respected older people as complete beings with aspirations for social connection, active mobility, pursuit of passions, intergenerational interactions & bold expression. Hoping this course covers these topics.

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · Sep 7

Laurentian University has a course focused on urban ageing course that seems to depart from the typical “let’s make sure these old folks can age at home, have enough time to make it across the cross walk & have benches to sit on while navigating public spaces.” Not suggesting these aren’t important…

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · Aug 28

Nope! Don’t end here. Share a perspective or approach you’ve changed based on something you’ve learned. I think this thread is important because it invites both reflection and vulnerable transparency rarely exhibited by “experts.” Def promoted me to share a lesson and change within my own practice.

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · Aug 28

even when I feel passionate about contributing to a community. I
used to think that I could bring clients along during the process & I have. But I’ve learned that for transformative placemaking to occur, they have to have institutional imagination & be willing to invest in a long-term vision.

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · Aug 28

Recently, I refused a high profile contract in an amazing city b/c the potential client didn’t have an implementation budget or resource development plan. I refuse to engage & raise hopes of communities on behalf of clients unwilling to make investments beyond consultants. I’ve learned say “no”…

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · Aug 28

So yes, my perspectives and approaches have changed a lot, with new experience, and the reality that the challenges and urgencies we now face make our 2012 complexities seem almost easy by comparison.

I’d question any urbanist whose perspectives HAVEN’T meaningfully changed over those years.

end/

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Jay Pitter @jaypitter.bsky.social · Aug 26

The city demands; the forest invites.