Nathan Lauster
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lausterna.bsky.social
Nathan Lauster
@lausterna.bsky.social
3.6K followers 1.1K following 940 posts
UBC sociologist, demographer, housing & urban regulation scholar, author, immigrant, blogs at https://homefreesociology.com/
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lausterna.bsky.social
Me: checking to see whether my partner headed out to pick up the kid.

Cats, helpfully: "yeah man, she just left."
Orange cat staring out the window, tabby in front of the door, watching for my partner's return.
January 15, 2026 at 10:56 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
"Victim of Nanaimo, B.C., RV fire faces long and painful road to rehabilitation" www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Reminded by this story of how those unsheltered in the Vancouver Homeless Count results were MOST likely to report they "felt safe" if they stayed in a vehicle.
Table 59 of Vancouver Homeless Count Report from 2025 on Where Unsheltered Respondents Stayed and whether they felt Safe there. Demonstrates 9% of Rs (169 of 1,893) stayed in a vehicle and 81% of them "felt safe" there, the highest for where people stayed. Quote from CBC storey: "'It shouldn't be like that,' says daughter Marshall says her father moved into the RV a few years ago because his body was broken from working in construction all of his adult life. Pera’s Canada Pension and Old Age Security payments weren’t enough to cover rent when he stopped working and Marshall didn’t have room for him at her place. So he acquired the camper van and parked it on side streets in Nanaimo for a few years. "It's just very unfair for people who have worked so hard all of their life to have to be put in these kinds of situations," she said. "It shouldn't be like that." But the camper van eventually stopped working, Marshall says, and Pera grew tired of eluding bylaw officers every day and accumulating thousands of dollars worth of tickets. He was able to fix the vehicle enough to get it to Nanaimo Lakes Road, where there are other RVs parked in the remote area."
January 9, 2026 at 6:02 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
No knock on Liaison in particular (where I can't find x-tabs by age & gender), but I really don't trust anyone's polling of the 18-34 group. I highlight some of the variation we keep seeing when I teach grad stats. FWIW, here's Angus Reid on gender x age for BC, where 55+ had much bigger variation.
Different pollster splits by age group for BC in 2024 (ahead of election) and 2025
January 8, 2026 at 1:40 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
They have other sources of revenue, and they definitely don't just tax dwellings. Lots of other private property!

e.g. Here's City of Vancouver budget revenues (right) & you'll also notice a redistribution of property tax levied AWAY from dwellings (left). council.vancouver.ca/20250415/doc...
January 7, 2026 at 1:59 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
I have way too many thoughts on the FCM advocacy paper on why property taxes aren't enough for municipal revenue: fcm.ca/en/resources...

But wanted to highlight the $107k "municipal investment per dwelling" metric for weirdness (p. 19-20). Like, that's not just supporting dwellings, folks!
January 6, 2026 at 7:29 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
New year, new bog.
Photo of the black pool at the heart of Camosun Bog in Vancouver
January 4, 2026 at 1:04 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
Huh. Mild winter so far, so I guess we're doing a little lavender bloom to bring in the New Year?
A sprig of lavender starting to bloom in Vancouver on Dec 29th, 2025, against a backdrop of mostly well-spent flowers
December 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
The tall evergreens really stand out like Christmas trees against Vancouver's skyline now, with the latest snow blending to sky in the mountains beyond.

For its part, Sen̓áḵw (under the crane) continues to look like a present nearly ready to be unwrapped. senakw.com
A large evergreen surrounded by deciduous trees in the foreground with Senakw (under construction) and downtown Vancouver behind and snowy mountains even further back blending into cloud
December 24, 2025 at 12:17 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
gold medal
gymnast meme quoting post above "If the worst single-family house in your n’hood costs over $1 million, then your n’hood should be zoned for apartment buildings." on top and a variety of current considerations below.
December 17, 2025 at 10:14 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
POV: you have no idea what time of year it is, only that your sabbatical is almost here.

(photo taken today, from much beloved weird little winter-blooming mutant cherry tree in Vancouver)
Weird little cherry tree near Jules Quesnel Primary School in Vancouver that often blooms in winter, photo from Dec 15th (today)
December 16, 2025 at 12:21 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
A fine remembrance of someone left at Kits Beach today.

Don't know who, but adding little anonymous touches of beauty around town is probably how I'd want to be remembered too.
Yellow flowers tied to a bench at Kits Beach, likely in remembrance of someone.
December 12, 2025 at 11:26 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
Back-to-back CBC British Columbia news items.

BC has too many people living in cars because they can't find housing. Think I'm going to stick with the province on this one.

RV fire: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Metro Van mayors: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
CBC Headline with image of burnt RV: Man dies in motorhome fire after B.C. fire chief warns against full-time RV living Death comes after RV fire sends a different man to hospital with serious burns CBC Headline with picture of mayors: British Columbia Metro Vancouver mayors urge B.C. to roll back housing density laws, but province ‘not going backwards’ 16 Metro Vancouver mayors say B.C.’s housing targets ignores infrastructure limits and local realities
December 12, 2025 at 6:42 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
Neat history of Berkeley's 1916 claim to first single-family zoning in the USA & its alignment to racist restriction.

The Shaughnessy Act from 1914 means Point Grey (Vancouver) has a strong claim to N. America's first exclusionary single-family zone.

www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/docume...
Text of Shaughnessy Act pertaining to limiting lots in the neighbourhood to a private dwelling house containing only one household and expressly forbidding flats or apartment buildings.
December 12, 2025 at 7:04 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
Check and see if your mayor is on the Province's naughty or nice list! vancouversun.com/news/metro-v...
Along with Hurley, signatories include Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, Delta Mayor George Harvie, Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager, Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart, Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward, Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy, District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little, Port Moody Mayor Meghan Lahti and White Rock Mayor Megan Knight. Article content Some leaders of smaller municipalities that signed on include Pitt Meadows Mayor Nicole MacDonald, Anmore Mayor John McEwen, Lions Bay Mayor Ken Berry and Belcarra Mayor Jamie Ross. Article content Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone, City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan, City of Langley Mayor Nathan Pachal and Bowen Island Mayor Andrew Leonard declined to sign. Article content Housing Minister Christine Boyle said she understands the concerns of municipalities but that there will be no change in the policy, arguing it is working to bring down rent prices, increase vacancy rates and provide more options for families. Metro Vancouver mayors call for province to roll back housing legislation amid concerns about eroding autonomy A group of 16 municipal leaders have written a letter to Premier David Eby voicing concerns about what they feel is an erosion of autonomy. Author of the article: By Alec Lazenby Published Dec 11, 2025 Last updated 2 minutes ago
December 12, 2025 at 12:25 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
Not surprisingly, I think @wazaroff.bsky.social has good housing takes here, but also great to see the fundamental decency & humility with which he's approaching many of his answers in this interview.

Also now I kinda want to watch the old chess-themed RomCom he wrote & directed.
interview excerpt: How should the city deal with Vancouver’s housing crisis? Right now the choices we have are single-family homes that virtually no one can afford, and towers. How do you create smaller-scale and medium-scale apartment buildings in every neighbourhood of the city? We haven’t allowed that kind of building in many decades. If we’re in a housing crisis, it doesn’t make sense that we rezone the city parcel of land by parcel of land; that is not a way to address a crisis. We need to make some sweeping changes to allow for choice in every neighbourhood: higher density around transit hubs, but smaller-scale apartment buildings, like we used to see before they were outlawed. And then allowing community housing — non-profits and co-operatives — to skip the rezoning process. To give them every advantage to speed up, have extra floors or floor space, and do everything we can to promote that kind of housing, which is going to be more affordable and only become more affordable over time.
December 10, 2025 at 7:10 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
Vancouver's golden minute* is upon us!

* used to be an hour prior to budget cuts
Downtown Vancouver in gold from sunset
December 8, 2025 at 12:09 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
Last Friday of classes at UBC, so I have taken the time to give this important @anthonyfloyd.ca question some thought.

I'm mostly NG.
An alignment chart for PBJ procedures Lawful Good: 2 knives, handwashed after Neutral Good: 1 knife, PB first Chaotic Good: 1 knife, used to stir jelly into PB jar before sandwich assembly Lawful Neutral: 2 knives, placed in separate silverware bins in dishwasher Neutral: 1 knife, PB first one half of the time Chaotic Neutral: No knives, just bread dunking Lawful Evil: 2 knives, left unwashed on the counter Neutral Evil: 1 knife, Jelly first Chaotic Evil: 2 knives, left unwashed and placed back in silverware drawer
December 5, 2025 at 11:44 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
Counteroffer:

BC Conservationists v. BC Conservatory
BC Conservation Foundation logo BC Conservatory of Music Logo
December 4, 2025 at 3:47 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
[whispers] preservation of luxury estates has always been a primary purpose of zoning...

Vancouver Archives Link to historical Westmount Park sales pamphlet: searcharchives.vancouver.ca/westmount-pa...
Restrictions on lots in the "subdivision superb" of Westmount Park (then in Point Grey, now Vancouver), including restrictions on residences (single family), minimum value of improvement, lot size, as well as the race of buyers.
December 1, 2025 at 11:30 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
November sunrise before the rain
Sunrise oranges and golds against lightening blue over chimneys and trees
November 24, 2025 at 9:54 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
Exceedingly rare example of the notwithstanding claws being justifiably used to counter human rights.
Orange cat chewing on hand held to mouth by claws
November 21, 2025 at 9:27 PM
lausterna.bsky.social
Looks like the latest working paper was just out in September 2025, actually! Findings still holding. www.auckland.ac.nz/assets/busin...
Abstract for working paper Can Zoning Reform Increasing Housing Construction? (Answer: yes) Figure showing rising Attached Dwelling with reform
November 19, 2025 at 2:16 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
I think Greenaway-McGrevy's work on Auckland's upzone tends to show both more housing overall and more urban infill, e.g.
cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/busin...
November 19, 2025 at 2:01 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
Lumière Festival was fun!
And surprisingly good advertising for UBC.
UBC Robson behind the light-up dance stage (soon to be an ice-skating rink) The old Vancouver Art Gallery lit up as a backstage to Ember Arts Fire Show Light sculpture at Robson mimicking rainfall
November 16, 2025 at 6:44 AM
lausterna.bsky.social
Loved this simple image from @tomflood.bsky.social set behind the panel at the Life After Cars event hosted by @visionzerovancouver.ca.

Happy to join @thewaroncars.bsky.social and happy my City Councillor @lucymaloney.bsky.social was up on stage too.
Prioritizing youth mobility is prioritizing adult relaxing poster with a latte above The War on Cars & Lucy Maloney & Tom Flood on stage
November 9, 2025 at 6:14 AM