"We think that building housing is part of the solution. We think net zero is part of the solution. We think a car-light development is part of the solution. We think building a sense of place and community is part of the solution."
-- leader of the Squamish nation www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
"We are so committed to fairness that we have lost sight of the unfairness of doing nothing."
I feel like this quote, from this article about an indigenous project to address the problem of housing unaffordability in Vancouver, is true of so many things right now: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Great to see Sen̓áḵw getting some love here, featuring @khelsilem.bsky.social along with lots of other great local housing voices (e.g. @1alexhemingway.bsky.social @tomdavidoff.bsky.social & @christineboyle.bsky.social) thrown into the mix.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
One City Might Have Just Cracked the Housing Crisis. The bold and beautiful Seńáḵw development happened because the Squamish Nation was freed from oppressive rules that make building new homes near impossible, by @bcappelbaum.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o... via @nytopinion.nytimes.com
A good piece about the development of Senakw by the Squamish First Nation
… with a notable error
The New York Times cannot or will not understand the Canadian Crown. It repeatedly calls Elizabeth II or Charles III the “British monarch”
They are Canadian monarchs 🇨🇦
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
I didn't realize at the time the question was about this op-ed. Condon basically said that the Squamish don't know anything about Vancouver.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
"The Squamish are going to make a lot of money, and Vancouver is going to get a lot of new housing."
Very good profile of the amazing Senakw project in the NYT today, featuring @1alexhemingway.bsky.social and @khelsilem.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Well this is an interesting article for #A2Council and #AnnArbor fans to read! TL;DR, we need to build more housing and not be as restrictive or car-focused. So, fortunately, we are on the right track.
“We think a car-light development is part of the solution. We think building a sense of place and community is part of the solution” @khelsilem.bsky.social in @bcappelbaum.bsky.social piece.
#housing #cities #leadership #lesscar
Look North, #Seattle !
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
“Cities have largely lost the power to say yes to construction. To prevent officials from acting against the public interest, we have drained them of the power to act in the public interest.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
It took an indigenous nation--and land not ruled by municipal zoning--to provide the housing that Vancouver desperately needs near downtown.
Free link to story with wise words from @khelsilem.bsky.social :
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
1/
This is a great example of #degrowth and #solarpunk. It is being done by #indigenous folks.
#booksky #books #climatefiction #book #novel #mystery #thriller #climatechange #immigration #migration
A thoughtful 4 minute unlocked read. Was one of the first homeowners to build an accessory dwelling unit in my city after Oregon mandated cities change codes to allow them. So much reluctance. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
While skyscrapers wouldn't be my first choice, I LOVE that this project seems to respond to the needs of the city, the planet, and the tribe--rather than me, a homeowner with opinions. (Gift link)
"On that land, the Squamish are building the densest residential neighborhood in the country. It’s called Senakw"
Very good article on this new development in Vancouver! Gift article, I think.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
In #Vancouver, when the government gave land back to the #Squamish, they built dense #housing, unrestricted by NIMBY, outdated regulations, and political control. (Gift article.)
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
New York is an old city, but calling Vancouver the same in direct comparison? Bit of a head scratcher
I’d quibble with some of the other details here (and the headline!) but the general thrust is solid
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
This is good news, although time will tell if it's the one weird trick to fix this multicausal problem. I notice the article doesn't mention what's called the "Vancouver method" of money laundering, for instance.
Don't quite love this as a sermon against housing regulation, but as a counter to the kind of NIMBY regulation that favors those who can afford backyards over those who can't, it provides a beautiful example. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
VANCOUVER - FINDING SOLUTIONS TO HOUSING CRISIS
The result was a project with more than 6,000 housing units in towers as high as 58 stories — and only a few hundred parking spots.
Free NYT article
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
I really don't love the framing; it's a great development, but it's one develooment. Otherwise, glad to see Seńáḵw get yet more deserved praise, in Squamish territory within the city limits of Vancouver, BC.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Seńáḵw's feature in today's @nytopinion.nytimes.com isn't just a story about Vancouver's innovative approach to land use, it's about who is leading the charge. First Nations developments are challenging decades of exclusionary #zoning by building what communities actually need.
📰 buff.ly/k6wtN0B
I can't believe someone did an article on the Vancouver housing crisis without a Patrick Condon quote arguing there is no crisis - ah well.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
"Senakw's striking presence on the Vancouver skyline is a rebuke to the surrounding city, and a constant reminder that the thing preventing us from building is … us" www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
There is a very cogent argument to be made that the housing crisis affecting North America has been caused by the very zoning laws supposed to avoid this kind of problem, and that we should probably just throw those laws out of the window.
It's amazing how often it takes an astoundingly unique context for the obvious solution to a problem to break through. FWIW this article is phenomenal top to bottom
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Here’s hoping that the people who naysay inclusionary zoning and green building requirements as supply constraints realize that, even if self-imposed, those are functionally what’s going on here. And building green and setting aside units can be consistent with producing a ton of housing!
The #Canadian government has returned 10 acres in the middle of #Vancouver to the #Squamish, the First Nation whose ancestors lived there. On that land, the Squamish are building the densest residential neighborhood in the country. It’s called #Senakw, after a village that...
By Binyamin Appelbaum
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
"To prevent officials from acting against the public interest, we have drained them of the power to act in the public interest. Every decision can be appealed, every complaint must be heard, every objection weighed."
#VancouverYIMBY Thanks @nytimes.com @bcappelbaum.bsky.social for sharing the story of the #Squamish who are choosing to use the land that was given back to them to provide the residents of Vancouver with some of the housing they so desperately need. #BuildMABuild www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
One City Might Have Just Cracked the Housing Crisis www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Super interesting article. The Squamish are more public-minded than most developers, but they do make the case for building big.
"Imagine that 10 acres of land in the middle of your city was unbound from the laws that limit housing construction. No zoning. No neighborly lawsuits. No reviews by the Dept. of You Can’t Build ."
it is happening in Vancouver, BC.
Gift article:
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
“Cities have largely lost the power to say yes to construction … Every decision can be appealed, every complaint must be heard, every objection weighed.”
I love what the Squamish nation is doing with Senakw. Most North American cities could use their own Senakw, or several Senakws.
“He saw urban density as a solution for a wide range of environmental, economic and social challenges. People living in cities use far less energy, per capita. They drive less; their apartments require less heat.”
Higher-density and sustainable mobility go hand-in-hand to address the climate crisis
13/13 Senakw proves that our inability to build isn't a loss of knowledge, it's a policy choice.
The housing crisis can be solved if cities simply get out of the way.
Source: Binyamin Appelbaum,
The New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
A new way of building in urban areas with old permitting and zoning ways!
It could be a solution to the housing crisis in North America if they can learn the lesson.
Why can't the @nytimes.com do proper photo captions? Yes, tell me who took it. But also tell me who or what the photo is!
Otherwise very good article, very interesting.
🎁Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
I love the way the Squamish nation example, while extreme, broadens the Overton window of what's possible in other cities. Especially in Chicago, where we're lagging so far behind in new housing.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Vancouver.
(it's an interesting piece, but considering that the Vancouver situation involved a land back to their local First Nations people, & the First Nations were exempted from city building codes in certain ways...not sure it's fully exportable. Maybe as an example. Maybe.)(I wish)
Et si les clés pour résoudre les crises du logements se trouvaient dans ce développement immobilier autochtone à Vancouver?
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Modern Cities: Every decision can be appealed, every complaint must be heard, every objection weighed. Cut to Vancouver, Senakw : www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
« Libres des règlements municipaux de Vancouver, les Squamish sont en train de fournir aux résidents de la ville la brochette de logements dont ils ont désespérément besoin. » www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
One city may have just cracked the housing crisis.
Canada returned 10 acres in central Vancouver to the Squamish First Nation. The first 3 buildings already include 1,408 rental units — and the full plan calls for 11 towers and 6,000 homes.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Free Read #Vancouver
One City Might Have Just Cracked the Housing Crisis
A large real estate development in the middle of Vancouver, British Columbia, shows how cities can build more housing.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
One City Might Have Just Cracked the Housing Crisis www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Probably a hyperbolic headline, but a good read. I just reviewed a paper about this in UAR
Rather than viewing urban density as an environmental problem — as something to limit or to escape — he saw urban density as a solution for a wide range of environmental, economic and social challenges. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Good piece by @BCAppelbaum about housing shortages, "the thing preventing us from building is … us," and how Vancouver BC overcame that challenge: @nytopinion has been on a roll with strong pieces about housing shortages.
Original post
“ We are so committed to fairness that we have lost sight of the unfairness of doing nothing.”
This so applies in the UK too.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
Interesting gift article on how the housing crisis evolved, and an indigenous people's solution in the most expensive city in North America.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
“Cities have largely lost the power to say yes to construction. Every decision can be appealed, every complaint must be heard, every objection weighed. We are so committed to fairness that we have lost sight of the unfairness of doing nothing.” @bcappelbaum.bsky.social
It seems as if Vancouver, British Columbia has found a solution to the housing crisis there. Could it possibly work here? I am hopeful but doubtful...
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/opinion/vancouver-housing-crisis-development.html
This is a great example of #degrowth and #solarpunk. It is being done by #indigenous folks.
Coincidentally, in the hopeful climate #fiction "A New Faith" (see link in bio) - an indigenous leader of the Sami […]
"Senakw’s striking presence on the Vancouver skyline is a rebuke to the surrounding city, and a constant reminder that the thing preventing us from building is … us."
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