2017 year in review

I just finished going through my list of 2017 goals. I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to, but I did manage to check off a number of professional and personal goals.

Some of the remaining goals have been pushed to 2018. But there are also items that I have since realized aren’t worth pursuing and so I have dropped them from the list.

All that said, it was a great year. Here is a rapid-fire summary of 2017 told through posts from this blog.

• The province of Ontario rejected Toronto’s proposed road toll plan . The plan wasn’t perfect, but it was a step in the right direction. Unfortunate short-sightedness.
  

• Honest Ed’s – a Toronto landmark – said farewell . Certainly the end of an era for many people in this city. I just went to the farewell party.
  

• Toronto continued to demonstrate that it is a terrific place for tech and startups. Top Hat announced a $22.5 million (USD) Series-C funding round.
  

• I went heliboarding , which is something that had been lingering on the bucket list for far too long. Easily one of my greatest life experiences.
  

• Snapchat Spectacles became more broadly available. Highly promising, I thought, but then Instagram ripped off Stories . Product ended up bombing. Still, we had a riot playing with the glasses in Whistler.

• Designing for families in high-rises became a priority here in Toronto. And there’s evidence that the market is starting to respond. We are certainly trying to.

• Studio Gang Architects announced their first project in Toronto and in Canada.

• I followed through on my personal goal of returning to photography as a hobby .

• Autonomous vehicles received even more discussion and debate. Relevant video here . Relevant post here . The post is a good summary of the possible impacts of autonomy. Do not assume that the notion of a “car” will remain the same. 

• My fascination with Berlin and techno music continued.

• Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan was announced. Coupled with changes to the way development applications get appealed, it was a year of significant change for the real estate and development industry. Next is inclusionary zoning .

• We discovered that population density actually impacts how people vote .

• Opendoor continued its mission of trying to reinvent the way homes are bought and sold. By May 2017 they were selling  300 homes per month .

• Americans continued to follow the sun and sprawl and relocate to warmer southern cities.

• Meaningful progress was made with respect to laneway housing in Toronto . But we’re not quite there yet. The city refused my laneway house in the summer. Significant community opposition. 2018 will bring further positive change.

• The mania around Hamilton (Ontario) kicked into high gear. Hamiltonians got grouchy about the increase in Toronto expats. Slate acquired a retail plaza / development site and hosted a “ pre-design community meeting .”

• Amazon bought Whole Foods for $13.4 billion . A big deal as they clearly work to figure out online grocery.

• I participated in an interesting design charrette organized by B+H Advance Strategy about the “mall of the future.” Everyone is trying to figure out the future of retail right now.

• Everyone and their grandmother started buying Bitcoin. Small Swiss canton continues to try and establish itself as “ Crypto Valley .”

• Slate and Globizen introduced Junction House .

• I hit the 4 year mark on this daily blog.

• 2017 became the year of the condo in the Greater Toronto Area. Or at least that’s what I used in the headline.

• Amazon announced need for second HQ. Every city in North America goes nuts. I predicted that Toronto would win  (even before Sidewalk Labs made its Toronto announcement ). We’ll see what happens in 2018. Though, I still think Toronto is winning this.

• The “night mayor” finally crossed the pond with New York City Council voting to establish the Office of Nightlife . Toronto should have moved on this sooner.

• We announced new Buca concept and unveiled Ravine Bench at Yonge + St. Clair (Toronto). #SitTO

• Tony Seba predicted that 2021 will be the year that the economics flip for autonomous electric vehicles. Internal combustion engine and individual car ownership to be disrupted.

• Singapore capped vehicle growth at 0% .

• London released a  new Plan  in draft form. Strong emphasis on optimizing housing density and on going car-free.

• King Street Transit Pilot launched in Toronto . Streetcar speeds increased overnight. Some concerns that it could be impacting businesses along the street.

• Developer Urban Capital published Volume 7 of its annual Site Magazine . I penned article about their pan-Canadian mission to build from coast to coast.

Thanks for reading. Onward my friends.