Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 110

France uses a nutritional rating system for the front of food packaging called a "Nutri-Score." Other countries have introduced similar initiatives, but supposedly France was the first to use this particular rating system, which ranges from A (best) to E (worst).

Here's what it looks like on a package of chorizo:

Nutri-Scores were first introduced in supermarkets in 2017 and are applied on a voluntary basis. But having been in a handful of French grocery stores over the last week, I can tell you that it is widely used. So much so that I was more surprised when it wasn't there. What might they be trying to hide?

The Nutri-Score is also widely supported by the general public and, according to some surveys , nearly 90% of the French population believe that it should be mandatory on all food packaging.

So how does it work? The system is based on an algorithm that looks out for good stuff like fruits and vegetables, fiber, protein, and healthy oils, while penalizing bad stuff like sugar, saturated fat, and sodium, among other things.

It's an algorithm that is likely to be in constant flux. My understanding is that they have special rules for things like cheese. But regardless, I find that this simple rating system has a significant impact on my buying and eating decisions. Take the above chorizo. It has a score of "E." Do I really want that or should I go for the jambon next door that has a rating of "B?"

This also made me think of France's mandatory Energy Performance Certificate (or Diagnostic de Performance Énergétique). This is a diagnostic that is required of all properties being sold or rented in the country.

It ranks both energy consumption and CO2 emissions from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). It also provides recommended renovations. And if you lie — and actual performance deviates too far from the stated rating — you could be in trouble.

But just like the Nutri-Score, I am sure that these energy efficiency scores similarly affect buying and renting decisions, especially if there's a capital expenditure recommendation tied to a low score.

This is how commercial real estate is bought and sold. A building condition assessment is done, somebody comes up with a cost for all the work that will need to be done, and then it gets factored into the price: "Yeah, so, I was going to pay you $50 million, but now I have to spend $2 million on CapEx."

But on the residential side, I don't think this is often the case. Not unless someone is measuring performance and telling you what improvements should be made and, in some cases, need to be made for the property to be legally rentable. Out of sight is out of mind.

No businessperson, landlord, or entrepreneur wants to deal with more bureaucracy and red tape. But I'm of the strong opinion that too much of the food we eat is over-processed shit. I also believe in continually striving to be better — especially when it comes to our built environment. And that starts with measurement and benchmarking.

Today's post is a follow-up to yesterday's post about a new community currently under construction in Nice's Var valley. The following photos were captured on a Fujifilm X-T3 and edited in Lightroom.

It's easy to romanticize the oldest parts of Europe's built environment. But we all know they were built during a different time. A more fair comparison would be to look at how new neighbourhoods are being planned and constructed today.

So let's exit Vieux-Nice and venture to an entirely new community currently under construction to the north of the airport called Nice Méridia . When complete, the mixed-use community expects to welcome 5,000 residents, 5,000 students, and 5,000 jobs.

I don't know much about the surrounding area, but I do find it noteworthy that the transit infrastructure is already in place. Here's the tram line that runs on the eastern edge of the community, on its own dedicated lanes. Transit is the clear priority here.

The community itself is a mix of different street designs. Here, for example, is a narrow street where traffic is controlled by mechanical bollards. North America really needs to get with the bollard program.

Here's a pedestrian-only street that, at its narrowest, is roughly 12.5 meters. So a fairly generous mid-block space.

Here's what seems to be a fairly typical through street, which clocks in at around 19 meters from building face to building face.

20 meters is not an atypical right-of-way width. It's the dimension of most of the streets in the core of Toronto. But here, most of the space is allocated to sidewalks and green space. The space allocated to cars is roughly 6.5 meters. (I'd like to emphasize that this is a rough dimension as I was using my suitcase to pick up the endpoint of the laser.)

Finally, there's this incredible green space bisecting the entire community. I don't have any dimensions for it, but I can tell you it's a spectacular amenity. With the all-white buildings in the background, it feels a bit like Miami.

Tomorrow I'll share photos of the architecture. Stay tuned.