Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 1147

I’m in Whistler right now and I went heliboarding for the first time yesterday. It had been on my bucket list for maybe 10 years and so it feels fantastic to check it off. 

Here’s what I can tell you: WOW. It did not disappoint. 

It was easily one of the greatest life experiences I have ever had. We also got lucky with a crystal clear  bluebird day .

I don’t do many photoblog posts here on this blog, but I’m going to do one today, because I think the occasion demands it. But of course, even these photos don’t do the experience any justice.

View from the helicopter:

View over the pilot’s shoulder as we were about to land:

Sampling of the terrain and conditions:

Shot of our helicopter when we broke for lunch:

Greatest turns:

I also posted a video of the above to my Instagram.

Regular scheduled programming will resume tomorrow.

The Penn Institute for Urban Research recently asked a dozen experts to weigh in on the topic of urban infrastructure in the United States. More specifically: What should the US do? It is a direct response to President Trump’s inauguration speech, where he described America’s infrastructure in terms of “disrepair and decay.”

The urban experts include Eugénie L. Birch, Saskia Sassen, Susan Wachter, Richard P. Voith, and many others. Richard Voith’s piece is called, Historical Patterns of Infrastructure Funding . (I was his teaching assistant while I was at Penn and I still follow his work.) 

I found it interesting how infrastructure funding has shifted from the federal level to the local municipal level – especially in the realm of public transit. Given the rise of urban centers, this makes intuitive sense. But Voith also argues that “relying only on local funding of transportation will almost certainly result in an under supply of infrastructure.”

For the full Expert Voices series, click here . I think many of you will like it.

I am testing out Spectacles by Snap Inc. right now:

They were incredibly easy to sync with my phone (just look at your Snapcode while wearing them). And the case itself charges the glasses when you put them away. Pretty slick.

I also started using Instagram Stories for the first time. I had been boycotting it because it was such a direct copy of Snapchat Stories, but at the end of the day, the audience is there and lots of people are using it. I capitulated.

It’s somewhat disconcerting how quickly a product feature can be copied that immediately pulls users away. Or maybe that’s just business. I mean, if I’m already using Instagram, why not just post my ephemeral stories here, right?

That’s why it’s so important to keep trying new things. And that’s why I think Spectacles are an important product for a company that has just filed to go public. They keep you in the moment while you share.

I’ll report back once I’ve had more time to experiment with Spectacles. But already I can tell you this: they are fun.