Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 164

Sahil Bloom tweeted this out a few days ago:

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And it really resonated with me. I'm sure it does with a lot of you as well. I'm guilty of feeling this guilt. Because by definition, if you have a strong desire to do or to achieve something, then you're going to want to spend a lot time working toward it. And any time not spent working toward it, can feel like an unnecessary slowdown or delay.

But it's easy to let time melt away when you're in this headspace and I'm trying to be better at not letting this happen. For one thing, there are diminishing returns to work. We all need free time and rest. It makes us better at everything else we do in life.

It's also really easy to fill our lives with unnecessary bullshit. The same thing happens in our homes when we're not paying attention: we end up collecting unnecessary stuff. So as Paul Graham argues in this 2016 essay called "Life Is Short", it's important to "relentlessly prune bullshit." Focus on the things that matter, and don't wait.

When you're ambitious, I think it's easy to become focused on the future. I've been told I do this too much. Achieving something usually requires hard work and determination, and that likely means it won't happen today; it'll happen at some point in the future. So it can be easy to discount the present. But nobody knows how much healthy future we all have.

These are all things that I'm trying to be better at and so I'm writing them down here as a reminder. How do you manage your work-life balance?

Cover photo by Christopher Gower on Unsplash

This past Thursday, the Sundance Institute announced that it will be moving the Sundance Film Festival from Park City to Boulder starting in 2027. This is sad. Sundance has been based in Park City since 1981 and it's the largest independent film festival in the US. Last year (2024), it is estimated that it created 1,730 jobs for residents, contributed $132 million in GDP to Utah, and produced about $13.8 million in state and local tax revenue.

Here's what Park City Mayor Nann Worel had to say following the announcement:

“For over 40 years Park City wasn’t just the host of the festival, we were its home. We helped shape the identity of Sundance with our unique energy, our colorful people, our undeniable spirit,” Worel said. “The world came here for film, yes, but they stayed for something more. They stayed for the feeling this town gave them. So, yes, I’m disappointed. Deeply. I know many of you are, too.”

“To our community: We are not defined by one event. Our creative spirit is deeper than any single festival. And while Sundance may be leaving, Park City isn’t going anywhere,” Worel said.

As I understand it, Utah offered to nearly double the amount of funding that they provide to the arts festival. But that clearly wasn't enough. There's also speculation that the festival left because it had overgrown Park City and/or because Colorado is viewed as being more liberal. There are people in Utah who do not approve of some of the content shown at said festival. I have no idea as to the actual reasons. But I do think it's a real loss for Utah.

Cover photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

New York City was supposed to terminate its congestion pricing program last Friday because, well, Trump told them to . But they didn't do it and so harsh words were exchanged and then the deadline was extended for another 30 days. (This sounds oddly familiar.) Who knows what happens next month, but we are able to accurately quantify the benefits of nearly 3 months of congestion pricing.

Firstly, it's generating a lot of money. In the first two months of operation, congestion pricing has already brought in over $100 million in new revenue for the city. This is important because it's money that can be used for transit and other infrastructure improvements.

Equally important is the fact that this money was generated by creating measurable value for drivers. For all of the river crossings that lead into the CBD, average weekday travel times this past January are lower compared to January 2024. And in some cases, they're lower by a lot. The Holland Tunnel, for example, saw travel times drop by 48% .

Lastly, it's encouraging more people to take public transit. Here's a chart from Sam Deutsch over at Better Cities showing the increases in ridership since the program was implemented:

The MTA as a whole is now averaging about 448,000 more public transit riders per day. And to put this number into perspective, Sam reminds us that Washington DC has the second most-used public transit system in the US and that it sees an average of about 304,000 total riders per day (January 2024 figure). So in other words, New York's congestion pricing bump alone was nearly 1.5x DC's entire ridership base.

Some critics will argue that NYC's subway is dangerous and that this program unfairly pushes people toward it. But crime data suggests otherwise . New York's subway also saw over a billion rides in 2024 ! So I don't know how you argue that less people should be taking it. It's pretty clear that this is what moves the city. Imagine if the above went the opposite way and 448,000 more people started driving to work.

Some people may not like it, but the reality is that congestion pricing is doing exactly what it's intended to do: reduce traffic congestion, make money, and encourage more sustainable forms of urban mobility.

Cover photo by Wells Baum on Unsplash