Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 633

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has just published what it is calling the first comprehensive roadmap for transitioning the world to a net zero energy system by 2050. Turns out, it's only going to take a complete overhaul of pretty much everything to hit this important target. We are going to need to start investing some $820 billion each year (starting in 2030) on our electrical grids to support the electrification of the global economy. 90% of electricity generation is going to need to come from renewables, with 70% likely coming from solar PV and wind alone. 60% of global car sales will need to be electric by 2030. We'll need to completely halt the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. And by 2040, we will need to have retrofitted at least half of our existing building stock.

Make no little plans. For a copy of the report, click here .

Canadian cities are well known in the world of film for their ability to stand-in for other global cities. They rarely play themselves, which actually pisses me off. Because I take it as a sign that we're not doing nearly enough to make Canadian cities the most beautiful and remarkable cities in the world. Canadian cities should play starring roles. Movies should want to feature them, rather than repurpose them.

That said, it's an interesting phenomenon to explore. And that's exactly what the Canadian pavilion will be doing this year at the Venice Biennale. The exhibition is called Impostor Cities and it will explore the various buildings and cityscapes that have been featured in films but that most people probably had no idea were Canadian.

It is perhaps a new perspective on Canadian cities , bringing our stand-ins into the limelight. And it'll be available online and onsite (yes, real life) starting May 22. I'm sure it'll be great. I just hope that it makes us realize how embarrassing it is that our cities aren't being celebrated in the way that they should be. Let's be bolder. Let's build greatness.

Back in 2008, Dasha Zhukova and Roman Abramovich hired starchitect Rem Koolhaas and founded a new contemporary art museum in Moscow called the Garage Museum. Supposedly this was the first philanthropic institution in Russia dedicated solely to contemporary art. ( Here's a short video in case you're curious what it looks like.) After it opened, the founders apparently had a realization about the way people like to consume art. Yes, people like to look at art and ponder deep things. But it turns out that people also like just being around art and other art-like things. People started coming to the Garage Museum not only to view the various exhibitions, but also to just hang out.

This insight is now being used to inform a new real estate development company, also by Dasha, called Ray . The mission of the company is to create "architecturally-inspired homes at the intersection of art, culture, and community." Their first two projects are in Harlem and Fishtown, Philadelphia, but apparently they have something cooking in Miami as well. What Ray hopes to do is integrate art and culture in a more meaningful way through cultural programming, exhibitions in their buildings, artist studio spaces, and other creative ideas.

There's also an affordable housing angle. According to the WSJ , Ray's Harlem project is a joint venture with L+M Development Partners . I don't know any of the specifics of this deal, but I know L+M, because one of their founding partners, Ron Moelis, was a professor of mine in graduate school. L+M is focused on affordable and mixed-income housing and uses tools like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) to make these sorts of projects financially feasible. They aren't, otherwise. I learned all about them in school and I always found it to be a great way to get the private sector building affordable housing.

"Art and culture, community, and accessible pricing."