Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Brent Toderian

Marco Andrei K. @marcoandrei.bsky.social · 18m

“É fácil se distrair com inovações futurísticas como carros elétricos, tele-entregas por drones e hyperloops. As soluções reais são bem menos sexy e muito mais senso comum. A tecnologia não vai nos salvar se errarmos nos fundamentos”.

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 31m

NEW: “Toderian says it’s easy to be distracted by futuristic innovations like electric cars, drone delivery networks & hyperloops. ‘The real solutions are a lot less sexy and a lot more common sense… Tech won’t save us if we get the fundamentals wrong.”

I was 1 of 3 urban experts asked to weigh in.

A world without traffic? Three urban experts rethink how cities move

Gridlock is costing us billions, but bold solutions like bus-only lanes, congestion charges and flexible work hours could get cities moving again

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 4m

Imagine thinking that your argument that you were unfairly passed over for a Nobel Peace Prize could be bolstered by anything a murderous dictator and war criminal like Putin might say.

The corruption, narcissism and complete idiocy all fuel each other.

The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 8m

The U.S. president shared a video from Putin: "There have been cases where the committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to people who have done nothing for peace,” Putin said, according to the AP’s translation. “[Trump’s] really doing a lot to resolve such complex crises." trib.al/Z5v8yOt

Trump’s Posting Spree Shows He’s Losing It Over Nobel Peace Prize

Donald Trump shared two posts that managed to make the prize all about him.

trib.al

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 21m

“Council stood up to resistance from homeowners who argued Not In My Back Yard every which way from parking to traffic to ‘we don’t want those people in our neighbourhood’ — meaning renters presumably…the othering of future neighbours was not persuasive to Council then, and it shouldn’t be now.”

The big picture on housing, density and affordability

How Edmonton's approach fights for affordability and fiscal efficiency

civicgood.substack.com

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 28m

Remember, blue states and blue cities generally drive the U.S. economy, subsidizing the rest of the country.

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 33m

Red state government declaring open war on blue city governments in Florida.

This is the MAGA model: using every tool of the state to punish political opponents, without even a pretense that you are governing "for everyone."

Doge-ish comes to Florida: a DeSantis loyalist is going after ‘waste’ in Democratic cities

Blaise Ingoglia was handpicked by the Republican Florida governor to lead an assault on municipal spending

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 32m

Red state government declaring open war on blue city governments in Florida.

This is the MAGA model: using every tool of the state to punish political opponents, without even a pretense that you are governing "for everyone."

Doge-ish comes to Florida: a DeSantis loyalist is going after ‘waste’ in Democratic cities

Blaise Ingoglia was handpicked by the Republican Florida governor to lead an assault on municipal spending

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Justin Elliott @justinelliott.bsky.social · 39m

Here is our full story that Vance is dismissing, with primary source documents showing Trump cabinet members with multiple primary-residence mortgages

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 31m

NEW: “Toderian says it’s easy to be distracted by futuristic innovations like electric cars, drone delivery networks & hyperloops. ‘The real solutions are a lot less sexy and a lot more common sense… Tech won’t save us if we get the fundamentals wrong.”

I was 1 of 3 urban experts asked to weigh in.

A world without traffic? Three urban experts rethink how cities move

Gridlock is costing us billions, but bold solutions like bus-only lanes, congestion charges and flexible work hours could get cities moving again

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

CajunBlueAZ ⚜️🇺🇸 🇺🇦 @cajunblue.bsky.social · 2h

🚨🚨🚨The intensity here is indescribable. The reference post (to follow) indicates the gravity being similar to that of “Bloody Sunday.” A harrowing parallel. 1/2

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2h

NEW: “The cost of inaction is greater than the cost of transformation,” Toderian said. “You can’t afford not to act.”

This article does a pretty good job capturing the energy, urgency, and (some of the many) ideas in my very blunt “Call To Action” this week in Kingston, Jamaica. Follow-thru is key!

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 10h

Trump’s tariffs on China (and Canada for that matter) will already make so many things far more expensive or not available at all. Then China’s “countermeasures” will devastate US businesses when they further lose the Chinese market.

It’s almost as if Trump is TRYING to destroy the U.S. economy.

CNN @cnn.com · 10h

China warns US of countermeasures if Trump does not walk back 100% tariff threat https://cnn.it/4obv9yR

China warns US of countermeasures if Trump doesn’t walk back 100% tariff threat | CNN Business

Beijing has vowed to take countermeasures against Washington if US President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose new 100% tariffs on Chinese goods.

www.cnn.com

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 3h

Help me out here. When did Biden take office? Who was the FBI director on January 6th? Who appointed that FBI director?

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 3h

oh this guy is delusional delusional

Sharon @sharonk.bsky.social · 5h

thiel, man, what the fuck are you talking about

He describes the plot of Watchmen, a 1986 graphic novel involving superheroes grappling with moral questions about humanity against the backdrop of impending nuclear war:

The antihero Ozymandias, the antichrist-type figure, is sort of an early-modern person. He believes this will be a timeless and eternal solution – eternal world peace. Moore is sort of a late-modern. In early modernity, you have ideal solutions, ‘perfect’ solutions to calculus. In late modernity, things are sort of probabilistic. And at some point, he asks Dr Manhattan whether the world government is going to last. And he says that ‘nothing lasts forever.’ So you embrace the antichrist and it still doesn’t work.

Thiel later finds biblical meaning in the manga One Piece, discussing how he believes it represents a future where an antichrist-like one-world government has repressed science. He believes that the hero, Monkey D Luffy, represents a Christlike figure.

In One Piece, you are set in a fantasy world, again sort of an alternate earth, but it’s 800 years into the reign of this one-world state. Which, as the story unfolds, gradually gets darker and darker. You sort of realize, in my interpretation, who runs the world and it’s something like the antichrist. There’s Luffy, a pirate who wears a red straw hat, sort of like Christ’s crown of thorns. And then towards the end of the story, transforms into a figure who resembles Christ in Revelation.

Thiel, along with a researcher and writer at Thiel Capital, explored these ideas at greater length in an essay for the religious journal First Things earlier this month.

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Renee de St. Croix @reneedsc.bsky.social · 21h

“Fast forward to today, and the transformation is astonishing. Paris has quietly—and quickly—become one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world” with pop-up bike-lanes during the pandemic evolving “into a permanent cycling network spanning hundreds of kilometres.” Via @momentummag.bsky.social

New Study Shows How Paris Pedaled Its Way to a Cycling Revolution

Cycling through central Paris meant weaving between buses and scooters—a bold choice reserved for the fearless few.

momentummag.com

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 10h

Trump’s tariffs on China (and Canada for that matter) will already make so many things far more expensive or not available at all. Then China’s “countermeasures” will devastate US businesses when they further lose the Chinese market.

It’s almost as if Trump is TRYING to destroy the U.S. economy.

CNN @cnn.com · 10h

China warns US of countermeasures if Trump does not walk back 100% tariff threat https://cnn.it/4obv9yR

China warns US of countermeasures if Trump doesn’t walk back 100% tariff threat | CNN Business

Beijing has vowed to take countermeasures against Washington if US President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose new 100% tariffs on Chinese goods.

www.cnn.com

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 14h

ICYMI: blunt messaging around what’s really necessary for better cities anywhere in the world — including the need to call out the misinformation and conspiracy theories used to attack new/old ideas. I also discuss our current Exhibition at Paris City Hall inspiring real climate action from cities.

Calgary Climate Hub @calgaryclimatehub.ca · Aug 20

This month's guest is one of the world's TOP urbanists, Canadian @brenttoderian.bsky.social! We talk suburbs, #sprawl, #BikeLanes, why smart #CityBuilding is the common sense climate solution & the awesome responsibility of the city councils we elect. #yyc #yyccc www.podcastics.com/episode/3796...

Brent Toderian & the Common Sense of Climate Smart Cities

Why urban design is a force multiplier in the fight against climate change

www.podcastics.com

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 12h

How microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds.

“The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do.”

Microplastics like those from car tires. The bigger and heavier the vehicle, the more microplastics shed.

The plastic inside us: how microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds

The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 10h

UK travellers should expect "four-hour queues" as new EU border system comes into force. Brexit really is the gift that keeps giving

www.itv.com/news/2025-10...

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 18h

Psst: Stop burning stuff on Earth for energy. Let the burning fireball in the sky be your energy source.

T&E @transportenvironment.org · 3d

NEW: Biofuels globally emit more than the fossil fuels they replace, our latest study shows.

The first-of-a-kind study looks at global biofuels production today and the potential impacts of government biofuel targets.
🧵⤵️

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 11h

Genuinely annoyed how many cool bars and restaurants Portland has. Every few blocks, a bar Minneapolis would kill for

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 12h

At the risk of being over-simplistic, you’ll know a great city by what you can see while strolling around its centre.

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 1d

Been strolling around central Madrid this evening, two observations:

1. The outdoor-cafe game here is so on point. They are everywhere! Tucked in every nook & cranny. Everyone is outside, *with one another*.
2. People live here, there are schools here, & so there are families with kids everywhere.

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 12h

How microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds.

“The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do.”

Microplastics like those from car tires. The bigger and heavier the vehicle, the more microplastics shed.

The plastic inside us: how microplastics may be reshaping our bodies and minds

The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 13h

About a month ago, the Trump administration got rid of the de minimis exemption, whereby packages valued under $800 could slide in without import duties. Now there's a backlog as the government can't process all of this paperwork, leading to UPS just destroying packages

Business Insider headline reads: UPS is telling customers that their packages coming to the US are marked for destruction.

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 13h

ICYMI: “Some still insist ‘downtowns will never attract kids & shouldn’t try.’ Then they design downtown to virtually repel kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Vancouver proves the opposite can be true...”

I’m quoted in this article by @johnlorinc.bsky.social for @calcities.bsky.social

People want to have kids and live downtown. Can they? - Western City Magazine

For decades, planners focused on attracting young singles to dense urban cores. That dynamic has shifted, in part because ...

www.westerncity.com

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Søren Have @sorenhave.dk · 19d

Much recommended ‘lecture’ on urban mobility and its companion, land use planning.

Love how Brent several times stress the need to call out status quo bias, eg by highlighting that people calling for ‘balance’ in really just want status quo. Which is not fair, but just what we have gotten used to.

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · Aug 22

WATCH THIS: This is quite possibly still the most comprehensive interview I’ve ever done on smart urban transportation for better cities. Filmed in Vienna for a planned Paris-based documentary. Watch it, quote it, and please help spread it around. Thanks!

Brent Toderian on sustainable mobility

YouTube video by opascaud

youtu.be

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Reposted by Brent Toderian

Gil (Guillermo) Penalosa @penalosag.bsky.social · 21h

We need to be honest on climate movement. We are failing.

- The temperature keeps rising.
- True problem is structural, NOT individual behavior!
- Industry has masterfully marketed individual's fault.
- Collective civic action to change policy
- Say pollution, not emissions
Prof. Katharine Hayhoe

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