Messy Urbanisms
@messyurbanisms.bsky.social
Images and articles relating to messy urbanism. Posts by @dylanreid
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"Messy Cities: Why We Can't Plan Everything" has been published by Coach House Books. Forty-three essays by a range of writers from around the world make the case that a degree of messiness is an essential element in all thriving cities. chbooks.com/Books/M/Mess...
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Trekked to the 7 Subway at Grand Central today to see “Abstract Futures” (2025), the newest public artwork to grace the walls of the New York City subway system, designed by the feminist art collective Hilma’s Ghost, a 600-square-foot glass mosaic mural. Remarkable!
December 2, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Trekked to the 7 Subway at Grand Central today to see “Abstract Futures” (2025), the newest public artwork to grace the walls of the New York City subway system, designed by the feminist art collective Hilma’s Ghost, a 600-square-foot glass mosaic mural. Remarkable!
Reposted by Messy Urbanisms
Messy Cities: Why We Can't Plan Everything (ed. @johnlorinc.bsky.social, @dylanreid.bsky.social, Leslie Woo, and Zahra Ebrahim) on @canadianarchitect.bsky.social's Best Books for Canadian Architects 2025 list!
www.canadianarchitect.com/best-books-f....
www.canadianarchitect.com/best-books-f....
www.canadianarchitect.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Messy Cities: Why We Can't Plan Everything (ed. @johnlorinc.bsky.social, @dylanreid.bsky.social, Leslie Woo, and Zahra Ebrahim) on @canadianarchitect.bsky.social's Best Books for Canadian Architects 2025 list!
www.canadianarchitect.com/best-books-f....
www.canadianarchitect.com/best-books-f....
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This right here is the joy of city living. You often encounter your fellow human beings doing spontaneously excellent things.
The scene now at Lafayette and Howard, diagonal to the ICE garage which activists remain camped out in front of on both sides of the building.
November 30, 2025 at 6:51 PM
This right here is the joy of city living. You often encounter your fellow human beings doing spontaneously excellent things.
Home-made wayfinding on Geary Ave.
November 30, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Home-made wayfinding on Geary Ave.
Public art display frame on a wall on Dovercourt
November 29, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Public art display frame on a wall on Dovercourt
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“Urban Acupuncture” — How Pocket Forests Heal Our Cities with Adrian Wong of SUGi internetofnature.substack.com/p/s6e7-urban...
S6E7: “Urban Acupuncture” — How Pocket Forests Heal Our Cities with Adrian Wong of SUGi
Why dense, “untidy” forests grow fastest, why soil is the real engine, and how pocket forests rewild cities from the inside out — with Adrian Wong of SUGi.
internetofnature.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:45 AM
“Urban Acupuncture” — How Pocket Forests Heal Our Cities with Adrian Wong of SUGi internetofnature.substack.com/p/s6e7-urban...
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It’s Black Creek
November 22, 2025 at 9:24 PM
It’s Black Creek
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The Premier is taking away speed cameras near schools.
In unrelated news, BRING BACK THIRD SPACES! Even if we have to reclaim them ourselves! ✊
#BikeTO #WalkTO #LoiterTO #VisionZero #TOpoli #ONpoli
In unrelated news, BRING BACK THIRD SPACES! Even if we have to reclaim them ourselves! ✊
#BikeTO #WalkTO #LoiterTO #VisionZero #TOpoli #ONpoli
when our kids were younger we used to block off the road for some space and now I see younger families doing the same and it's the best
November 28, 2025 at 1:09 AM
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October 27, 2025 at 6:09 PM
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Ask for more bikeshare glam shots and you shall receive
November 20, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Ask for more bikeshare glam shots and you shall receive
Children and snails wandering the world
Finding agency in digital and real worlds
open.substack.com/pub/colinell...
Finding agency in digital and real worlds
open.substack.com/pub/colinell...
Children and snails wandering the world
Finding agency in digital and real worlds
open.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Children and snails wandering the world
Finding agency in digital and real worlds
open.substack.com/pub/colinell...
Finding agency in digital and real worlds
open.substack.com/pub/colinell...
He grew up in a time before Toronto banned neighbourhood stores. Here's what he says we're missing www.thestar.com/real-estate/... via @torontostar
He grew up in a time before Toronto banned neighbourhood stores. Here’s what he says we’re missing
Steve Polak took the Star on a stroll down his west Toronto street to show what the city has lost, and what it could gain.
www.thestar.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:54 PM
He grew up in a time before Toronto banned neighbourhood stores. Here's what he says we're missing www.thestar.com/real-estate/... via @torontostar
Great review of "Messy Cities" in the Literary Review of Canada, by @fabulavancouver.bsky.social . With shout-outs to @smkasman.bsky.social and @theurbangeog.bsky.social, among others . And in very distinguished company with Richard Harris's latest book. reviewcanada.ca/magazine/202...
Building Blocks | Literary Review of Canada
Frances Bula reviews “The Rise of the Neighbourhoodin Canada, 1880s–2020s” by Richard Harris and “Messy Cities,” edited by Dylan Reid, et al.
reviewcanada.ca
November 17, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Great review of "Messy Cities" in the Literary Review of Canada, by @fabulavancouver.bsky.social . With shout-outs to @smkasman.bsky.social and @theurbangeog.bsky.social, among others . And in very distinguished company with Richard Harris's latest book. reviewcanada.ca/magazine/202...
Reposted by Messy Urbanisms
As someone who has written a lot about crosswalks - I think these types of crossings are fine, and a USDOT that is dismantling funding programs for bike and pedestrian infrastructure is in no position to argue this is about safety:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
Lubbock Will Remove Buddy Holly-Themed Crosswalk After Federal Crackdown
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM
As someone who has written a lot about crosswalks - I think these types of crossings are fine, and a USDOT that is dismantling funding programs for bike and pedestrian infrastructure is in no position to argue this is about safety:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
Reposted by Messy Urbanisms
Private rooms for your phone calls - from a more civilized age.
November 12, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Private rooms for your phone calls - from a more civilized age.
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Impressive use of pooch puns. And I’m glad I read this news or I may have called Toronto Animal Services. My fav park. It’s impressive, whimsical work by Claude Cormier.
November 12, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Impressive use of pooch puns. And I’m glad I read this news or I may have called Toronto Animal Services. My fav park. It’s impressive, whimsical work by Claude Cormier.
Reposted by Messy Urbanisms
Not an urbanist, a 10 year old.
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Not an urbanist, a 10 year old.
A little tree aspiring to add to the canopy along the Danforth
November 8, 2025 at 2:58 AM
A little tree aspiring to add to the canopy along the Danforth
A couple of the hidden art deco friezes in a basement off the Queen Street subway station
November 8, 2025 at 2:56 AM
A couple of the hidden art deco friezes in a basement off the Queen Street subway station
Reposted by Messy Urbanisms
This year, I had an essay published in this anthology. I'm biased but I love all the essays. The book was on the non-fiction bestseller list in recent months, so I suppose I'm technically a bestselling author?
cc @messyurbanisms.bsky.social
chbooks.com/Books/M/Mess...
cc @messyurbanisms.bsky.social
chbooks.com/Books/M/Mess...
Messy Cities
Can messiness make our cities more liveable, lively, and inclusive?Crowded streets, sidewalk vendors, jumbled architecture, constant clamour, graffitied walls, parks gone wild: are these signs of a po...
chbooks.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:36 PM
This year, I had an essay published in this anthology. I'm biased but I love all the essays. The book was on the non-fiction bestseller list in recent months, so I suppose I'm technically a bestselling author?
cc @messyurbanisms.bsky.social
chbooks.com/Books/M/Mess...
cc @messyurbanisms.bsky.social
chbooks.com/Books/M/Mess...
The Bain Co-op showing its pride on the sidewalk
October 31, 2025 at 10:36 PM
The Bain Co-op showing its pride on the sidewalk
The introduction to "Messy Cities" opens by describing a desire line - specifically, this one in Withrow Park!
October 24, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The introduction to "Messy Cities" opens by describing a desire line - specifically, this one in Withrow Park!