Raise the Hammer
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Jason Allen is a chronic hive whacker in the Kirkendall Neighbourhood.
Email: janoallen@hotmail.com
Hamilton Shelters Remarkably COVID-19 Free Thanks to Innovative Testing Program - In a week of increasingly bleak news on the health care front, it is good to be able to celebrate a victory that was designed and delivered right here in Hamilton. Published December 21, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
The Environmental Urbanist Podcast - I have started a new radio program and podcast on environmental urbanism, hosted on 93.3 CFMU on Tuesday afternoons at 1:00 PM. Published November 21, 2019 in Hardy to Zone 6
Safe, Welcoming Space at Neighbour to Neighbour - If you're looking to be an ally to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, supporting the work of Neighbour to Neighbour may be a good place to start. Published July 19, 2019 in Commentary
Toward an Urban Forest Strategy for Hamilton - The City is currently undertaking the development of an strategy to measure, protect and expand the city's urban forest. Published June 20, 2019 in Special Report: Urban Forest
Book Review: The Fruitful City by Helena Moncrieff - Central to this lively book is the notion that we are literally surrounded by fruit in our cities, and yet nobody has any idea what to do with it. Published January 09, 2019 in Reviews
Ending Transit Area Rating Not a Panacea - Eliminating area rating has a role to play in in increasing funding for transit in Hamilton, but it is by no means the only solution to expanding transit to the suburbs. Published November 09, 2018 in Special Report: Transit
Walrus Talk on Aging and Mobility - The messages were generally hopeful and forward-looking, and all the speakers were clearly experts in their fields, it just would have been nice if they had addressed the topic at hand. Published October 06, 2017 in Events
Transportation Lessons for Hamilton from Ottawa - A weekend in Ottawa as an urban mobility tourist provided lots of examples of a city doing public transportation right. Published August 01, 2017 in Special Report: Transit
The West Hamilton School Accommodation Review, So Far - School Board Trustees will be presented with at least eight options which they will have to weigh against the problems this accommodation review was launched to address. Published March 22, 2017 in Special Report: Education
School Board Proposal to Close Hess School Draws Heated Opposition - Over 100 participants overwhelmed the School Board's efforts to control the agenda of Wednesday's accommodation review meeting. Published January 13, 2017 in Special Report: Education
Dangerous Streets Discourage Children from Walking to School - We can make a city where it really is the best place to raise a child - where it's safe to walk to school - but that will require political leadership. Published April 15, 2016 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
This Time, Council Must Actually Follow its Transportation Plan - Will the Transportation Master Plan review become yet another exercise in public consultation that goes nowhere? Published October 13, 2015 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Hand to Mouth: Stark Poverty Memoir Challenges Middle-Class Sensibilities - While I was fairly familiar with the research into the causes and effects of poverty, Linda Tirado's narrative brought the day to day reality into stark relief. Published January 23, 2015 in Reviews
HSR Needs an Independent Commission (Candidate Submission) - Hamilton's transit service should be governed by a commission of citizens, transit experts and councillors to shepherd the troubled agency through the coming cultural transformation. Published October 22, 2014 in Municipal Election 2014
Hamilton 311 (Candidate Submission) - It's time we do away with 'good enough for the likes of you' when it comes to customer service, and demand that when we call the City, we get the right answer, the first time. Published October 07, 2014 in Municipal Election 2014
Substantial Changes to 220 Dundurn South Plan - Construction could begin as soon as late October for this controversial landmark on Dundurn Street South. Published September 16, 2014 in Commentary
Confessions of a Nervous Cyclist - For a casual cyclist to make a short journey by bike in this city, you need a level of preparation, route planning savvy and confidence that creates a huge barrier to the introductory rider. Published July 18, 2014 in Special Report: Cycling
King/Dundurn Shoppers Drug Mart Plan Moves to OMB - On Wednesday evening, 25 to 30 residents of the Strathcona neighbourhood gathered to hear about the proposed development of the Shoppers Drug Mart location at the North East corner of King and Dundurn. Published March 21, 2014 in Downtown Bureau
Are We Ready for the Conversation? - Is Hamilton ready to have a serious discussion about the future of our city that doesn't resort to name-calling or dismissing whole neighbourhoods as an irredeemable write-off? Published September 28, 2013 in Commentary
Enthusiasm, Concern about 220 Dundurn South Redevelopment - Citizens greeted Denis Vranich's redevelopment plans for 220 Dundurn Street South with a mixture of optimism and wariness. Published June 18, 2013 in Commentary
Devil in the Details of 220 Dundurn South Redevelopment - Developers produce better outcomes when they work constructively with local residents to ensure their concerns are addressed. Published June 12, 2013 in Commentary
Heritage Preservation Bonds Could Save Hamilton's Historic Buildings - Why not float a 'Heritage Preservation Bond' in Hamilton so that those who are passionate about preserving Hamilton's architectural heritage can invest at a competitive rate of interest payable upon the bond's maturity? Published January 09, 2013 in Special Report: Heritage
Who Has a Story to Tell? - The flurry of facts, figures and studies surrounding the benefits of change are no match for a compelling narrative. Published September 11, 2012 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
A Visit to Oak Manor Farms - If you have the means and the time, there is little better than going to where the food really comes from and meeting the often amazing people who are committed to growing and producing it. Published February 03, 2012 in Hardy to Zone 6
Leadership and Bold Vision on LRT - We don't need more study. We don't need to 'step back and respect the process'. And we certainly don't need to be 'protected'. What we need is leadership and bold vision. Published September 27, 2011 in Special Report: Light Rail
Bike Safety as Social Justice - It's time to get serious about engineering our city for bike safety, not because it's the trendy 'hipster' thing to do, but because so many Hamiltonians of limited means depend on bikes to travel without getting maimed or killed. Published July 08, 2011 in Special Report: Cycling
How To Cut Your Gasoline Costs - The best way to manage the increasing cost of gas, in an age when the demand for gas is clearly beginning to outstrip the supply, is to use less of it. Published May 16, 2011 in Hardy to Zone 6
A Love song for Strathcona - Strathcona was the first place I have lived in which I immediately felt part of the community. Published April 18, 2011 in City Life
The Tipping Point - Triggers for social change may be impossible to predict before the fact, but Hamilton may be ripe for such a catalyst. Published March 23, 2011 in Hardy to Zone 6
100 Mile Shopping - Many sustainability advocates encourage a wholesale shift to buying locally sourced/manufactured/sold goods, but this can be tricky. Published March 14, 2011 in Hardy to Zone 6
The Cobbler's Children - Perhaps the time to start learning is now, because if shoe-making is any indication, the ramp-up time for these skills may be uncomfortably long, and our leisure to learn them is surprisingly short. Published February 23, 2011 in Hardy to Zone 6
Hardy to Zone 6 - Instead of focusing our efforts on how to hunker down and just 'survive' the challenges we know are ahead, can we please have a conversation about how we can prosper and thrive? Published February 16, 2011 in Hardy to Zone 6
What Would We Do If...? - Stock your canned goods, and your candles, and your source of heat - but more importantly, have the 'what if' conversation while it's easy to have it in a calm, rational way. Published February 03, 2011 in Hardy to Zone 6
Whither the Jitney - As we head toward a future of limited public funding, it makes sense to get creative in looking for ways to meet our city's transit needs. Published January 14, 2011 in Hardy to Zone 6
30 Minutes a Day - For your new year's resolution, resolve to spend half an hour a day doing manual, productive labour with a tangible outcome. Published December 16, 2010 in Hardy to Zone 6
Extremism and the Long Emergency - We need to consider the tendency toward anger and extremism if we want to have any hope of a peaceful stepping down of the carbon-intensive economy towards one that is more sustainable, and indeed more fair. Published December 06, 2010 in Special Report: Peak Oil
The Folly of General Electricity Subsidies - An across-the-board electricity rebate serves to undo the important work being done to upgrade the grid by incentivizing people to waste electricity. Published December 03, 2010 in Special Report: Climate Change
Resilience Starts in your Head - If you can cultivate the attitude of not being afraid to try/fail, you'll be miles ahead no matter what crisis strikes. Published November 17, 2010 in Special Report: Peak Oil
Re-Imagining Suburbia - We have the opportunity now to take some practical steps towards re-imagining the suburbs as places where work, shopping, living and agriculture all get just a little more neighborly. Published November 02, 2010 in Suburbia Project
Civic Engagement and Social Media - A campaign backed by a solid platform and promoted through effective use of social media to communicate directly with voters can confirm public support and inspire new voters to the polls. Published October 19, 2010 in Municipal Election 2010
100 Friend Diet, Redux - In the end, this experiment has been just what we hoped it would be: An exercise in eating great food and building closer ties to where that food comes from. Published October 13, 2010 in Special Report: Peak Oil
Labour-Saving Day - Resource scarcity isn't a problem for five, ten, or fifteen years down the road. For a lot of people in Ontario, It's here now. Published September 07, 2010 in Special Report: Peak Oil
Urban Bounty - Hamilton is almost uniquely suited in terms of geography, climate, and natural soil quality to provide much of its own food within its own borders. Published August 25, 2010 in Special Report: Peak Oil
Industrial Graft-Vs-Host Disease and the Throw-Away Economy - Life in a post-carbon economy will be about repairing and jury-rigging our aging consumer goods; but it will also be about letting go of things that improve standard of living but not quality of life. Published July 30, 2010 in Special Report: Peak Oil
Of Cursing and Candles - It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness, and the upcoming election is a golden opportunity to light a whole bunch of candles. Here's how to get started. Published July 20, 2010 in Municipal Election 2010
Eat Local - Really Local - Perhaps the key to weaning our dinner tables off of fossil fuels is to start right in our own backyard, or apartment balcony, or even south-facing window. Published July 14, 2010 in City Life
Whistle Stops and Sustainable Cities - Hamilton, with its extensive network of inner city rail lines and spurs, and proximity to an even more cost effective mode of transporting goods (marine!) is ideally suited to capitalizing on the skyrocketing cost of diesel. Published March 26, 2010 in Special Report: Peak Oil
The Lizard Brain and the LRT - If we want LRT to work in thic city, someone is going to have to take the first step to address the fear through meaningful dialogue. Published February 04, 2010 in Hardy to Zone 6
The 100-Friend Diet, Published September 19, 2010 in Sustainability
The Real Cost of Outsourcing, Published August 02, 2010 in Economy
Will Toronto's Blackout Be an Energy Security Wake-Up Call?, Published July 06, 2010 in Activism
Peak Oil and Bicycle Commuting, Published March 30, 2010 in Peak Oil
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