No context: architecture in a post-literary world.
We read very little, criticism or otherwise. We intake culture through skimming and scrolling. What happens to architectural thinking when we fail to look at its sociopolitical context?
In an era of doomscrolling and smartphones, are we moving toward a post-literate world? Have we created a world where superficial images presented without context are “just fine?” Without presenting a meaningful context, client stories, sociopolitical realities or the overcoming of financial constraints, a lighthearted Instagram post is increasingly seen as acceptable discourse in society. The world of architecture and design is decidedly not exempt.
Have we irrevocably lost the ability to focus? The design profession often demands intense focus, from permitting applications and door schedules to distinguishing between colours of elastomeric sealants and the fine points of social housing policy. While our professional life demands focus, our ability to think critically may be declining alongside that of the general population. Most of us read very few books. As architects, we continue to buy them in vast quantities, but that trend is declining. Who needs to drop $100 on an architectural monograph when an online portfolio is just as good? While I love the idea of a printed artifact, I recommend that any firm wishing to spend six figures on a book project reconsider allocating such a considerable sum to a video (or series of short videos) that may reach a broader audience.
An essay appeared in The New York Times this week by Mary Harrington, entitled "Thinking Is Becoming a Luxury Good." For those with short attention spans, the crux of the piece is how smartphones are creating new inequalities. Just as lower-income individuals tend to consume more obesogenic foods, lower-income children spend more time on their smartphones. Wealthier demographics can afford to invest more in healthy eating and educational opportunities that foster critical thinking. Regardless of income levels, just as many of us are tempted by potato chips, so too are we tempted by the quick satisfaction of scrolling on our phones or seeking out quick images.
In the case of architecture, or architectural criticism, we are, to paraphrase Ross Douthat's podcast, "living in interesting times." Of all the newsletters, podcasts and journals that I regularly consult on the built environment, I regularly notice a general lack of critical thinking. We favour the image, the quick caption, the "short answer." We are living in a period of history that Harrington and others refer to as our post-literate world.
Print-Era Depth to Scrollbait
In a remarkably short period, we have abandoned the architectural ideologies of architectural thinking for click-driven content, from Modernism to debating the fall of Modernism, to debating Postmodernism, and everything that ensued through the '80s to the starchitecture of the early 2000s. In the earlier stages, blogs briefly democratized critique but soon yielded to click-driven content. Perhaps this Substack newsletter is such an anachronistic reminder of a desire to maintain a nuanced dialogue of criticism? Social media has undoubtedly opened up opportunities for architects to curate their social media content more effectively and enhance their brand recognition. The barrier to becoming a starchitect is lower. Maybe the concept of a "starchitect" is a late-period reminder of a design collective gathering around a few iconoclasts? If we are no longer living in a world of design collectives, then the road to fame (or infamy) demands a single, compelling image for mainstream media.
It is too easy to fall in love with Instagram carousels, TikTok tours, and sponsored listicles. Real estate agents, architects and savvy hospitality-related content creators intermingle for our attention. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the greatest architect of them all? We have lists for that!
Symptoms of Superficiality
I'm always impressed when an architect delivers an excellent project for a financially constrained client. Luxury profiles often skip discussions like development pro formas, land speculation, tax incentives, or the investors who made a project happen. Similarly, they gloss over a client who commissioned a $5 million home north of Toronto after having "crunched the numbers to make it happen." Such clients don't seem to be "crunched" in any way.
Lack of context is disappointing and becoming increasingly uncomfortable for me when I learn about new projects. How can a sleek and stunning Vancouver condo tower describe itself as "mixed income" when 90% of the units start at over $3 million, while the other 10% who live in the affordable rent-controlled units have to enter through the "poor door"? Building million-dollar condos on top of social housing is a striking and shameful metaphor for social inequity, where a "mixed-income" rhetoric can coexist with physical and financial segregation. Design media often celebrate façade and amenity drama while glossing over hard numbers, such as price ladders, tenure splits, eligibility rules, and governance of social-housing funds. Rigorous criticism must follow both the money trail and the spatial logic of a project, not just its sculptural silhouette.
Elsewhere, I see articles that celebrate façade patterns while ignoring displaced renters and zoning variances. Or, projects describing themselves as "green" without embodied-carbon, energy use or maintenance data.
The Post-Literate Attention Economy
Platforms reward short-form video, not 3,000-word cost breakdowns. And long-form literacy has become elitist. To say that you subscribe to The Atlantic says a lot, especially in today's political climate. And if glossy scrollbait serves a broader but shallower audience? So what! Glossy is more fun. But that "fun" comes with a price when developers, architects, and designers face less scrutiny in their work, and policy debates are reduced to vibe-laden memes. We are seeing this with our governments. While it may seem savvy and pragmatic for Prime Minister Carney to deliver short policy briefs on Instagram, these brief snippets of accessible information lack criticality and depth.
Rebuilding Critical Scaffolding
I encourage architects to at least include project cost disclosures, overcome bylaws, incorporate public feedback, and feature faces and groups that contributed to a glossy image. We all have leaders responsible for the success of every project. Include them! They can be in your office. They can be your client. They can be an external stakeholder. Build your story behind that image. And do it responsibly. Blend design, economics, sociology, and environmental metrics. Pair concise social teasers with linked deep dives; leverage long-form-friendly models.
Superficial coverage is not inevitable—it's incentivized. By refusing scrollbait and insisting on context, content curators can help shift the culture to include more critical thinking in architecture and design.
In the News…
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Housing Supply, Economics & Policy
The $1.5 Billion Question: Can Ottawa Really Cut Development Charges in Half? (Missing Middle Initiative) During the federal election, the Liberals committed $1.5 billion per year to development charge reduction, representing one-quarter of the planned expenditures on their housing platform. The federal government will need to find ways to leverage this money so that each dollar leads to several dollars’ worth of savings.
Feeding the Data Monster: Why Builders Are Beating Cities at Transparency (Missing Middle Initiative) This group has worked to create a publicly accessible development charge (DC) database. The quest for a development‑charge database hit municipal roadblocks, so researchers turned to homebuilder associations. Builders readily shared figures, surpassing cities on transparency. The episode reveals a data gap and underscores demand among planners, academics and journalists for cost information.
B.C. developers press for easing of foreign investment laws to avoid crash in construction industry (The Globe and Mail) Major B.C. developers warn Ottawa’s extended foreign‑buyer ban is starving presale capital, jeopardizing condo construction. Without offshore investors, projects miss financing thresholds, suppressing new supply amid a housing crisis. They urge selective relief to avert industry contraction and economic fallout.
Ottawa is quietly working on launching a new entity it hopes will be key to housing affordability (The Globe and Mail) Though trade disputes dominate headlines, federal officials are consulting industry on Build Canada Homes, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s proposed developer‑style agency. The entity would construct affordable units, finance innovators and spur sector modernization, resurrecting Ottawa’s role in homebuilding amid shortages.
Calgary outpaces housing unit target, secures funding boost from feds (Livewire Calgary) Calgary’s rapid rollout of the Housing Accelerator Fund exceeded multi‑unit and transit‑oriented targets, unlocking an extra $22.8 million on top of 2023’s $228.5 million. Funding supports thousands of secondary suites, office‑to‑residential conversions, missing‑middle projects and non‑market homes, sustaining supply momentum through 2026.
Why the Micro-Unit Moment Might Be Over (Building) Micro‑condos under 500 sq ft, once hailed as affordability hacks, are losing appeal. By late 2024 they made up just 20 percent of GTA sales; investors dominate, but tenants crave space. Cramped kitchens, token “flex” closets and amenity trade‑offs now deter buyers and renters.
Slowdown in construction spending to continue through next year, AIA forecast finds (Archinect) AIA’s Consensus Construction Forecast predicts nonresidential building spending will edge up 1.7 percent this year and 2 percent in 2026, reflecting sluggish recovery. Commercial gains remain modest, institutional outlays plateau, and manufacturing—recent star performer—faces consecutive annual declines as momentum wanes further ahead.
A Third Of All Land Buys Are Now Multiplex: Vancouver’s Zoning Bet Is Paying Off (Storeys) Vancouver’s 2023 rezoning of detached‑house districts to allow four‑ and six‑plex buildings is reshaping the market. By late 2024, multiplex redevelopment sites accounted for roughly one‑third of residential dollar sales, signalling industry embrace of gentle density and the single‑family home’s eclipse.
Toronto City Council Waives Development Charges On Sixplexes (Storeys) Toronto Council waived development charges and parkland fees for all sixplex units, expanding an earlier four‑unit proposal. With DCs soaring and choking mid‑scale projects, the exemption aims to stimulate missing‑middle housing by lowering costs and accelerating modest infill construction citywide.
Neighbourhoods, Design & Urban Mobility
Won’t you be my neighbour? (The Globe and Mail) Calls for walkable, denser neighbourhoods clash with fears about privacy, parking and heritage. History shows communities have lamented neighbourliness since 1590. As mobility, online ties and individualism grow, the question persists: do we need neighbours—and what counts as community today?
Rip the bandage off rapidly, please (Spacing) Toronto’s RapidTO bus‑lane plan, conceived in 2018, remains mired in foot‑dragging. The latest compromise dilutes priority lanes on Bathurst, pitting merchants, drivers and parking defenders against 35,000 daily riders trapped in congestion. Critics urge decisive action, not incremental, irony‑laden delays.
The Quintessential Urban Design of ‘Sesame Street’ (The New York Times) Embracing the grit, Sesame Street would become one of the most recognizable blocks in the world. More than 50 years old, “Sesame Street” has endured, in part, because it is both realistic and idealistic at once. Through its aesthetics, the show is grounded in reality; and through its messaging, it portrays a vision of how urban life can be. It’s a block where residents of all backgrounds and varying income levels exist together harmoniously and where local businesses thrive.
Homes Still Aren’t Designed for a Body Like Mine (The Atlantic) According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 6 percent of U.S. households include someone who has difficulty using their own home because of accessibility problems. Here is a continuation of disabled people’s historical mistreatment and exclusion, a legacy that shapes housing to this day. The article traces historical neglect and demands inclusive standards going forward.
After 18 years of work, Toronto’s Port Lands opens to the public (The Globe and Mail) Toronto unveiled Biidaasige Park, centerpiece of the $1.5‑billion Port Lands Flood Protection Project. Two decades of engineering carved a new Don River mouth, created an island and stitched trails, wetlands and bridges into once‑industrial wasteland, delivering green space to residents.
Toronto opens Biidaasige Park, largest new park in a generation, on city’s newest island (Construction News) Ookwemin Minising’s 20‑hectare Biidaasige Park debuts as Toronto’s largest new green space in decades. Carved from Don River re‑naturalization, it offers trails, playgrounds, ziplines, boating slips and dog runs, anchoring waterfront revitalization led by Waterfront Toronto and MVVA landscape architects.
Climate, Sustainability & Resilience
Clearcutting tied to 18-fold increase in flood risk: UBC study (CBC) A UBC study using decades of watershed data found clearcut logging can raise catastrophic flood frequency by 18‑fold. Harvesting alters soil, runoff and rainfall infiltration, reshaping hydrology. Researchers argue the evidence demands tougher forestry regulations to curb climate‑related flooding risks.
Canada’s clean economy needs better data (Corporate Knights) Canada’s fragmented climate‑data landscape hobbles the shift to a resilient, low‑carbon economy. Inconsistent information deters corporate action, policy design and investor confidence, as shown by recent greenwashing fallout. Experts urge building a climate‑information architecture to guide decisions and unlock investment.
We keep rebuilding after disasters, but should we? (The Narwhal) Climate‑fuelled disasters are battering B.C., with 2023 ranking fourth costliest for insured damages. Nearly one‑quarter of households endured extreme weather. Critics question automatic rebuilding in risk zones, arguing adaptation, relocation and preventive planning must replace reactive restoration cycles going forward.
From $2,600 to $775: how social housing in Metro Vancouver is changing lives — and fighting climate change (The Narwhal) Metro Vancouver’s new non‑market housing pairs affordability with climate action. Energy Step Code buildings slash utility bills and emissions; one family’s rent dropped from $2,600 to $775. Advocates argue integrated social‑climate investments offer durable relief amid soaring housing costs today.
An eco-friendly renovation doesn’t need to be all about appliances and it needn’t cost the Earth (The Guardian) Instead of gutting their century‑old Melbourne home, empty‑nesters and embraced low‑waste renovation: retaining walls, recycling timber, repurposing backyard elements. The approach slashes material costs and embodied carbon while boosting the house’s energy rating.