This month, we respond to Doug Ford's stated plan of banning new bike lanes in Ontario municipalities and building an underground highway from Markham to Scarborough.

Then we speak to environmental lawyer and cycling advocate Albert Koehl about his book Wheeling Through Toronto: a history of the bicycle and its riders. We talk about how attitudes towards cyclists have changed over time, or even repeated themselves.

Finally, we talk to transportation consultant and former TTC Chair Adam Giambrone about the need for a culture change at Toronto's transportation commission.

Episode 82: Toronto's political gridlock

We're pleased to bring you another season of The Overhead, and we begin by checking back on a topic we've been tracking from the start: community land trusts.

This time, we're focusing specifically on the "community" aspect of land trusts. We've spoken about the benefits of removing certain land from the market, preserving it as affordable housing in perpetuity. But how do land trusts help longstanding cultural communities so they can continue to call their neigbourhoods home?

We see different communities turning to land trust model as a way to avoid displacement, or reassert cultural ownership over land they've traditionally called home: in the traditionally Black neighbourhoods of Hogan's Alley in Vancouver and Africville in Halifax, or in Toronto's Chinatown.

To answer this, we spoke to Nat Pace, network director of the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts, and Chiyi Tam, managing director of the Toronto Chinatown Land Trust. As Tam puts it, when we talk about the heritage of a place, we spend a lot of time speaking about the buildings or the character. We lose sight of what really makes a place:

"Heritage is the people, it's not the buildings. And affordability is a core function to do heritage preservation work, in and amongst all of our communities — whether that's dragon dancing or whether that's the literal existence of Africville."

How can ownership over land help preserve our diverse communities?

The Overhead: Preserving Community

With Premier Doug Ford's repeated promises to rip up bike lanes in Toronto, and possibly even other Ontario cities and towns, we've decided to dive deep into why and what that might mean for the future or road safety and city planning.

We have a panel discussion featuring Cycle Toronto Executive Director Michael Longfied and Toronto Today Editor Allison Smith. We talk about both the impact of removing cycling infrastructure and why Doug Ford has suddenly made a few kilometres of bike lanes in Toronto a provincial priority.

And we speak to Deputy Mayor and City Councillor Amber Morley about she defends the new Bloor Street bike lanes in her ward, and how/if the City can move forward with safe street projects.

Episode 83: The War on Bikes

The City of Toronto has been named a "role model city" by the United Nations Environment Program for Supporting Urban Ecosystems. It's part of an initiative the UN calls "Generation Restoration," part of their Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

To find out why Toronto has been named a role model, and what that city can teach others across the world about fostering and protecting their urban ecosystems, we speak to Kim Statham, director of Toronto Urban Forestry, and Wendy Strickland, project manager for the Toronto Ravine Strategy.

Listen to the episode to hear how cities can play a role in ecosystem restoration.

The Future Fix: Generation Restoration

O Little Town of Buffalo Gals

This time of year, with the temperature below freezing, it feels appropriate to talk about housing. So, we're bringing you two conversations with two authors who have both recently written about that very topic.

Carolyn Whitzman is the author of Home Truths: Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis.

And Mitchell Cohen wrote Rhythms of Change: Reflections on the Regent Park Revitalization.

The first book provides a macro view of housing in Canada, and the second provides a look at a specific development in Toronto.

Episode 84: Two Housing Carols

With Justin Trudeau stepping down as Prime Minister and the very real possibility of an federal election, Premier Doug Ford mulling over a snap provincial election, and President-elect Trump threatening a trade war, it's almost impossible to predict what 2025 will hold.

And yet, Toronto and other municipalities in Canada must muddle through as best they can and create an annual budget. That process has already started in Toronto.

To rate Trudeau's legacy (for better or worse) in Toronto, and to identify possible pitfalls and goals for the megacity's newest budget, we've put together a panel discussion featuring CivicAction CEO Leslie Woo and Spacing Senior Editor John Lorinc.

Episode 85: City Accounting for Global Chaos

For renters, security of tenure — the ability to stay in a home without fear of being destabilized by eviction — is essential. When you have that security, you can put down roots in your neigbhourhood for you and your family.

But evictions occur all the time. They may be the result of lack of payment, but there are different legal avenues for landlords to pursue "no-fault evictions," such as renovations or moving in a family member. Sometimes these are simply loopholes being exploited, but that's difficult and costly to prove for the renter. Because housing is such big business, there is plenty of incentive to evict current tenants and name a new, higher price.

Alina McKay is Research Manager for the Housing Research Collaborative the the University of British Columbia and Sean Grisdale is a PhD Candidate in Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. They have both been conducting research on evictions and security of tenure.

The Overhead: Security for Renters

In a snap election called ostensibly to decide which Ontario provincial party leader can take on Donald Trump, we sure have spent a lot of time talking about highways.

In this episode, we speak to Emma McIntosh, reporter for The Narwhal, about the various election promises made about highways in Ontario. Do we expand them, remove their tolls, or simply tunnel them under ground at an unimaginable expense? We break down what the party leaders are saying about solving highway congestion.

And, it's either the end of an era in Winnipeg, or the beginning of a new chapter. After over 45 years, the barriers preventing pedestrians from crossing the iconic downtown intersection of Portage and Main are coming down. We ask CBC Manitoba senior reporter Bartley Kives what led to this politically-charged change, and what it means for the future of Winnipeg's downtown.

Episode 86: Lost Highways

Evictions are a problem for renters across the country. As we explored in the last episode: part of tackling the housing crisis requires improving "security of tenure" for the many people who rent their homes.

But evictions are difficult to quantify. Many of them are not reported. And each province has different processes, legislations, and tribunals surrounding evictions and landlord/tenant disputes.

How do we get a picture of evictions across the country?

Alexandra Flynn is an assistant professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. She's been tracking eviction data from province to province. We asked her about her findings.

And David Wachsmuth an associate professor at McGill University's School of Urban Planning and Canadian Research Chair in Urban Governance. He's been conducting meta analysis and qualitative research on evictions in Canada. He tells us a startling fact about people who experience homelessness after an eviction.

What can we learn about eviction policy by comparing provinces and municipalities?

The Overhead: Tracking Evictions Across Canada

A very NSFW peek behind the scenes of recording a podcast. Music by TrackEightyTwo (check his SoundCloud for more fine music).

The Struggle (Podcasting)

Vernon Glyn Bowerman