It's time to Rethink Toronto

Ideas for a better city

If you live in Toronto and are frustrated with the state of the city, you’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to Rethink Toronto, the newsletter formerly known as Atom & Byte. As we head into 2026, and after six months of getting my feet wet in the exciting world of Substack authorship, I’ve decided to rebrand and relaunch this fledgling publication to focus more tightly on improving the city I love.

Toronto has changed and grown substantially over the 48 years I’ve lived here. While there have been many improvements, we’re also facing many challenges. Affordability, housing, transportation, and public safety top most people’s lists.

We’re spending more on just about everything, including housing. While the “drive until you qualify [for a mortgage]” method of buying a house has resulted in a huge number of people leaving the city, others are left with a choice between very expensive single-family homes and shoeboxes in the sky. Zoning is changing to try to address this, but there are many other obstacles to truly building out the missing middle. Renters fare no better, as it’s been decades since purpose-built rental apartment buildings were constructed, leaving many of the same shoebox condos as their only option.

If there’s one thing all Torontonians agree about, it’s that it takes too long to get anywhere these days. Traffic congestion is no longer a rush-hour phenomenon, it persists at all hours of the day and night. And while new rapid transit lines are opening for the first time in almost 20 years, they are all incredibly over budget, behind schedule, and not so rapid once they open. Cycling has gained in popularity, with lots of bike lanes being installed and rapid growth of the bike share network. But now the province has restricted building any new bike lanes that remove vehicle lanes, a classic case of “bikelash”.

Toronto is also struggling to find its identity. This is not new; in the past, we often defined ourselves by not being American, or by being somewhere in between American and European. Chicago but run by the Swiss, others called us. As Toronto has grown and developed, these identities no longer seem adequate. Who are we and what are we to be known for? A city of neighbourhoods? Of parks? Ravines? Yes, of course we are, but that’s nowhere near the whole story. That story is yet to be fully determined. We have work to do.

Loneliness is also a major issue for many people in this city. Young to old, people are feeling isolated and disconnected from each other. Social media and smartphones play a role in this, but we are also missing a sense of community in our neighbourhoods. We are lacking the loose ties between neighbours who say hello to each other in passing, who watch out for each other, who are the “eyes on the street” that Jane Jacobs so wisely described as the foundation for a vibrant, safe, welcoming city. This is made worse by zoning that prohibits mixed-use in our neighbourhoods: residential, retail, commercial, and cultural coming together to create places people can not only live, but also shop, play, and spend time together. To get to know each other.

So yes, we have many challenges. But the purpose of Rethink Toronto is not to dwell or ruminate in the negative, not to complain or cast blame. As an unwavering and determined optimist, that is not my way. Instead, this newsletter will focus on ambitious yet practical ideas for a better city, and concrete steps we can all take to make those ideas become reality.

These ideas will come from a wide variety of sources. I consume a huge amount of content from experts, urbanists, policy makers, futurists, and planners, and we really do have a ton of brainpower focused on improving Toronto. However, the vast majority of people in the city aren’t aware of all these great ideas; after all, many of these publications are aimed at other experts or urbanists, not everyday city residents. So I will bring these ideas to you with a clear, easy-to-understand way, with my own analysis, commentary, and input on how to work together to truly make things better.

We have everything we need to take Toronto to the next level, to take the next step towards becoming a truly great city that works for everyone. It won’t be easy, but it starts with a clear understanding of how things work, or don’t work, and what we can do to get from where we are today to a better future.

Stay tuned for regular posts coming your way soon. And if you have any ideas of your own, or requests for a particular challenge or frustration in the city you’d like me to focus on, hit reply and let me know.

Let’s Rethink Toronto together and create a city we’re all proud of.