List of sections in Raise the Hammer, with links to each article in that section.
(return to Sections)
HWDSB Decision Reveals Agenda - Something tells me that the School Board is not playing fair in its refusal to consider any option other than the Jerome Park Mountain headquarters. Published 2008/04/30
Planning Over a Cliff - Hamilton can become the city of the future if we can bravely face the reality of the future. Published 2008/04/30
CBC in Hamilton Update - CBC Radio Hamilton is one step closer to reality with the latest Heritage Standing Committee report. Published 2008/03/24
Banning Drive Thrus 2.0 - Sooner or later, cities will ban drive thrus. Hamilton can choose to lead or lag in this initiative. Published 2007/11/27
Pesticide By-Law Proves to be Worthless - What did we expect when we passed a law that bans pesticides - except for the reasons that people normally use pesticides? Published 2007/10/22
Public Space Defines a City - If we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always got. Published 2007/10/22
The Anti-Idling By-Law is an Embarrassment - City Council and staff lost sight of why it was they were making a new law. Published 2007/05/18
The Cost of Convenience - The problem with convenience at any cost is that it can sometimes cause more harm than good. Published 2007/04/10
Former RTH Atrocity to Get a Facelift - Buildings that turn inward and isolate the street and its inhabitants are often blamed for destroying streetlife. Published 2007/01/10
My Three Wishes - My wishes can be simplified to this: I wish for council and staff to make the proper choices to build a livable and vibrant city. Published 2006/12/13
Remembrance Day Ceremonies and Armouries Tour - The John W. Foote VC Armoury building is 100 years old this year. To commemorate Remembrance Day as well as the Armoury's anniversary, here is a photo tour of the parade and the building. Published 2006/11/23
The Power of the New Press - Did this election discredit the 'power of the press' or confirm it? Published 2006/11/23
Trust is a Political Issue - The only way to bring trust back to politics is not to vote for candidates who have broken our trust. Published 2006/11/08
Less Pageantry, More Policy - The issues so far have been lame ducks. Let's hear a mayoral candidate talk about what it is a city leader and municipal government can do to make Hamilton great again. Published 2006/10/20
Parking and Suburbanization Downtown - The solution for an ailing downtown is to become denser and more urban. Published 2006/10/06
Cityview Terrace - This six-story development frames the street and provides affordable living within walking distance of downtown Hamilton. Published 2006/05/05
A Row Over Row Houses - Slower car traffic and more eyes on the street will actually make Queensdale safer and more livable. Published 2006/04/21
Next Stop: Atlantic Station - A new infill development in Atlanta proves that many people want to live in real neighbourhoods. Published 2006/04/21
King East Sails off a Sandbar - I look forward to the day – and it's coming soon – that King East and The International Village can shine proudly on the city like it so deserves. Published 2006/03/18
Peak Oil is Now Official - Mexico's supergiant Cantarell oilfield is now in decline. Can the rest of the world make up the shortfall? Published 2006/03/18
No Idle Matter - After spending hundreds of millions of dollars for a highway to sprawl development on the southeast mountain, we can't afford an anti-idling bylaw? Published 2006/03/01
Art in Hamilton - Think of how dreary life would be without art, movies, theatres, operas, symphonies, and literature. Published 2005/11/10
Unraveling the Gas 'Conspiracy' - People will believe anything if it means preserving our entitlement to cheap gasoline. Published 2005/10/07
Unhampered by HMP - If the under-used block at Main St. and Bay St. is developed properly, it could be a very successful anchor on the west side. Published 2005/10/07
The End of the Tunnel - We are heading toward a troubled future. The directions we choose now will help determine where we end up. Published 2005/09/15
It's Time to Get on Board - Hamilton needs an Architectural Review Board to ensure new developments follow the principles of good urban design. Published 2005/09/15
Making Real Neighbourhoods - Compact neighbourhoods allow the residents to forget that they live in a giant metropolis, regardless of its size. Published 2005/07/01
City to recommend a new 40 km/h School Zone - Gordon Price and St. Vincent de Paul schools will get a new School Zone posted area if the city's recommendation goes ahead. Published 2005/06/16
Getting Back on Track - If Hamilton wants to begin the process of intensification, then it must start with transit. Published 2005/06/16
Et Tu, Brutalism? - So the future didn't happen. Does this mean we destroy all the Brutalism style buildings, much the same as we tore down all our Victorian and Georgian streetwalls? Published 2005/05/31
What about Buchanan? - Hamilton could use another museum celebrating the rich history of Upper Canada and the role Hamilton and its powerbrokers played in the young Dominion. Published 2005/05/31
Hamilton Club Gets a Scrubbing - Hamilton Club does its part in cleaning up Hamilton. Every little bit counts. Published 2005/05/31
Movie Palace Packs Them In - A restored 1920s theatre provides a delightful experience for moviegoers and plenty of warm nostalgia for us just old enough to remember old-fashioned movie houses. Published 2005/05/31
A Challenge for Hamilton City Councillors - Hamilton City Council has the choice to be global leaders and ban drive-thrus. Published 2005/05/16
Dalton Timmis Has Left the Building - The siren song of "free" parking and highway accessibility has lured another business out of the core. Published 2005/04/14
The Mountain Goes Vertical - An in-fill project at Mohawk and Upper Ottawa holds the promise for densification in the upper city. Published 2005/04/14
Once Upon a Time - I know, as well as many Hamiltonians, that our city is Canada's best-kept secret, but sshhh. Published 2005/03/14
Tightening the Belt - The new provincial Greenbelt plan might finally bring an end to sprawl. Published 2005/02/19
Let's Make Real Neighbourhoods - Hamilton has not built a real neighbourhood in over fifty years. While I praise Locke Street and Concession Street for making comebacks as real neighbourhoods, Hamilton can and should do more. Published 2005/01/14
Reach, Dream, Rise, Crumble - Hamilton is like a marathon runner with angina. We need a strong, healthy heart - the core - or nothing else will function properly. Published 2004/12/14
Proponents do not have to rationalize the need for transit or look at alternatives (only alternative construction methods) since the need for transit and the benefits to communities, the environment and the economy are clear." -- From the Government of Ontario's New Transit Environmental Assessment Process
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'Benign Neutrality' is What's Wrong (Jul. 22, 2008) -
Ahhh, things have become a whole lot clearer today after reading a letter to the editor in today's Spectator by John Dolbec of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
The most telling comment i
The City as Dynamic System (Jul. 18, 2008) - I wrote yesterday about the complex and often counterintuitive properties of networks, and the role that simplistic "common sense" thinking can play in leading people to false conclusions about ho
Heat Alert 'Trigger' Too High (Jul. 17, 2008) - Toronto has issued an extreme heat alert - that city's highest warning level to inform and protect vulnerable residents from the dangers of extreme heat. The high humidex is supposed to last u
Passport to Hamilton (Jul. 17, 2008) -
A great new initiative developed by Environment Hamilton and the HSR will be unveiled at a public launch this Friday, July 18th at 10:00 am at Williams Coffee Pub on the waterfront.
Passport
Beyond 'Common Sense': How Traffic Networks Work (Jul. 16, 2008) - With all the talk recently about the Downtown Transportation Master Plan and some councillors' objections to spending money to convert downtown streets to two-way, it seems instructive to stud
Free HSR Fares Not The Way To Go (Jul. 16, 2008) -
Councillor Sam Merulla's recent suggestion that public transit in Hamilton ought to be free would risk making transit an economically and politically unsustainable venture for the city.
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