What happens when one city councillor gets Toronto council to vote in favour of “studying” garden suites on a single block, potentially undoing years of zoning reform? In this episode of The Missing Middle, Mike Moffatt and Meredith Martin dig into the Craven Road and Parkmount Avenue dispute to reveal how neighbourhood politics, NIMBYism, and endless “consultation” are slowing Toronto’s housing progress. From the satirical truth of McSweeney’s “Every NIMBY Speech at a Public Hearing” to the real frustrations of current and future home owners, Meredith and Mike explore why the city’s gentle density goals keep stalling, and how one councillor’s compromise could set a dangerous precedent for zoning across the city.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:47 The NIMBY phenomenon
03:32 Outlining the Craven and Parkmount garden suite dispute
05:45 Proposed compromises and their implications
07:30 Mike’s take on the compromise plan
09:29 Good zoning reforms make good neighbours
10:14 Future residents are excluded from the process
11:49 The Role of city councillors, residents and planners
14:15 Call to action

Research/links:
Every NIMBY’s Speech At a Public Hearing
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/every-nimbys-speech-at-a-public-hearing

NIMBYs will Fight Even the Gentlest of Density
https://youtu.be/6WavljFV7fM?si=O3jyplV1JRwiIxtd

Paula Fletcher
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/councillor-ward-14/

Notice of Public Meeting - City-Initiated Amendment to Zoning By-law 569-2013 for performance standards for garden suites on through lots (Parkmount Road / Craven Road) - 91-209 Parkmount Road (Odd Addresses Only) and 160 Mountjoy Avenue

https://secure.toronto.ca/nm/api/individual/notice/6660.do

How Cities Keep Screwing up Multiplex Housing
https://youtu.be/MeojzNbB6Io?si=fbZ8hl3b6vnN-DrL

Broken Zoning: Why We Can’t Fix the Housing Crisis Without a Map
https://youtu.be/yuAsjJsiuyQ?si=iWyBl1j_LfNJ4S3y

Simpson reference:
https://youtu.be/lOTyUfOHgas?si=mbIwSskm6Jdll8yU

Journal of a New COBRA Recruit
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/journal-of-a-new-cobra-recruit

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

Ontario’s family housing crisis is spreading fast, and it’s not just a GTA problem anymore. In this episode of The Missing Middle podcast, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt delve into a new report that reveals how the shortage of family-friendly homes in the GTA is driving young families east and south, reshaping entire regions from Peterborough to Ottawa.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:55 Understanding ground-oriented ownership homes

04:00 The ripple effect of GTA's housing shortage

06:40 Population growth and its impact on housing

09:00 Drive-until-you-qualify: migration patterns

13:29 Future projections for housing needs

16:08 How eastern Ontario should prepare for population growth

18:30 You can’t expect families to change their preferences

19:58 Would Sabrina ever move east?

Research/links:

Read our report here

https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/families-on-the-move-670000-more

Who Really Wins with Return-to-Office Mandates?

https://youtu.be/208zVYQWfh4?si=Gg3hdhPRr_iJItjY

Hosts:

Sabrina Maddeaux https://x.com/SabrinaMaddeaux

Mike Moffatt https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt https://bsky.app/profile/mikepmoffatt.bsky.social

Producer: Meredith Martin

https://twitter.com/meredithmartin

@meredithmartin.bsky.social

Editor: Sean Foreman

@seanegertonforeman

@seanforeman.bsky.social

Coop Student: Djeima Alicia Ramos

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

Brought to you by the Missing Middle Initiative https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.

In this episode of The Missing Middle, Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux dig into the rise of shrinkflation, from grocery store products like cereal and Kraft Dinner to Canada’s shrinking condos, and reveal how companies, developers, and government policies are quietly giving Canadians less for more. From deceptive packaging and behavioral economics tricks to the rise of shoebox condos and poor layouts, we explore how rising costs, investor-driven development, and flawed housing policies are reshaping everyday life. If you’ve ever wondered why your groceries don’t stretch as far or why today’s apartments feel more like closets than homes, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:08 Understanding shrinkflation

02:54 Sabrina’s a KD fangirl - who knew?

05:12 The economics behind shrinkflation

07:22 Price anchoring explained

08:25 The shrinking size of living spaces

11:52 Why are units getting so much smaller?

15:39 What’s driving bad design?

18:02 Generational perspectives on housing preferences

19:22 Constrained optimization explained

21:26 Is the investor condo market dead?

23:30 Policy changes to combat shrinkflation

research/links:

Working paper Mike refers to:

Shrinkflation∗

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15tpbhBziggFL-RvjlVgjqBQcNXzcIrWh/view

Condo size data

https://www.mpac.ca/en/News/PressRelease/spacioushomescompactcondosMPACdatarevealsshiftinghousingtrendsacrossOntario

The condo crash won’t fix our housing problem. In fact, it just might make it worse

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/the-condo-crash-wont-fix-our-housing-problem-in-fact-it-just-might-make-it/article_7c44519f-cdbe-4978-b575-ffc1ef9a76bd.html

Hosts:

Sabrina Maddeaux https://x.com/SabrinaMaddeaux

Mike Moffatt https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt https://bsky.app/profile/mikepmoffatt.bsky.social

Producer: Meredith Martin

https://twitter.com/meredithmartin

@meredithmartin.bsky.social

Editor: Sean Foreman

@seanegertonforeman

@seanforeman.bsky.social

Coop Student: Djeima Alicia Ramos

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/

Brought to you by the Missing Middle Initiative https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.