Nathan Lauster

@lausterna

UBC sociologist, demographer, housing & urban regulation scholar, author, immigrant, blogs at

1.251 Folgt3.817 Follower1.326 Posts

Bluesky

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Nathan Lauster@lausterna· 13d

I could hear someone say "I feel like I'm in danger now" as the geese stepped as one in off the water to watch the fireworks with us. It was glorious.

Geese and people silhouetted against fireworks and the City of Vancouver down at Jericho

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· 23d

Slightly smokey sunset here in Vancouver. And what's that? A new crane hiding behind that tree for the 6-storey mixed-use building going up a couple short blocks away.

Orangey-plum blue sunset silhouetting trees and houses and crane building a 6-storey

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· 25d

Pretty sure Mitsune wins "best dressed" at the Vancouver Folk Fest. Did we manage to get an autographed CD signed for my youngest? Yes, yes we did. www.mitsune.de

The band Mitsune dressed in some wild blue costumes at the Vancouver Folk Fest

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· 26d

Can confirm. Human sacrifice in process here.

Orange cat claws out holding a hand in place to chew upon

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· 26d

I've seen a ton of Western Tiger Swallowtails this year, though they seldom stay in place long enough for me to photograph. Maybe because they can't find anywhere they blend in. Like, sorry Tiger! Kinda close, but still too glorious to pass as a London Plane tree leaf.

Western Tiger Swallowtail on a London Plane Tree leaf, kinda curled inside like a fancy cocktail drink, in Clark Park in Vancouver

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jul 13

Another banger out there

Sunset in Vancouver this evening, silhouetting a utility pole

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jul 11

Good showing at the Khatsalano Festival! If booth line-ups are any indication, it's hard for the World Cup to compete with free stuff.

Photo of the crowd at the Khatsalano Festival on 4th (between Cypress & Burrard)

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jul 11

Sweet clouds out there this evening. And what's this? It appears that SFU has obtained the mandate of heaven...

A glowing rainbow formation of some sort hanging out over Burnaby

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jul 5

The bees they are balming...

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jul 1

Multiculturalism is, in fact, the thing that I celebrate most about my Canadian identity. Happy to see I'm not alone! environicsinstitute.org/wp-content/u... Happy Canada Day!

Figure on what proportion of people feel multiculturalism contributes positively to the Canadian identity, demonstrating widespread support from all demographics polled.

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jul 1

Cypress Bowl to Eagle Bluffs and back. About half the trail is not bad for barefoot hiking (between Sam Lake & Eagle Bluffs), but definitely needed the sandals for the other half.

View from Eagle Bluff, with Vancouver/UBC to the left and Bowen Island on the right

View of my feet in the water at Sam Lake

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 28

Nice. And looks like Greek Day in Vancouver picking up some of the post-match overflow.

Greek Day crowd, wearing a lot of Canada colour, along W. Broadway in Vancouver

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 28

Jazz Fest free concerts at the old Art Gallery are a lot of fun, and there's shade to be found on the steps! Especially fond of Bonnie Northgraves & the Big Loud here, and their jazzed up cover of Tom Petty (Mary Jane's Last Dance). www.coastaljazz.ca/event/bonnie...

The view from the steps of the old Art Gallery looking toward Georgia Street while Bonnie North Graves and the Big Loud play on stage.

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 25

Russian love for Butter has a fun Vancouver connection! It was also at the heart of the Hudson Bay Company's deal with the Russian traders in control of Alaska, leading to Fort Langley's sizable dairy operation after 1839. fvcurrent.com/p/langley-hu...

Article extract: "Senior HBC officials didn’t care about the challenge of farming, however. In 1839, the same year the fort moved two miles upriver, the Hudson’s Bay Company signed a trade agreement with the Russian American Company in which HBC promised the Russians with a significant volume of butter, most of which was to be supplied by Fort Langley. (The Russians controlled Alaska until its sale to the United States in 1867.)

James Murray Yale, who was in charge of Fort Langley from 1833 to 1859, was concerned. The Hudson’s Bay Company sent 29 dairy cows (which Yale labelled “wild California cows”) to Fort Langley in 1839, with the hopes that the fort could supply a significant portion of the more than 5,000 pounds of butter required by the Russian contract.

“I shall not presume to express my humble opinion in regard to the Treaty with the Russians,” Yale wrote in a letter, “but judging of their consequence only from the quantity of Butter they require, one would certainly believe them to be very formidable.”

Fort Langley managed to produce significant volumes of butter—around half of the amount required by the agreement in 1840—while also farming grain and salting pork."

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 25

Kid's contribution to Make a Terrible Comic Day (which I promised I'd also post!) 2/ #makeaterriblecomicday2026

CatComix Contribution for Make a Terrible Comic Day from my youngest kid, with a more realistic depiction of how our cats relate than my own

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 25

Late west coast time contribution to Make a Terrible Comic Day 1/ #makeaterriblecomicday2026

My Make a Terrible Comic Day contribution involving my two cats and mouse that is/was really a druid

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 24

Two big ones, back-to-back, but pretty far apart!

USGS earthquake map, highlighting Japan and Venezuela quakes at 6.9 and 7.1 magnitude

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 18

Congrats to all of the people who have worked so hard to brand Vancouver as "towers full of vacant luxury condominiums" I guess. Anyway, here's the map from 2025's Empty Homes Tax report. Once again, very little empty, with the mansion hoods in the SW leading the pack. vancouver.ca/files/cov/20...

2024 EHT Vacant and Exempt properties in Vancouver, ranging from 1% to 4% across City neighbourhoods, with the highest proportion in wealthy SW neighbourhoods dominated by mansions.

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 17

"Well, well, not so easy to find a map that doesn't suck, huh?" -Ernest Burgess (1925) writing for the Chicago School of Sociology

Burgess' map of Chicago (1925), meant to indicate five basic zones of succession (downtown "loop", zone in transition, workingmen's homes, residential zone, and commuter zone), but also indicating areas by dwelling type and ethnicity.

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 17

Stuff not to sleep on! UBC has been seismically upgrading its own buildings for awhile now (ask me how I know, but not at my usual office) Here's Vancouver's estimated seismic risk prior to carrying out the building level inventory, from report to council. council.vancouver.ca/20260602/doc...

Map of Census tract-level seismic risk estimated to buildings (and occupants) for the City of Vancouver

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 16

Soccer in the Square seems to be a hit at UBC's Wesbrook Village, drawing a pretty good crowd for France v. Senegal on the big screen (it was still 0-0 at time of photo).

UBC Wesbrook Village "Soccer in the Square" event, with a large gathering of people watching the big screen and spilling out of its tented covering.

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 14

TFW you show up early to the "invasive species" conference, but you know you're still not the first one to get there.

English Ivy covering the "No" part of a "No Trespassing" sign next to a "Coyotes in Area" warning sign.

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 14

Prepared for takeoff

A dragonfly with dark spots on its otherwise translucent wings, perched on a bamboo pole, ready for flight, with the sun streaming in behind it, highlighting its fuzzy body

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 12

hermit crab posting

Possibly an orange cat looking out of an overturned laundry basket at the bottom of a set of stairs

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 12

A 1930 map of shipping lines out of Vancouver's Railway (CPR) terminal (as recorded in Vancouver Zoning Bylaw 2074). Now departing for: Australia & NZ China & Japan Nanaimo Victoria & Seattle Coast & Northern Skagway & Juneau BC Coastal W. Van Ferry N. Van Ferry Prince Rupert North Arm

Excerpt of zoning map with drawn shipping lines to destinations above extending from the area surrounding the old CPR rail terminal, with industrial uses including Hastings Mill identified along the shore

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 12

It's an Archives day for me, so here's a Vancouver Sun comic from 1930: Remember kids, politeness can lose you a seat on the bus!

"Another Seat Lost" comic by Batchelor, from Vancouver Sun May 15, 1930.

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 9

This is pretty fun. But still some ambiguity in how it came out for me. Might have to take the quiz a few more times to be sure...

I land on "The Empiricist" in the Theodramatist quiz... "Your closest counterpart
The Empiricist
c. 1689–1776 · England & Scotland · the evidence of the senses
Locke, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding

The mind starts as a blank page, and everything written on it comes through the senses—so test your claims against what you can actually observe, and hold even your best conclusions loosely. Certainty is mostly a flattering illusion. Push the reasoning far enough and even cause and effect dissolve into habit. Better a little doubt, a little toleration, and a decent regard for what actually works.
Representative figuresJohn Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume"

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 4

It turns out that the biggest immediate payoff from reading academic literature about the history of Cattle Futures (see my obscure scholarly fixation on cows in cities) is learning about the Women In Farm Economics (WIFE) organization. Here is their logo, which I must now share.

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 4

Repeatedly listening to Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi song

Increasing interest in song as anti-development, no anti-parking mandate, no use fees should be replaced by property taxes, no blaming a vague "they" for interpersonal problems is bad song

Nathan Lauster@lausterna· Jun 3

Land Value Tax is great! But COULD we stop taxing the "improvement" part of real property in BC property taxes & just focus on the value of the land instead? Well, Vancouver's property taxes initially included the value of COWS as assessed on the property. Then we just stopped doing that. So yes.