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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
Teaching at
@fanshawecollege
📚 • Working with
@freechurchto
⛪️ • Scheming with
@goodcityca
🏙️ • Writing for
@strongtowns
✍️
Torontolinktr.ee/stevemacdouellJoined July 2009
380 Following
1,417 Followers

Steve MacDouell’s Tweets

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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
When we take the long view of being an active presence in our localities, we start to see small acts of neighbourliness for what they are: gestures that, in the immediate, offer goodwill, hospitality, and connection and that, over time, have a cumulative impact on our places.
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
For me, Easter is the time of year where I ask myself the following question: What if I miss out on resurrection because I'm so afraid of letting things die? I suspect that the church would do well to ask this question, too.
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
After two weeks of travel across the US, here's one thing I noticed: Many gas stations seem to function as third places where people can sit and linger and where locals can—over time—become known characters in the story of their place. Has anyone written about this before?
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
A more holistic, integrated, place-informed approach to transit is desperately needed in this city. A commitment to placemaking is long overdue.
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Jay Pitter
@Jay_Pitter
Between the on-going violence, service challenges and growing unhoused population seeking refuge in shelters & vehicles, the TTC needs a radical placemaking strategy. More broadly, we are witnessing the collapse of many public transit systems & need placemaking interventions now!
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
I think the local library fits this criteria. It hosts programming that fosters connection between neighbours, and you can linger in it—for as long as you'd like—without being pressured to buy anything. It's one of the few places where we don't exchange money for belonging.
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Rik Adamski
@RikAdamski
What’s a non-park third place in your community which isn’t centered on alcohol, coffee, or food? Criteria: * supports socialization with strangers * acceptable to hang out for hours * can be enjoyed for no more than $10 Not counting churches, but it can be church affiliated.
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
This Sunday, our two older kids will each have a piece in the Holiday Art Drive at
@stacktmarket
. Proceeds will help families in need get access to childcare through the YMCA. Shoutout to Cry Baby Gallery for inviting young artists to leverage their creativity in this way!
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a flâneur is "someone who walks around not doing anything in particular but watching people and society." I've never heard my life goal described so succinctly. 👟 👁️ 🏙️
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
I recently joined
@drewthurman
on his podcast. We explored a bunch of things: - a theology of place 📍 - neighbourliness as resistance to immediacy 🐢 - the cumulative impact of small things 🌱 - the power of urban design 🏙️ Here's to long-form chats!
open.spotify.com
031 - (Bonus Episode) - A Conversation w/ Steve MacDouell
Listen to this episode from Dream. Create. Enjoy. on Spotify. Bonus Episode - Why should Christians care about place? How can we become integral characters in the story of our neighborhood? How do we...
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
• Intentionally orienting time, spending, and investment within the boundaries of the neighbourhood 📍 • Being attentive to the gifts, longings, capacities, and stories of the people you share proximity with 👂 That’s enough from me. What comes to mind for you?
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
• Becoming a regular in a third place ☕️ • Walking instead of driving, when possible 👟 • Utilizing all of your senses on a regular basis 👃 • Turning up to what’s already going on (local events, meetings, programming, etc) 🤝
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
One thing that #Andor captures so viscerally is the suffocating dread of totalitarianism. At times, it is subtle, inching people toward dehumanization; at other times, it's direct and unavoidable, revealing a full display of brutality and coercion. It’s what Star Wars has needed.
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
I often think of my friends—
@thebreblack
and
@joshblack
—who analyzed the design of their locality and saw the absence of third places as an opportunity to start a pop-up coffee shop in their garage. Sometimes, we have to subvert the built environment for the good of our places.
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
Robert Moses knew places through abstractions, assumptions, and data points, making plans for them from a distance. Jane Jacobs knew places through stories, proximity, and attentiveness, discerning a way forward—with her neighbours—from the sidewalks of her locality.
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
One of the things that I love about raising kids in the city is that when you run into others doing the same, there is often a shared understanding around two things: how difficult it can be to pull it off and how enriching it can be when you find a rhythm of life that works.
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
Taking the long view—of being present in our neighbourhoods—can subvert our desire for immediacy while encouraging localized experimentation. Sometimes, it's good to be reminded that rich, meaningful things take time to grow.
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
At the alter of money, we will offer boundary-less work rhythms, our sense of personal value, and our tenacious pursuit of more, all with the longing to discover some form of meaning, transcendence, and hope. In the process, we end up dehumanizing ourselves and our neighbours.
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Steve MacDouell
@stevemacdouell
Today, while sitting in my local library, I was once again reminded that the people around me are neighbours who contribute to the animation and vitality of these important spaces, not customers who offer money in exchange for goods and belonging. 📚 🤝 🏙
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