Ancillary Justice got a ton of hype upon its release in 2013, racking up a dizzying number of genre awards and garnering praise for its inventive handling of gender and nonhuman intelligence, in addition to being an excellent space opera. But I was on hiatus from genre reading in 2013, and so while I’d been exposed to the Imperial Radch universe when I read Translation State in my 2023 Hugo reading, I hadn’t yet circled back to the book that put Ann Leckie on the map. And when an online book club picked it up, I had the perfect opportunity to try.

Ancillary Justice is split into two different timelines, both following the same character in dramatically different life circumstances. In the former, the lead is one of thousands of connected ancillaries—ship AI consciousnesses downloaded into bodies of flesh and blood. In the latter, Breq is on her own, separated from her ship and her other bodies, on a mission that’s part revenge and part revolution, but waylaid by attempts to aid a suicidal human who had served on her ship thousands of years in the past. The former story is all about explaining just how Breq came to her current circumstances with her current convictions, while the latter is about executing a plan and saving a vulnerable bystander.

Because I was out-of-touch with the genre community in 2013, I can’t speak much to the background that made Ancillary Justice feel so daringly impressive. But I can’t help the feeling that it loses something for a new reader twelve years down the line. It’s so famous for its treatment of gender that I came in with some expectations on that score, but while it purports to build a genderless society, that element of worldbuilding doesn’t get much exploration beyond the lead’s inability to remember any pronouns other than she/her. It feels like a stray bit of worldbuilding designed almost entirely to discomfit the reader and force a questioning of gendered assumptions, and while it totally succeeds on that level, its reputation over the years had grown beyond what it actually delivers. This isn’t The Left Hand of Darkness, and while I have no doubt it was surprising to readers in 2013, it’s not something that particularly stands out from the science fiction landscape in the early 2020s.

The treatment of nonhuman intelligence is similar. It’s a theme with a long history in science fiction, and while I have few complaints about its handling in Ancillary Justice, we’ve seen a lot of disparate portrayals of artificial intelligence in the last decade, and there’s nothing here that feels truly special. Which is fine, except when the reader is approaching a book that rampaged through the Hugo, Nebula, Clarke, Locus, BFA, and Kitchie…well, it sets up the expectation for something mind-blowing. And instead, Ancillary Justice is good.

In fact, I’d argue that the building of a genuinely strange society is done much better in the standalone Translation State that’s set in the same universe. And while Translation State is a very good book that garnered its share of award nominations, its reputation doesn’t hold a candle to that of the series-starter.

As a space opera, Ancillary Justice remains an engaging and entertaining read. Both timelines offer enough mystery to keep the tension high through the first half of the novel, and when the first timeline drops off in the book’s second half, the messy imperial politics continue to give the reader a reason to press on. As the book progresses, the plot starts to get more and more straightforward, with most of the immediate tension coming from wondering whether the lead will be able to execute her mission without getting herself or her tag along killed. But the big picture questions add some freshness even when the plot is more familiar.

This review has talked a lot about expectations because it’s hard to separate my response from my expectations coming in. They weren’t met, I think in large part because the genre has come a long way in the decade-plus since the book was published. But it’s still a very good space opera.

With ten Oscar nominations, The Brutalist has reignited the debate over the legacy of brutalism. The polarising architectural style was shaped by post-war hopes for a better future. But it was also, as historian Adrian Forty argues in his book Concrete and Culture (2012), an “expression of melancholy, the work of a civilisation that had all but destroyed itself in the second world war”.

The fictional architect at centre of The Brutalist, László Tóth, is an Austro-Hungarian modernist and concentration-camp survivor who moves to America to rebuild his life. His designs, described as “machines”, are inspired by the trauma of camps like Buchenwald and Dachau.

Emerging from the rubble of the second world war, brutalism became an architectural response to devastation and the pressing need for urban renewal. The destruction caused by the Blitz provided architects with opportunities to design environments reflecting the ideals of the new welfare state: equality, accessibility and functionality for the collective good.

This ethical foundation aimed to address the social needs of the post-war era, particularly in housing, education and public welfare infrastructure. Notable examples of the style include the Barbican estate and Southbank Centre in London.

Architectural critic Reyner Banham, who coined the term brutalism in his 1966 work Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic, argued that the movement was more than an aesthetic choice. He championed the work of Alison and Peter Smithson, young British architects who played a crucial role in shaping brutalism through projects like Robin Hood Gardens in London’s Tower Hamlets. For Banham, brutalism was an ethical stance and a form of “radical philosophy” aiming to address the social needs of the post-war era.

The brutalist style has, however, often been criticsed for what many perceived to be its unappealing, “ugly” aesthetic and alienating qualities. In 1988, King Charles famously compared the National Theatre in London to a nuclear plant, encapsulating the public’s mixed reactions. Similarly the situationists (a French anti-capitalist art movement) denounced brutalist housing estates as “machines for living”. They saw them as oppressive structures that stifled human connection.

The perception of brutalism is highly dependent on context. In warmer climates like Marseille in France, the play of sunlight on raw concrete gave structures a sculptural quality. In the UK’s wet climate, however, exposed concrete weathered quickly, making buildings appear grey and neglected.

Yet for brutalist architects, this was never just about aesthetics. They saw their designs as expressions of honesty and social progress, rejecting ornamentation in favour of raw, functional materials that symbolised a new egalitarian society. The very qualities that critics saw as oppressive were, to its proponents, what made brutalism a radical and hopeful architecture.

Despite their ethical intentions, brutalist buildings often appeared to have an alienating impact on their residents. In his book Making Dystopia (2018), architectural historian James Stevens Curl discusses the Canada Estate in Bermondsey, London, built in 1964, where tenants expressed their disaffection for the environment through acts of vandalism.

By the 1970s, the optimism surrounding modernist and brutalist projects had begun to collapse, both figuratively and literally. One of the most infamous moments symbolising this failure was the Ronan Point disaster in 1968.

A gas explosion on the 18th floor of this newly built tower block in east London caused a partial collapse. Four people were killed and serious concerns were raised about the safety and quality of post-war high-rise housing.

This tragedy pushed the Clash’s Joe Strummer to write one of the band’s most notable songs, London’s Burning, in 1976. In the late 1970s and 1980s, punks splattered brutalist architecture with graffiti slogans echoing situationist critiques of modern urban life.

Some referenced punk band names or song lyrics, showing how punk didn’t just adopt the attitude of the situationists but also their language and tactics. Jamie Reid, the architect of the Sex Pistols’ aesthetic, often used images of brutalist structures as a stark backdrop to his punk visuals.

The punk movement reinterpreted the failure of brutalism not just as an architectural problem but as a broader societal collapse, highlighting issues of alienation, neglect and the erosion of post-war utopian ideals.

Yet, in recent years, the brutalist aesthetic has found a new audience. Online communities, such as Reddit’s 1.5 million-member r/EvilBuildings reflect on buildings and surroundings captured by community members and the impressions these structures leave. Brutalist buildings frequently top the list.

This renewed interest highlights the complex legacy of a style that was once widely criticised but continues to captivate a broader audience beyond architects.

Brutalism’s dual legacy, a movement intended to create community but often seen as alienating, continues to shape debates in architecture and urban planning. The controversial nature of this style is evident in the demolition of prominent structures like the Smithsons’ Robin Hood Gardens (2018), the Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth (2004), and the currently ongoing demolition of Cumbernauld town centre in central Scotland.

These demolitions highlight both brutalism’s polarised reception and the public reassessment of its value. These spaces are more than just concrete. They are sites of memory, rebellion, and ongoing cultural significance, continuously shaping and being shaped by the society around them.

The popular Final Fantasy anthology series is one of the most groundbreaking video game series of all time. What makes each one of them groundbreaking is their in-depth world building, diverse characters and character arcs. However, what really makes Final Fantasy so unique is their themes and allusions to the real world. Their most famous games being Final Fantasy VII alludes to the corruption of capitalism and the role it plays on the environment while also having imperialist themes as well. But what game is really political of the series is Final Fantasy XII, which was released in 2006 for Playstation 2. Since its release it’s been remastered and ported for Playstation 4 and 5 as Final Fantasy XII:The Zodiac Age, expanding more on the world of Ivalice. But I’m not here to talk about the greatness of the game, which is indeed one of my top favorite Final Fantasy games, I’m here to talk about the themes and the allegorical connections with West Asia, specifically Palestine.

When we are first introduced to Dalmasca, we see the wedding of Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca to Rasler Heios Nabradia, the invasion and colonialism by the Archadian Empire of Nabradia, and eventually Rasler’s death and Dalmasca’s fall to colonial rule. Dalmasca is an allegory for an Arab country, with developers of the game saying they took inspiration for the name from the Syrian city of Damascus. And while they took inspiration from Levant for Dalmasca, to me all I saw was Palestine. The city of Rabanastre is still very reminiscent of the old cities of Akka and Yaffa, historical but yet modern, with bustling bazaars and Arabesque architecture. The clothing the characters of Dalmasca wear are very Levantine coded. Many argue that they’re blonde, but I am here to tell you that as a Palestinian I have cousins with blonde hair and blue eyes, some with red hair and freckles on their olive skin! They captured the diversity of the region through Dalmasca which is something I truly appreciate. (Also lookup some of the concept art for Dalmasca and Nabradia because they are very Levantine influence.)

What made me think of Palestine was when Vaan infiltrates the Palace, there’s a seal you have to find a seal with a lion reminding me of the Tree of Life mosiac in Hisham’s Palace in Reeha(Jericho). But what really kicks it off is how we’re introduced to Ashe and the resistance.

Ashe ends up being alive after her faked suicide and created a resistance group to fight against the Archadian Empire. Which the Empire uses Vayne Solidor arguing that he will be a friend to native Dalmascans(this is a lie of course). We find out the treaty signing of her late father with the Archadian Empire was a trick to eventually take control of it. And Ashe was clearly against this. The historian and Palestinian in me couldn’t think about the early British colonial efforts of Palestine and the Levantine, where the British Empire were lying to Arab bourgioise leaders on the promise of an Arab state after the Mandate was over, only for it to be nothing but false. Ashe and the Resistance along with Basch and the eventual party of Vaan, Penelo(native Dalmascans), and Balthier and Fran joining them eventually help liberate Dalmasca. Each one realizing their problems are related to the colonialism of Dalmasca, with Balthier’s father and nethicite, Vaan and Penelo wanting freedom of exploring, and Basch wanting honor restored.

Final Fantasy XII was released after the Second Intifada and the US invasion of Iraq. Instead of portraying Levantine coded characters as evil, Square shows them as wanting nothing more than liberation. When Vossler brings up trading the stone for Dalmasca to Ashe, she is furious implying that the Empire won’t hold up their end of their bargain. Vossler reminds me of the Oslo accords, or the 1947 Partition plan telling Ashe to accept her colonialism as a puppet government.

Oslo Accords introduced the puppet government of the Palestinian Authority, something every Palestinian is against. Oslo was a way for Israel to gain more power and access over the West Bank and Gaza, areas that Palestinians still had very little authority left. Vossler was telling Ashe to accept being a puppet government for the Archadian Empire, and like a true Palestinian, Ashe was against that. The loss of her motherland and the lost of her home is what motivates her to keep fighting, which I wanted to mention the importance of Rasler.

Someone on Twitter mentioned that Rasler is from Nablus, which is very similar to the city of Nabudis of the country of Nabradia which was an amazing take. Because Nabradia is the first country to rebel and fight against the Archadians which I reminded me of the people of Nablus during the British Mandate period. The fellahis of Nablus refused to accept British electricity as seeing it as a way to accept colonialism and Zionist settlers infiltrating their land. The Palestinians of Nablus rebelled by lighting their homes and businesses with oil lamps and candles. To this day Nablus is seen as an area of resistance filled with people who are very active against the Zionist colonial movement. In FFXII Nabradia ends up being in this weird pseudo-occupation. Nabradia is technically it’s own country but also under Archadian rule, with the fortress being where the Imperials are most active, and many Archadians moving to Nabradia and Dalmasca(according to the NPCs in the Nabradia and Rabanstre aerodomes). Though Nablus is in the West Bank and is technically under Palestinian Authority it’s been under Israeli occupation since the Six-Day War and is experiencing a growing number of settlements as many people living in in the West Bank, face.

Ashe continues fighting on, realizing that revenge will not motivate her anymore, especially when listening to a fellow Dalmascan Vaan, whose brother fought for the liberation of their home country as well. She will not respond by blowing up Archadia as the Occuria want, but she will fight through her means of resistance. Her uncle ends up supporting her, and she even states how Dalmascans, do not like to use drastic methods, as nethicite seems to be a code for nuclear weapons. Palestinians want the same thing. Yes, armed resistance actually works, and it helped Ashe achieve liberation for Dalmasca. Reminiscent of how armed resistance works in cases like Algeria, Cuba, South Africa, and hopefully Palestine. But Palestinians will not be use nuclear weapons, like some imperial powers do, because we will not stoop as low as our oppressors who use nuclear weapons, like how Vayne and the Judges uses nethicite to freely.

There’s a quote Ashe says when speaking to her allies in Pharos that is relevant. “In all Dalmasca’s history, not once did we rely on the Dusk Shard. Our people resolved never to use it, though their need might be dire…That was the Dalmasca I wanted back.” Though Ashe is talking about the use of essentially a nuclear weapon, it still spoke to me as a Palestinian woman. Ashe only wanted her country back, and for her people to be liberated and it’s even more powerful when she declares Dalmasca is liberated to her uncle and fellow resistance members. Dalmasca is free, and librated state again by its people and her allies. Palestinians want a liberation like Dalmasca and in a modern case like Algeria.

There’s another line that sticks with me, that Ashe says that reminds me so much of Palestine. When she approaches Vayne in Bahamut and he asks who she is, she states “I am simply myself. No more and no less. And I want only to be free.” She may be in exile, she may be a member of the resistance, but at the end of the day she Ashelia, a daughter of Dalmasca. Who wants nothing more than freedom and liberation for not her people, but for herself. And like Ashe, I want nothing more than that.

Palestinians want the land our families tended too for centuries. We want our right of return. As someone who always cries at a Final Fantasy ending, hearing Ashe say that made me tear up, because I hope to hear similar words in regards to Palestine.

Israel says there is “no suspicion of crime” in the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh despite an international outcry, two weeks after Israeli forces shot dead the veteran reporter in the occupied West Bank.

Abu Akleh, a veteran of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network’s Arabic service, was shot in the head on May 11, when she was reporting on an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp.

Her tragic death sent shockwaves across the region, drawing global condemnation. The United Nations and the European Union, among others, called for a full investigation into what has been described as a deliberate killing “in cold blood.”

The Israeli regime too promised to launch a probe into the appalling killing of the iconic journalist. It even called on Palestinian Authority, which rules the occupied West Bank, to cooperate in its so-called investigation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, however, rejected a joint investigation by Israel on May 12, saying, “They committed the crime and we do not trust them.”

In a speech addressing thousands of Palestinians at a memorial for Abu Akleh, he also stressed that Palestinians “hold the Israeli occupation authorities totally responsible for her killing”, vowing that “This crime cannot go unpunished.”

The leader also said that instead of participating in a joint probe into her killing, the PA would “turn immediately to the International Criminal Court to prosecute the criminals.”

On Monday, Israel’s Military Advocate Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi said in a statement that “Given that Ms Abu Akleh was killed in the midst of an active combat zone, there can be no immediate suspicion of criminal activity absent further evidence.”

Tomer-Yerushalmi, whose comments will definitely infuriate Palestinians, will ultimately be responsible for determining whether any individual Israeli soldier will face disciplinary action over the fatal shooting.

She noted that the Tel Aviv regime does not yet know whether the journalist was killed by stray Palestinian gunfire or by an Israeli bullet aimed at an armed Palestinian, meaning that she does not consider the intentionally targeting Abu Akleh by Israeli troopers even as a possibility.

The military “is taking every effort to examine the circumstances of the incident in order to understand how Ms Abu Akleh was killed,” Tomer-Yerushalmi said.

Eyewitnesses and journalists who were with Abu Akleh on the day she was shot described the shooting as a “deliberate attempt” to kill journalists.

Shatha Hanaysha, a news correspondent and an eyewitness to the shootings, said they were not caught up in crossfire with Palestinian fighters like the Israeli army claimed, stressing, “It was an Israeli sniper” that shot at them.

“We made ourselves visible to the soldiers who were stationed hundreds of meters away from us. We remained still for around 10 minutes to make sure they knew we were there as journalists,” she wrote in a blow-by-blow account of the shooting incident.

As no warning shots were fired, the journalists, all wearing press helmet and body armor, felt safe enough to move towards the camp, Hanaysha further said. However, “Out of nowhere, we heard the first gunshot.”

Soon after the incident, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also claimed at first that “it appears likely that armed Palestinians — who were firing indiscriminately at the time — were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist.”

However, the latest footage, which was filmed by a Jenin resident, shows quiet moments, with no sounds of fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinians, confirming that Abu Akleh was shot dead by Israeli snipers on purpose, and not accidentally by a stray bullet as Tomer-Yerushalmi trying to suggest.

More than 50 US lawmakers have so far called for an investigation into the crime as Tel Aviv is refusing to launch a probe.

Over 100 leading artists from across the world have also condemned Israel’s killing of Abu Akleh, demanding accountability for the regime’s crimes.

The ICC has already opened an investigation into possible war crimes by Israel in both the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. However, Israel does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction and has called the war crimes probe unfair and anti-Semitic.

Autistic and ADHD burnout are both characterized by pervasive, long-term exhaustion, loss of function, and increased difficulties with managing daily tasks. While there is considerable overlap in the features of both types of burnout, it is important to note that the Raymaker et al. (2021) study specifically addresses Autistic burnout. However, ADHD burnout shares many similar characteristics due to the overlapping demands on cognitive and emotional resources.

Primary Characteristics of Neurodivergent Burnout

• Chronic Exhaustion: Persistent, deep fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest.
• Reduced Tolerance to Stimuli: Heightened sensitivity to sensory inputs, such as light, sound, and touch.
• Increased Executive Functioning Challenges: Greater difficulties in planning, organizing, remembering, and managing daily tasks.
• Loss of Skills: Deterioration in executive functioning, which includes difficulties in thinking, remembering, planning, performing basic self-care, and managing daily activities.

Additional Symptoms

In addition to intense emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion, neurodivergent burnout can lead to:

• Emotional Dysregulation: Increased difficulty managing emotions, leading to outbursts or intense anxiety.
• Enhanced Neurodivergent Traits: Increase in repetitive behaviors, sensory sensitivities, and more difficulties adapting to change.
• Cognitive Impairments: Increased difficulties with memory and focus, making it hard to perform everyday tasks.
• Increased Executive Functioning Challenges: Greater difficulties in planning, organizing, remembering, and managing daily tasks.
• Inability to Mask: People often loose or decline in their ability to mask, which is one of the reasons that burnout is a common time for neurodivergent adults to be identified.
• Time Perception Challenges: Greater difficulty in perceiving the passage of time, leading to procrastination or last-minute stress.
• Increased Impulsivity: Heightened impulsivity that may lead to risky decisions.

Common Contributors to Neurodivergent Burnout

Research highlights several common contributors to neurodivergent burnout, including:

1 Masking:

• Constantly suppressing Autistic or ADHD traits to appear “neurotypical” demands significant cognitive and emotional effort, leading to exhaustion.
• Masking creates a disconnect between one’s internal state and external presentation, increasing stress and anxiety.

2 Minimized Needs:

• Having social and sensory needs dismissed by others because they appear “fine” due to masking.
• Lack of understanding and support from those around them can exacerbate feelings of isolation and frustration.

3 Lack of Appropriate Supports and Accommodations:

• Not having access to necessary accommodations, whether in the workplace, school, or social settings.
• Inadequate support structures can leave individuals struggling to cope with everyday demands, contributing to burnout.

4 Executive Functioning Fatigue:

• Frequent transitions and managing multiple stressors can lead to executive functioning fatigue
• The mental effort required to organize, plan, and execute daily tasks becomes overwhelming, leading to decreased functionality.

5 Overall Load Exceeding Abilities and Supports:

• When the cumulative demands of life exceed an individual’s capacity and available supports, burnout is the likely outcome.
• Balancing work, social, and personal responsibilities without adequate support creates a high-risk environment for burnout.

6 Hyperfocus:

• Intense focus on a single activity to the exclusion of everything else can lead to neglect of basic self-care and rest.
• While hyperfocus can be productive, it can also drain energy reserves, contributing to burnout.

Burnout Recovery

Recovery depends on the person and the specific causes. For a more prolonged season of burnout, a person may need to significantly restructure their lifestyle and remove themselves from the causes of their burnout. It may become more difficult to recover the older a person is. Following are some of my go-to tips for recovering from burnout:

• Attend to the sensory! Moving in ways that feel natural and good, reducing sensory load, engaging in sensory activities that are restorative⁠
• Spend time unmasked (again, masking is consistently one of the highest predictors of burnout). ⁠
• Ensure appropriate accommodations are in place (at school, work, etc.). ⁠
• Practicing good boundaries in relationships (we have fewer spoons). ⁠
• Engage in activities that are enlivening (special interests, passions, time alone, or with those whom you can safely unmask). ⁠
• Support healthy rhythms by prioritizing healthy sleep hygiene, routines, & practices. ⁠

Be Cautious of Depression Treatments for Undiagnosed Neurodivergent Burnout

Mental health providers will often prescribe “behavioral activation” for depression (assigning activities that help a person gain a sense of accomplishment, and achievement & helps them get back out in the world). This may make burnout worse unless it is adapted for the Autistic or ADHD person. Behavioral activation, if used, should focus on implementing sensory activities, special interests, rest, and must avoid activities designed to increase time spent socializing in neurotypical spaces.

Similarly, “cognitive reframing” is a common technique used for treating depression. Attempts made to “cognitively reframe” the experience may intensify shame around burnout (particularly if the therapist or person does not understand it is an Autistic/ADHD burnout).

Broadway is a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Vancouver’s numbered avenue grid system, it runs in place of a 9th Avenue, between 8th and 10th. The street has six lanes for most of its course. Portions of the street carry the British Columbia Highway 7 designation.

The route begins as “West Broadway” at the intersection of Wallace Crescent and 8th Avenue, in the affluent residential neighbourhood of West Point Grey, a few kilometres east of the University of British Columbia (UBC). Past Alma Street, Broadway takes over from 10th Avenue as one of Vancouver’s major thoroughfares, as it enters Greek West Broadway (or Greektown) section of Vancouver’s Kitsilano district. East of here are several blocks of generally trendy, upscale shops interspersed with low-rise apartment blocks and small supermarkets. The surrounding neighbourhoods generally consist of large, older homes dating from the early twentieth century, many of which have been subdivided into rental suites.

As Broadway approaches Arbutus Street, the commercial establishments become larger before transitioning into a mix of small to mid-size apartment blocks. East of Burrard Street, the apartment blocks get progressively taller, and commercial establishments larger and busier. Between Burrard and Main Street, Broadway can be considerably congested by vehicular traffic. Past Granville Street, Broadway yields completely to medium-to-large commercial structures and high-rise apartments and condominiums. Between Cambie and Main, the commercial establishments become smaller and somewhat more downscale.

At Ontario Street, two blocks west of Main, the route becomes “East Broadway.” After bisecting Main and Kingsway, traffic on Broadway eases somewhat, and the character returns to a mix of small-to-medium apartment buildings and commercial establishments, interspersed with older homes – all considerably less affluent than those to the west. At Commercial Drive, Broadway passes by the Commercial–Broadway SkyTrain Station. Past here for several blocks, the neighbourhood consists predominantly of older residential homes.

As Broadway travels east of Renfrew Street, the neighbourhood once again becomes mixed, with older homes to the north and larger industrial, commercial, and warehouse establishments to the south. Broadway finally ends at Cassiar Street, just short of the Vancouver-Burnaby boundary, where it becomes the Lougheed Highway.

Broadway was created at the turn of the 20th century, along with other gridded roads south of False Creek, to meet the needs of an expanding population in Vancouver. The name of the route was changed from 9th Avenue to Broadway in 1909, at the behest of merchants around Main Street (at that time the hub of Vancouver commerce), who felt that it bestowed a more cosmopolitan air. Commercial establishments originally spread out around the intersections of Cambie and Main Streets, while the character of the rest of the route remained predominantly single-family dwellings.

By the 1970s, the length of Broadway had become a major arterial route in Vancouver, conveying commuters from downtown to the neighbourhoods of the west and east sides. With the growth of UBC and the expansion of the Vancouver General Hospital (one block south of Broadway between approximately Oak and Cambie), traffic demands accelerated. In the 1990s, the agency then responsible for public transit in Greater Vancouver — BC Transit — introduced an express bus route, the 99 B-Line, to help reduce congestion. The Vancouver transportation plan for Broadway notes that congestion is such that the bus service is at capacity, and will not be eased until a new rapid transit line is built paralleling the street. It is anticipated that the SkyTrain’s Millennium Line will be extended to Central Broadway by 2021; the extension is expected to connect with Canada Line at Broadway-City Hall Station, at the intersection of Broadway and Cambie Street.

A West End city block is about to be sold for nearly twice the price paid for it less than two years ago.

The Vancouver Sun has reported that Alberta Street Nominee Ltd. is “under contract to sell” two mid-rise office buildings and one high-rise apartment tower to Asia Standard International Group and Landa Global Properties.

In the spring of 2014, developer Peter Wall’s company bought the 1400 block of Alberni Street for $83.5 million. Broughton Tower, a 20-storey apartment block on the site, was built around 1970.

According to the Colliers International website, listing agent Simon Lim negotiated the 2014 sale for a land area of 43,282 square feet. The building area is 91,000 square feet.

“With the City of Vancouver’s adoption of the new West End Community Plan in November 2013, new developments in this area are designated for a maximum height of 500 feet,” the real-estate company stated at the time. “The primary challenge in the sale was finding a sophisticated purchaser that understood the latent land value and development potential.”

During the 2014 election campaign, Coalition of Progressive Electors mayoral candidate Meena Wong held a news conference outside the property to raise her concerns about renovictions.