CommonGround

Since moving from Montréal to Ottawa I've spent a lot of time thinking about urban reform, and how hard it is for most people to visualize the impact bylaw changes can have. So I (and good buddy Claude) built a Chrome extension that hijacks Google Maps: paint a zone on the map, pick a reform recipe (or create your own), drop into Street View, and the panorama is reformed by AI in 360°. It's a proof of concept and the seams show, but the loop works end-to-end and it's weirdly fun to use.

The end game I keep noodling on is a Haussmannization simulator: layer in real data (real-estate valuations, neighbourhood demand, population projections), let people rezone areas, add transit lines, and define building styles, then visualize the changes over time — all inside the familiar Google Maps mental model.