Voters Ban AHF's Taxpayer-Funded Ballot Initiative Abuse
For about a decade, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation used many millions of taxpayer dollars to fund a series of ridiculous ballot initiatives reflecting their CEO's personal beefs before voters in 2024 made this illegal. You think you know how weird California politics is? https://t.co/ti6CIsX66G
Houston Suburb Dodges 25% Lot‑size Hike, Averting Housing Squeeze
Is Texas on the California trajectory? A large Houston suburb very narrowly avoided arbitrarily increasing minimum lot sizes by 25%, which would have made it even harder to build affordable single-family homes. https://t.co/T8TzIvzdwg
Guatemala City Traffic Unusually Light, Benefits Visitors but Raises Concerns
I don't think I've seen traffic this light in Guatemala City in my 10 years of visiting. Nice for visiting friends and restaurants across the city, but potentially quite harmful if the situation persists. https://t.co/QU2iYKVGCy
LA Street Decay Isn’t About Ramp Costs, It’s Political Spin
Los Angeles streets are not crumbling because it's just impossibly expensive to pave wheelchair ramps on sidewalks or paint bicycle lanes, and the coordinated conservative campaign to promote this narrative is sufficiently facially dumb that you should doubt those promoting...
Superstar Cities Thrive While Others Face Steep Decline
Japan is an advanced case of trends present in nearly every developing country and it seems like: (a) superstar cities will be fine, (b) second tier cities/regional hubs will struggle, and (c) everything else -- smaller cities, towns, rural areas...
Media Giant Dedicates Desk to Harassing Santa Monica
It's kind of weird how one of the world's largest media empire seems to have an entire desk dedicated to beating up on Santa Monica specifically. What's going on here? https://t.co/C2Qceg8Qoi
Mormon Culture Instills Lasting Optimism and Community Values
How do you replicate the social virtues of Mormons without Mormonism? Maybe you can't. Or maybe: two parent households, zero drugs/alcohol, intense focus on community life/service, a respect for lawn maintenance, family board game night, aversion to dark/mean-spirited media...
Canada Embraces Tall Towers, California Limits to Midrise
While Canada is fine with high-rise residential even in otherwise low-slung residential areas, California insists on chunky midrise even in other highly urban areas. What explains this? https://t.co/2L7ha4W3Uw
Stop Overthinking Loneliness—Join Community Groups Today
Go to them. Clubs, churches, lodges, etc. This stuff all still exists. It's a bunch of old people who will be thrilled you showed up. Bring a friend if you're nervous. You guys have to stop intellectualizing the "loneliness crisis"...
Shoup’s “High Cost of Free Parking” Is a Brilliant Distillation
I think a lot of people who haven't read "The High Cost of Free Parking" cover to cover, which I fear is many of you, don't realize what a strange and wonderful book it is. The ideal of a book:...
LA Developers Battle NIMBY, End up Blocked Entirely
Los Angeles real estate bros will go to the mat for the biggest NIMBY on city council, and then be surprised when they're not allowed to build anything.
YIMBYism’s Early Wins Signal Hopeful Momentum
Lately, there has been a lot of frank discourse about what YIMBYism has accomplished in California. I think this impatience, even after big wins, is good and healthy—but it misses the early signs of success in front of us. In...
Zoning Rules Shape Typology, Not Design Trends
I think single-stair discourse has habituated a lot of oneweirdtrick thinking among urbanists. Yes, the five-over-one typology exists because of zoning, building codes, and financing. But they don't explain design trends.
Housing Shortage, Not Money, Solves California Homelessness
If we just keep throwing money at the California homelessness crisis without addressing the underlying issue, which is severe shortage of housing, voters are eventually going to get fed up over the lack of results and stop voting to throw...
Minimum Lot Sizes Compel Larger Homes in Texas Suburbs
In co-authored research we found that minimum lot sizes had a clear binding effect, forcing lot sizes to be larger, across Texas suburbs. https://t.co/ZA8OZLGXlY