Paavo Monkkonen
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elpaavo.bsky.social
Paavo Monkkonen
@elpaavo.bsky.social

Housing scholar - California, Mexico, France, Hong Kong

Economics 64%
Political science 11%

Yeah California has adopted good fixes but it’s just such a dumb way to go about regulating land use

also a major problem in California‘s statewide housing planning process… it’s funny because the idea of having plans with different levels of specificity ‘makes sense’ when the general plan is for a large urban region and zoning is for a small area within it, but most US cities do not need both
It’s wild that we spend years, with significant community engagement, to draft comprehensive plans, and we don’t automatically update zoning codes to match those plans. Instead, American planners often need to restart years of new battles to change zoning. This system has so many veto points
Bruce Harrell signed Seattle's Comprehensive Plan and the changes to Neighborhood Residential zoning today, without any fanfare.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/17/s...

Reposted by Paavo Monkkonen

It’s wild that we spend years, with significant community engagement, to draft comprehensive plans, and we don’t automatically update zoning codes to match those plans. Instead, American planners often need to restart years of new battles to change zoning. This system has so many veto points

happy holidays from the urban planning holiday party

first time seeing Marina Central Park promo from @streetsforall.org this is so cool, let's do it! www.marinacentralpark.com
Marina Central Park
www.marinacentralpark.com

Has anyone tried to compare the pace / rate of implementation of bike infra plans in California?

RIP!
Frank in his kitchen. RIP.

Reposted by Paavo Monkkonen

Frank in his kitchen. RIP.

I think it’s why Mexican cities are so much lower density than the rest of Latin America, as @elenoam.bsky.social has shown us

Early reyes for me, this book on Carlos Contreras is hitting the spot - he brought US planning ideas to Mexico in the 1920s…

👀 🏴‍☠️ ⛵️
What secrets does a pirate graveyard keep? What stories are buried in one of the world’s most famous pirate cemeteries on Sainte-Marie Island, Madagascar – once a major 17th–18th century pirate hideout? Join us on Monday and find out: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...
#earlymodern #history
What secrets does a pirate graveyard keep? What stories are buried in one of the world’s most famous pirate cemeteries on Sainte-Marie Island, Madagascar – once a major 17th–18th century pirate hideout? Join us on Monday and find out: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...
#earlymodern #history

an engineering drama about Nezahualcóyotl… Will the dike hold???

Camilo ?
New from me for Inside Philanthropy: California foundations need to decide whether they genuinely want to improve housing affordability or would rather keep funding NIMBY obstructionism in Sacramento. www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/philant...
Philanthropy Needs to Pick a Side on the Housing Construction Debate
Despite California’s severe housing shortage, foundations are still funding on the wrong side of the housing fight there, guest author Ned Resnikoff writes.
www.insidephilanthropy.com

Culver City FTW !
Culver City's single stair ordinance has been approved by the state, so you can now build single-stair apartment buildings up to six stories

Reposted by Paavo Monkkonen

Culver City's single stair ordinance has been approved by the state, so you can now build single-stair apartment buildings up to six stories

Y’all see any new interesting housing / urban research lately? this one looks great helena-pedrotti.github.io/assets/docs/...
helena-pedrotti.github.io

Omg amazing thank you!

I found another one!

Paris to Madrid in 6h woah como???
We’re launching a bold plan to make high-speed rail the fastest, more sustainable way to travel across Europe by 2040.

It’s a concrete timeline to remove bottlenecks, unlock investment, and harmonise rail systems ⬇️

Parabens to the Fundacao Joao Pinheiro! panel is on now, here’s the English feed: m.youtube.com/watch?v=BL7x...
(tradução) 2º dia - Seminário internacional 30 anos da pesquisa do Déficit Habitacional no Brasil
YouTube video by Fundação João Pinheiro Oficial
m.youtube.com

Most famous person to pass beyond the veil in Santa Monica ? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
Before Bad Bunny, the World Had Juan Gabriel
www.nytimes.com

Noooooooooo

with everything going on, don't you want to zoom to a conference in Belo Horizonte tomorrow morning at 8:45 PST to hear some housing nerds talk about vacancy and deficits?

fjp.mg.gov.br/seminario-in...
Seminário Internacional – 30 anos da pesquisa do Déficit Habitacional no Brasil |
Referência nacional em estudos e pesquisas sobre gestão pública e desenvolvimento social, a Fundação João Pinheiro irá promover o Seminário Internacional 30 anos da Pesquisa Déficit Habitacional no Brasil nos dias 11 e 12 de novembro/2025, no Auditório do BDMG,…
fjp.mg.gov.br

Receipts! What did she say?

Reposted by Paavo Monkkonen

It was a pleasure to begin our 2025-26 Housing Lecture Series with @elpaavo.bsky.social

After two years in Paris, we're thrilled to have Paavo back in LA, and enjoyed his history/analysis on French social housing. 🇫🇷🏗️ His lecture is linked below

youtu.be/t2Yp8oPIAZw

A great block! Used to bike past here a lot