Brandon Istenes
@bistenes.bsky.social
Economist and data guy. Research & organizing around the housing crisis. Socialist 🌹 urbanist 🚲 . Newsletter: https://rentrentier.com
soooooo over this subculture specifically
You could do not ask for a more damming inducement of a certain subculture than this person who lives in *Michigan* scolding Stancil, who is actually in MN, for asking people to not LARP like they’re fucking antifa Jason Bourne and actually talk to media.
January 30, 2026 at 1:03 AM
soooooo over this subculture specifically
Reposted by Brandon Istenes
I will simply never recover from reading this sentence:
"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."
"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."
Today, Luke Farrell (@lukef.bsky.social) explains how complex eligibility requirements have turned America’s safety net into a lucrative revenue stream for monopolistic private contractors.
The Means-Testing Industrial Complex
As Republicans tightened work requirements and eligibility rules for Medicaid and SNAP last year, Equifax’s CEO openly celebrated the profits to be made from administering this deprivation.
lpeproject.org
January 28, 2026 at 4:33 PM
I will simply never recover from reading this sentence:
"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."
"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."
WTH is going on in Greene County?
January 28, 2026 at 2:40 PM
WTH is going on in Greene County?
I support Marxist theory because the people I overhear in coffee shops need better mumbo-jumbo frameworks than the spiritual slop they are presently fed on
January 27, 2026 at 3:36 PM
I support Marxist theory because the people I overhear in coffee shops need better mumbo-jumbo frameworks than the spiritual slop they are presently fed on
NJ goes ban e-bikes while NYC goes Paris. So I guess we get to watch that juxtaposition evolve.
January 27, 2026 at 1:47 AM
NJ goes ban e-bikes while NYC goes Paris. So I guess we get to watch that juxtaposition evolve.
Reposted by Brandon Istenes
This is the first example I’ve seen of an American government using AI to meaningfully misrepresent actual events with the intent to deceive the public. We are at Stalinesque levels of propaganda.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
January 23, 2026 at 2:23 PM
This is the first example I’ve seen of an American government using AI to meaningfully misrepresent actual events with the intent to deceive the public. We are at Stalinesque levels of propaganda.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
Reposted by Brandon Istenes
Which version of streets would you turn your children loose in? The danger of cars is not inevitable, it's a choice.
January 23, 2026 at 2:22 AM
Which version of streets would you turn your children loose in? The danger of cars is not inevitable, it's a choice.
I hope Trump saying "Homes are built for people, not for corporations" inspires a great deal of reflection. Maybe the Franco/Thatcher/Reagan dream of a homeowner society is not exactly a socialist vision of housing
January 22, 2026 at 3:45 PM
I hope Trump saying "Homes are built for people, not for corporations" inspires a great deal of reflection. Maybe the Franco/Thatcher/Reagan dream of a homeowner society is not exactly a socialist vision of housing
this is a photograph of an American being tortured by a federal agent
An observer arrested in Suth Minneapolis. Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 21, 2026 at 10:19 PM
this is a photograph of an American being tortured by a federal agent
The present is really dividing the wheat normie libs from the chaff normie libs
January 21, 2026 at 3:11 PM
The present is really dividing the wheat normie libs from the chaff normie libs
"Trump is expected to speak about his plan for housing affordability at Davos"
We are about to witness a tour de force of bad-idea-having: the invention of a new incredibly bad idea in a discursive space thought to already contain all possible bad ideas
We are about to witness a tour de force of bad-idea-having: the invention of a new incredibly bad idea in a discursive space thought to already contain all possible bad ideas
January 20, 2026 at 2:28 PM
"Trump is expected to speak about his plan for housing affordability at Davos"
We are about to witness a tour de force of bad-idea-having: the invention of a new incredibly bad idea in a discursive space thought to already contain all possible bad ideas
We are about to witness a tour de force of bad-idea-having: the invention of a new incredibly bad idea in a discursive space thought to already contain all possible bad ideas
92% of the population of Spain supports building social housing.
The proportion of Spaniards that do not believe in social housing is the same as the proportion of Americans that believe they could defeat a gorilla in hand-to-hand combat.
figure from @pedrogms1.bsky.social
The proportion of Spaniards that do not believe in social housing is the same as the proportion of Americans that believe they could defeat a gorilla in hand-to-hand combat.
figure from @pedrogms1.bsky.social
January 18, 2026 at 3:53 AM
92% of the population of Spain supports building social housing.
The proportion of Spaniards that do not believe in social housing is the same as the proportion of Americans that believe they could defeat a gorilla in hand-to-hand combat.
figure from @pedrogms1.bsky.social
The proportion of Spaniards that do not believe in social housing is the same as the proportion of Americans that believe they could defeat a gorilla in hand-to-hand combat.
figure from @pedrogms1.bsky.social
Legally mandated sprawl
In Massachusetts, you can build a single-family home, by-right, on 96% of all residential land.
A building with 4-units+ is allowed on just 3%.
A building with 4-units+ is allowed on just 3%.
January 13, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Legally mandated sprawl
Reposted by Brandon Istenes
Highly recommended video by @nerd4cities.bsky.social, especially for those who believe in "vacancy trutherism" out there.
The Mystery of America's 15 Million Empty Houses
YouTube video by Ray Delahanty | CityNerd
www.youtube.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Highly recommended video by @nerd4cities.bsky.social, especially for those who believe in "vacancy trutherism" out there.
Reposted by Brandon Istenes
you can just do things.
Zohran just went out and fixed the Williamsburg Bridge bike entrance. Just did it. No faffing, no nonsense. Bam. Fixed.
January 6, 2026 at 8:16 PM
you can just do things.
Bush was wrong. Turns out you can get fooled again
January 4, 2026 at 3:48 AM
Bush was wrong. Turns out you can get fooled again
I had big ideas for what I was going to do this evening other than "do background research on the 'interesting housing video' my mom sent me and explain that it is AI-generated right-wing disinfoslop" but here we are
January 4, 2026 at 2:25 AM
I had big ideas for what I was going to do this evening other than "do background research on the 'interesting housing video' my mom sent me and explain that it is AI-generated right-wing disinfoslop" but here we are
Failing to prosecute W meant it was only a matter of time until someone else had WMDs, so to speak
January 3, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Failing to prosecute W meant it was only a matter of time until someone else had WMDs, so to speak
Reposted by Brandon Istenes
The Abundance movement often points to environmental groups as the obstacles to building. But who actually files the lawsuits blocking projects? It’s not environmental groups. It’s been lawyered-up HOAs protecting property values all along. Regulation by litigation is the problem.
December 20, 2025 at 7:57 PM
The Abundance movement often points to environmental groups as the obstacles to building. But who actually files the lawsuits blocking projects? It’s not environmental groups. It’s been lawyered-up HOAs protecting property values all along. Regulation by litigation is the problem.
People get mad at Chinese overproduction but meanwhile there are five (5) youtube videos for how to pronounce "testudines" (the order of turtles) and two are wrong
December 19, 2025 at 1:15 AM
People get mad at Chinese overproduction but meanwhile there are five (5) youtube videos for how to pronounce "testudines" (the order of turtles) and two are wrong
Reposted by Brandon Istenes
This is what passes for progressivism and climate policy in California. Jane Kim’s answer for elevated fire risk and actuarial risk? Put it on the public dime. Urban renters should bail out well to do exurban property owners and landlords in fire zones. FAIR plan is already a ticking time bomb!
December 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM
This is what passes for progressivism and climate policy in California. Jane Kim’s answer for elevated fire risk and actuarial risk? Put it on the public dime. Urban renters should bail out well to do exurban property owners and landlords in fire zones. FAIR plan is already a ticking time bomb!
Reposted by Brandon Istenes
Um, ok...
This paper forthcoming at the JOP provides evidence that rent control in Germany actually made tenants MASSIVELY *less* NIMBY.
This result was in the opposite direction of the authors' pre-registered expectations.
And the effect sizes are, truly, massive.
This paper forthcoming at the JOP provides evidence that rent control in Germany actually made tenants MASSIVELY *less* NIMBY.
This result was in the opposite direction of the authors' pre-registered expectations.
And the effect sizes are, truly, massive.
December 11, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Um, ok...
This paper forthcoming at the JOP provides evidence that rent control in Germany actually made tenants MASSIVELY *less* NIMBY.
This result was in the opposite direction of the authors' pre-registered expectations.
And the effect sizes are, truly, massive.
This paper forthcoming at the JOP provides evidence that rent control in Germany actually made tenants MASSIVELY *less* NIMBY.
This result was in the opposite direction of the authors' pre-registered expectations.
And the effect sizes are, truly, massive.
Reposted by Brandon Istenes
constantly amazed we lack the apparent ability to design roads this narrow and traffic-calmed near dense multifamily housing in the US...
daylighting intersection w/ swales.
tabled intersection w/ bollards to protect pedestrians from motorists
density on narrow 2 lane roads instead of 4-6 lane arterials.
bonjour, france 🥰
tabled intersection w/ bollards to protect pedestrians from motorists
density on narrow 2 lane roads instead of 4-6 lane arterials.
bonjour, france 🥰
December 8, 2025 at 12:32 AM
constantly amazed we lack the apparent ability to design roads this narrow and traffic-calmed near dense multifamily housing in the US...
Just tried Claude Code and now kind of mourning the loss of programming as a craft.
December 6, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Just tried Claude Code and now kind of mourning the loss of programming as a craft.