Safe Systems Civil Engineer
@cityengineer.bsky.social
PE. Dengineer. Safe network builder for people walking, in wheelchairs, cycling & driving. Train lover. Views my own - not speaking for any employer/board. Public sources only.
Pinned
If zoning didn’t exist, how much denser would the US be? How many fewer car trips? How many fewer cars? How many fewer deaths of people in cars killed? How many fewer deaths of people walking?
Zoning and planning are too local, at the root of so many of our biggest problems: housing affordability, car centrism, and traffic violence. I’d love to see a state finally fix the 20th century’s Original Sin of zoning.
January 19, 2026 at 3:26 AM
Zoning and planning are too local, at the root of so many of our biggest problems: housing affordability, car centrism, and traffic violence. I’d love to see a state finally fix the 20th century’s Original Sin of zoning.
Explain this graph
January 18, 2026 at 9:37 PM
Explain this graph
Beyond tragic. 2nd family member. Give young adults more choices.
www.boston.com/news/local-n...
www.boston.com/news/local-n...
19-year-old identified as victim in fatal Cape crash
Concetta Sherman died last Friday in a crash on Route 6, according to State Police.
www.boston.com
January 18, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Beyond tragic. 2nd family member. Give young adults more choices.
www.boston.com/news/local-n...
www.boston.com/news/local-n...
Build AAA networks. US zoning/land use forced low-density, car-dependent sprawl. Not every street should be AAA—and it’ll take decades. But we can go faster using quiet connectors + greenways (not just arterials) and accepting a little walking.
#quietconnectors #greenways #FocusOnTheNetwork
#quietconnectors #greenways #FocusOnTheNetwork
January 17, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Build AAA networks. US zoning/land use forced low-density, car-dependent sprawl. Not every street should be AAA—and it’ll take decades. But we can go faster using quiet connectors + greenways (not just arterials) and accepting a little walking.
#quietconnectors #greenways #FocusOnTheNetwork
#quietconnectors #greenways #FocusOnTheNetwork
This is very good. We’ve got 50 years of multiplier growth to reverse
January 17, 2026 at 4:47 PM
This is very good. We’ve got 50 years of multiplier growth to reverse
Reposted by Safe Systems Civil Engineer
“London’s murder rate now stands at 1.1 per 100,000 people. The Metropolitan Police says this makes it lower than any other UK city and below many comparable global cities, including New York (2.8), Berlin (3.2), Milan (1.6) and Toronto (1.6).”
Khan and Met Police chief hail lowest murder rate in London 'since records began'
Last year the capital recorded fewer murders per 100,000 people than New York, Berlin, Milan and Toronto
haringeycommunitypress.co.uk/2026/01/15/k...
Last year the capital recorded fewer murders per 100,000 people than New York, Berlin, Milan and Toronto
haringeycommunitypress.co.uk/2026/01/15/k...
January 15, 2026 at 1:08 PM
“London’s murder rate now stands at 1.1 per 100,000 people. The Metropolitan Police says this makes it lower than any other UK city and below many comparable global cities, including New York (2.8), Berlin (3.2), Milan (1.6) and Toronto (1.6).”
Speed cameras work in US too just like they do across Australia
www.sfexaminer.com/news/transit...
www.sfexaminer.com/news/transit...
SF streets safest in years in 2025
Traffic deaths fell almost 50% from 2024.
www.sfexaminer.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Speed cameras work in US too just like they do across Australia
www.sfexaminer.com/news/transit...
www.sfexaminer.com/news/transit...
Why Canadian roads are much safer than in US
1. Less fiscally-driven exclusion (on average) because school finance is more provincial.
1. Less fiscally-driven exclusion (on average) because school finance is more provincial.
January 12, 2026 at 10:31 AM
Why Canadian roads are much safer than in US
1. Less fiscally-driven exclusion (on average) because school finance is more provincial.
1. Less fiscally-driven exclusion (on average) because school finance is more provincial.
Reposted by Safe Systems Civil Engineer
I told our city staff that our IZ was exactly like doctors bleeding out patients in the 1800s, thinking they were helping cure disease. “We’ll cure our housing shortfall by making housing more expensive” makes just as much sense as opening a vein to cure a fever.
January 11, 2026 at 6:45 PM
I told our city staff that our IZ was exactly like doctors bleeding out patients in the 1800s, thinking they were helping cure disease. “We’ll cure our housing shortfall by making housing more expensive” makes just as much sense as opening a vein to cure a fever.
Lazy thinking here. No mention of land use and why we have so many more deadly arterials than Canada per capita, how our land use is less dense and separated w/ less multi family by design , how Canada pays for education at provincial level and asserts much more zoning and planning control.
Actual causes of the US road safety crisis:
🔹 Car bloat
🔹 Failure to enforce traffic laws
🔹 Fast urban roads
🔹 Suburbanization of poverty/jobs
Blaming smartphones is lazy thinking.
🔹 Car bloat
🔹 Failure to enforce traffic laws
🔹 Fast urban roads
🔹 Suburbanization of poverty/jobs
Blaming smartphones is lazy thinking.
US Traffic Safety Is Getting Worse, While Other Countries Improve
The rising rate of road deaths in the US continues to defy global trends. Here’s what traffic planners in other nations could teach their American counterparts.
www.bloomberg.com
January 11, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Lazy thinking here. No mention of land use and why we have so many more deadly arterials than Canada per capita, how our land use is less dense and separated w/ less multi family by design , how Canada pays for education at provincial level and asserts much more zoning and planning control.
This is the reality from the policy side. If you want real change you must work on getting the political support for zoning change on metro and state wide level to make land use more compatible with other modes #DenseClusters. Part 2 - Lansdowne Station Boston
January 10, 2026 at 7:52 PM
This is the reality from the policy side. If you want real change you must work on getting the political support for zoning change on metro and state wide level to make land use more compatible with other modes #DenseClusters. Part 2 - Lansdowne Station Boston
This is the reality from the policy side. If you want real change you must work on getting the political support for zoning change on metro and state wide level to make land use more compatible with other modes #DenseClusters. Part 1
January 10, 2026 at 7:52 PM
This is the reality from the policy side. If you want real change you must work on getting the political support for zoning change on metro and state wide level to make land use more compatible with other modes #DenseClusters. Part 1
Uncertainty
New data show housing construction continuing to decline. Oct 2025 data showed the lowest new housing starts figure since the pandemic.
The economic environment—high debt costs + high construction costs, primarily—is making housing more and more difficult to build.
fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST
The economic environment—high debt costs + high construction costs, primarily—is making housing more and more difficult to build.
fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST
January 10, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Uncertainty
So that means billions in the US...
Cancelling ‘zombie’ subscriptions could save Britons up to £400 a year, survey finds
Cancelling ‘zombie’ subscriptions could save Britons up to £400 a year, survey finds
Consumers advised to review paying for services such as Netflix, Apple TV and Amazon Prime if they are unused
Britons are spending up to £1,200 a year on subscription services but could save as much as £400 by killing off “zombie” memberships, according to research.
Millions of households have unused or duplicate subscriptions – whether for a neglected exercise app or an unwatched Netflix account – with recurring charges quietly draining spare cash from bank accounts. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 10, 2026 at 7:57 AM
So that means billions in the US...
Reposted by Safe Systems Civil Engineer
Hypocrisy all around.
January 10, 2026 at 7:11 AM
Hypocrisy all around.
This account discusses transportation, and zoning policy using public information. I do not comment on internal workplace matters, personnel or confidential information. Views my own
January 10, 2026 at 7:45 AM
This account discusses transportation, and zoning policy using public information. I do not comment on internal workplace matters, personnel or confidential information. Views my own
Midterm are coming.....
Trump Wants to Bar Wall St. Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/b...
Trump Wants to Bar Wall St. Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/b...
Trump Wants to Bar Wall St. Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes
www.nytimes.com
January 10, 2026 at 7:36 AM
Midterm are coming.....
Trump Wants to Bar Wall St. Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/b...
Trump Wants to Bar Wall St. Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/b...
The goal is not to make your house worth less next year. It’s trying to make it so your kids don’t have to pay twice as much for the same house ten years from now.
January 9, 2026 at 11:47 PM
The goal is not to make your house worth less next year. It’s trying to make it so your kids don’t have to pay twice as much for the same house ten years from now.
“When Austin, Texas adopted land-use reforms of this sort, apartment construction boomed and rents plunged…Take note of Cambridge MA : a city where Kamala Harris won 86% of the vote adopted a new zoning law in which three-quarters of the text was to do with deleting old rules.”
January 9, 2026 at 8:21 PM
“When Austin, Texas adopted land-use reforms of this sort, apartment construction boomed and rents plunged…Take note of Cambridge MA : a city where Kamala Harris won 86% of the vote adopted a new zoning law in which three-quarters of the text was to do with deleting old rules.”
Reposted by Safe Systems Civil Engineer
Housing & healthcare have cost disease. Treating it must be core to the Democrats' agenda for financial freedom.
My essay in The Economist: www.economist.com/by-invitatio...
My essay in The Economist: www.economist.com/by-invitatio...
A congressman on how Democrats can regain the initiative on the economy
From housing to health care, the answer is to treat “cost disease”, says Jake Auchincloss
www.economist.com
July 5, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Housing & healthcare have cost disease. Treating it must be core to the Democrats' agenda for financial freedom.
My essay in The Economist: www.economist.com/by-invitatio...
My essay in The Economist: www.economist.com/by-invitatio...
Reposted by Safe Systems Civil Engineer
Just a snap shot but we have way more busy arterials here, mostly due to the low density land use we’ve mandated
January 1, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Just a snap shot but we have way more busy arterials here, mostly due to the low density land use we’ve mandated
Reposted by Safe Systems Civil Engineer
The left (which I am part of) goes on and on about oligarchs getting pols to do their bidding to restrict markets yet wants the state to maintain the highly regulated housing scarcity that steals much more from the bottom 1/2s paychecks. We must unite for better outcomes for the working class.
January 3, 2026 at 9:11 PM
The left (which I am part of) goes on and on about oligarchs getting pols to do their bidding to restrict markets yet wants the state to maintain the highly regulated housing scarcity that steals much more from the bottom 1/2s paychecks. We must unite for better outcomes for the working class.
I think actual numbers are needed from state for each municipality with penalty though Gov Kathy Hochul could not get that through in NY. Hopefully we’re reaching a tipping point.
The most beautiful 17 words in California state housing law: "This section shall be interpreted liberally in favor of producing the maximum number of total housing units."
January 9, 2026 at 11:55 AM
I think actual numbers are needed from state for each municipality with penalty though Gov Kathy Hochul could not get that through in NY. Hopefully we’re reaching a tipping point.
Zoning creates deadly stroads
January 9, 2026 at 11:02 AM
Zoning creates deadly stroads
Nice zoning write up here.
open.substack.com/pub/speakeas...
open.substack.com/pub/speakeas...
The purpose of zoning is what it does
A system designed for order ended up shredding the economic and social fabric of American communities.
open.substack.com
January 9, 2026 at 9:59 AM
Nice zoning write up here.
open.substack.com/pub/speakeas...
open.substack.com/pub/speakeas...