mattstephenskc
@mattstephens.bsky.social
comms pro | advocate for urban livability, sustainability & election reform | do good; live well 🟢 mattstephenscreative.com
Excellent article attempting to reconcile the differences of the Strong Towns and Abundance movements. Worth a read for my fellow urbanists. buildthenextrightthing.substack.com/p/two-great-...
November 6, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Excellent article attempting to reconcile the differences of the Strong Towns and Abundance movements. Worth a read for my fellow urbanists. buildthenextrightthing.substack.com/p/two-great-...
NYT Games thought of the day: Why didn’t Miami name their pro basketball team the Magic? Or why did Orlando take the name?
November 6, 2025 at 1:38 PM
NYT Games thought of the day: Why didn’t Miami name their pro basketball team the Magic? Or why did Orlando take the name?
Back injuries are THE WORST. Just as I was starting to feel normal again, I re-injured my back in the most embarrassing way possible. (I'm not telling how!) 😣
November 5, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Back injuries are THE WORST. Just as I was starting to feel normal again, I re-injured my back in the most embarrassing way possible. (I'm not telling how!) 😣
No one person can care about everything that deserves caring about. I need reminders of this, and we all need to extend grace to each other concerning what issues we let lie.
October 27, 2025 at 2:43 PM
No one person can care about everything that deserves caring about. I need reminders of this, and we all need to extend grace to each other concerning what issues we let lie.
Important article from Beck Johnson on Kansas City's fundamental economic quagmire: www.linkedin.com/pulse/kansas...
Kansas City Built a City We Can't Afford - And How We Might Fix It
For decades, The City of Kansas City, MO has been celebrated as one of America’s most affordable and livable cities. This has lead to a prosperous period with lots of positive momentum, but buried in ...
www.linkedin.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Important article from Beck Johnson on Kansas City's fundamental economic quagmire: www.linkedin.com/pulse/kansas...
Any other midwestern asthmatics been struggling over the past week, or is it just me? Trying to figure out if I'm fighting sickness or just allergies. Bronchitis is the worst (well, next to pneumonia).
October 14, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Any other midwestern asthmatics been struggling over the past week, or is it just me? Trying to figure out if I'm fighting sickness or just allergies. Bronchitis is the worst (well, next to pneumonia).
Been working through my photo editing backlog. Here's a gallery documenting PorchFest KC in October of 2023: mattstephens.zenfolio.com/porchfestkc2... #porchfestkc
PorchFest Kansas City 2023
Matt Stephens Photography
mattstephens.zenfolio.com
October 9, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Been working through my photo editing backlog. Here's a gallery documenting PorchFest KC in October of 2023: mattstephens.zenfolio.com/porchfestkc2... #porchfestkc
Housing advocates / YIMBYs and map geeks, the National Zoning Atlas is a promising project with growing influence around the country. Check out this article and interview with its founder: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
#housing #YIMBY #zoning
#housing #YIMBY #zoning
Mapping a Way Out of the US Housing Affordability Crisis
Sara Bronin, founder of the National Zoning Atlas, has won the Heinz Award for her ongoing project to map the land-use rules that restrict housing production.
www.bloomberg.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Housing advocates / YIMBYs and map geeks, the National Zoning Atlas is a promising project with growing influence around the country. Check out this article and interview with its founder: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
#housing #YIMBY #zoning
#housing #YIMBY #zoning
Don't miss KC Library's next installment in the Making a Great City lecture series, to be hosted at the Plaza Branch at 6pm, Tues, Sep 30. Chuck Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, will address the US’s housing affordability crisis. RSVP at kclibrary.org/events/housi....
September 29, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Don't miss KC Library's next installment in the Making a Great City lecture series, to be hosted at the Plaza Branch at 6pm, Tues, Sep 30. Chuck Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, will address the US’s housing affordability crisis. RSVP at kclibrary.org/events/housi....
Reposted by mattstephenskc
Fun with the American healthcare system, episode #5384: During a recent routine gynecological visit my wife was informed of some abnormalities. The doctor we've known for years, who delivered one of our children, assured us she wasn't concerned, but surgery could be involved. Then it got worse. 1/
September 26, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Fun with the American healthcare system, episode #5384: During a recent routine gynecological visit my wife was informed of some abnormalities. The doctor we've known for years, who delivered one of our children, assured us she wasn't concerned, but surgery could be involved. Then it got worse. 1/
A tad belated, but always timely: “Mental Health Awareness Month shouldn’t just be about personal coping strategies and mindfulness reminders. It should include a reckoning with the systems that make us sick in the first place.” www.fastcompany.com/91330344/car...
‘Car Brain’ is killing us—literally
As millions of Americans take to the road this weekend, we would do well to rethink how we behave behind the wheel.
www.fastcompany.com
September 24, 2025 at 4:17 PM
A tad belated, but always timely: “Mental Health Awareness Month shouldn’t just be about personal coping strategies and mindfulness reminders. It should include a reckoning with the systems that make us sick in the first place.” www.fastcompany.com/91330344/car...
Sight triangles done right make an extraordinary impact on intersection safety.
Doing the Hoboken intersection daylighting tour today. It's actually embarrassing that Seattle isn't doing this at the same scale.
September 21, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Sight triangles done right make an extraordinary impact on intersection safety.
I felt a little more human and a little more hopeful after reading this. Warning: It's long. But I thought it was worth the time and effort to read. (Thank you, Isaac and the team at @tanglenews.bsky.social.) www.readtangle.com/charlie-kirk...
The response to our coverage about the Charlie Kirk assassination.
We received a lot of responses to our Charlie Kirk coverage.
www.readtangle.com
September 19, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I felt a little more human and a little more hopeful after reading this. Warning: It's long. But I thought it was worth the time and effort to read. (Thank you, Isaac and the team at @tanglenews.bsky.social.) www.readtangle.com/charlie-kirk...
I now own my 2020 VW, free and clear! Payoff day feels great. 😊 #smallwins
September 16, 2025 at 3:51 PM
I now own my 2020 VW, free and clear! Payoff day feels great. 😊 #smallwins
Thoughtfulness may well be my favorite trait a person can embody. Kindness is up there with it. If everyone were thoughtful and kind, the world would be alright.
September 16, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Thoughtfulness may well be my favorite trait a person can embody. Kindness is up there with it. If everyone were thoughtful and kind, the world would be alright.
Fellow fans of bike lanes: are you fans of two-way cycle tracks running adjacent to two-way streets?
I am generally not a fan, as I do not feel safe riding against the direction of car traffic or across the paths of motorists turning into said traffic lanes from side streets & driveways.
I am generally not a fan, as I do not feel safe riding against the direction of car traffic or across the paths of motorists turning into said traffic lanes from side streets & driveways.
September 15, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Fellow fans of bike lanes: are you fans of two-way cycle tracks running adjacent to two-way streets?
I am generally not a fan, as I do not feel safe riding against the direction of car traffic or across the paths of motorists turning into said traffic lanes from side streets & driveways.
I am generally not a fan, as I do not feel safe riding against the direction of car traffic or across the paths of motorists turning into said traffic lanes from side streets & driveways.
Would love to invite a dialog about the contrast of Rule 66 of Jeff Speck’s Walkable City Rules to the city of Hoboken, NJ’s famously successful Vision Zero campaign, which has relied heavily on “daylighting” to improve visibility at intersections. Speck critiques the practice.
September 12, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Would love to invite a dialog about the contrast of Rule 66 of Jeff Speck’s Walkable City Rules to the city of Hoboken, NJ’s famously successful Vision Zero campaign, which has relied heavily on “daylighting” to improve visibility at intersections. Speck critiques the practice.
En route from KC to Louisville, a solid 90% of motorists were driving 10+ mph above the speed limit (some much faster) *in construction zones* along I-70 and I-64. That’s not bad road design. That’s heartless insanity. Incredibly discouraging.
September 11, 2025 at 4:04 PM
En route from KC to Louisville, a solid 90% of motorists were driving 10+ mph above the speed limit (some much faster) *in construction zones* along I-70 and I-64. That’s not bad road design. That’s heartless insanity. Incredibly discouraging.
Leading starts with listening.
September 8, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Leading starts with listening.
Anyone know a RE development firm or other business in the AEC space that’s hiring comms people or would consider someone without industry experience for some kind of mgmt role? I’m looking for an on-ramp into the industry.
September 5, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Anyone know a RE development firm or other business in the AEC space that’s hiring comms people or would consider someone without industry experience for some kind of mgmt role? I’m looking for an on-ramp into the industry.
Where’s the best place to watch the Mizzou-Kansas 🏈 game tomorrow? Brewer’s Corner is under new ownership. They were my go-to.
September 5, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Where’s the best place to watch the Mizzou-Kansas 🏈 game tomorrow? Brewer’s Corner is under new ownership. They were my go-to.
I’m a quality of life advocate first, a YIMBY second. Density, supply, and affordability should all serve the goal of improving the QOL for residents. QOL research should inform development plans/projects of all kinds.
September 3, 2025 at 3:56 PM
I’m a quality of life advocate first, a YIMBY second. Density, supply, and affordability should all serve the goal of improving the QOL for residents. QOL research should inform development plans/projects of all kinds.
When you’re surrounded by conflict, day in and day out, is it neurotic to develop conflict avoidance? One would think a person might develop conflict tolerance—grit—after so much practice. But it has the opposite effect on some of us. Why?
August 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM
When you’re surrounded by conflict, day in and day out, is it neurotic to develop conflict avoidance? One would think a person might develop conflict tolerance—grit—after so much practice. But it has the opposite effect on some of us. Why?
Sometimes (in the short run), efficiency looks like slowing down. However, the extra time upfront pays off in the long run.
August 27, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Sometimes (in the short run), efficiency looks like slowing down. However, the extra time upfront pays off in the long run.
In 2025, a $300K, 30yr fixed mortgage costs over $3K/mo.
A HH needs at least $108K in annual income to afford this $300K loan.
The median home value is $443K. (80% of this is $354K.)
The median HH income is $80K.
The median HH cannot afford the median-priced home.
The system is broken.
A HH needs at least $108K in annual income to afford this $300K loan.
The median home value is $443K. (80% of this is $354K.)
The median HH income is $80K.
The median HH cannot afford the median-priced home.
The system is broken.
August 20, 2025 at 1:05 PM
In 2025, a $300K, 30yr fixed mortgage costs over $3K/mo.
A HH needs at least $108K in annual income to afford this $300K loan.
The median home value is $443K. (80% of this is $354K.)
The median HH income is $80K.
The median HH cannot afford the median-priced home.
The system is broken.
A HH needs at least $108K in annual income to afford this $300K loan.
The median home value is $443K. (80% of this is $354K.)
The median HH income is $80K.
The median HH cannot afford the median-priced home.
The system is broken.