Nicole Flatow
nicflatow.bsky.social
Nicole Flatow
@nicflatow.bsky.social
Managing Editor at Bloomberg CityLab.
Stories and justice for all.
Views are my own.
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
Here's a really great, clear explanation from @michael-thomas.bsky.social of what we know about why US electricity prices are rising. (No, it's not data centers, except in some very specific local areas.)
Why Are Electricity Prices Rising?
Probably not for the reasons that you think
www.distilled.earth
October 24, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Amsterdam might never have become a city if not for climate change. But the city's secret sauce is that it turned its greatest challenges into advantages, @feargusosull.bsky.social and Charlotte Hughes-Morgan explain in this great piece.
Europe’s Original Climate-Resilient City Has a Lesson for Us All
On Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary, it continues to be a leader in climate adaptation — showing how a city can thrive in overcoming existential challenges.
www.bloomberg.com
October 25, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Placating myself by looking at this pretty chart. www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...
The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike
A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom
www.scientificamerican.com
October 17, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
Three newly published books argue that cars are destroying society as well as the planet.

Is the world finally ready to rein in the automobile?

My essay, in @bloomberg.com (gift link below)
‘Car Brain’ Is Making the US Unhealthy and Dangerous. EVs Won’t Fix It.
A trio of new books argue that we need to confront the full range of costs that car-based living has imposed on our cities, our health and our society.
www.bloomberg.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
Thanks, New Yorker
October 7, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
Tom Homan said he was recused from anything to do with government contracts.

Turns out he wasn't. He played a role in the process to move immigration detention contracts through the Defense Department

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

With @racheladhe.bsky.social and @sooophie.bsky.social
Trump’s Border Czar Involved in Detention Contract Talks Despite Recusal
Ethics experts say Tom Homan’s participation could violate rules meant to ensure impartiality. The White House says he has not crossed that line.
www.bloomberg.com
September 24, 2025 at 10:10 PM
This school shooting tip line started by the mother of a Sandy Hook victim receives 200 tips a day from KIDS. I can't really imagine what it's like to be on their internet. abc7news.com/post/planned...
Planned shooting stopped at Bay Area high school via Sandy Hook Promise tip line
"What we know is that a student saw a concerning post on a friend's Instagram feed and reported it to our anonymous reporting system manned at our crisis center down in Miami," said Nicole Hockley, co...
abc7news.com
September 23, 2025 at 2:22 PM
This approach doesn't seem to grasp that even if you prefer to drive, you should still want OTHER people to take alternative modes so you can go faster.
September 23, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Any grant that isn't retaining or expanding roads is apparently vulnerable now.
September 23, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
I have a major piece in Bloomberg Citylab today. Should the US let transit fail, as Pennsylvania is already doing? And if not, what are the arguments we need to let it succeed?

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Should We Let Public Transit Die?
Urban-rural hostility is fueling a public transportation crisis in US cities. But demands to abandon bus and train riders ignore the economic and social costs of cutting service.
www.bloomberg.com
September 19, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Florida man calls out Trump legal action as rant dressed in lawsuit's clothing
"Improper" "impermissible" "repetitive" "superfluous" "florid" "protracted"

A US judge in Florida tossed, for now, Trump's $15B defamation suit against the New York Times, finding it "unmistakably and inexcusably" ran afoul of court rules. Trump's lawyers get 28 days to try again.
buff.ly/FKQnQqx
September 19, 2025 at 6:45 PM
When we talk about housing crises and other such resource strains we don’t always take the long view. And the long view is that the world is urbanizing FAST. Before population decline comes rapid population growth, especially in some cities. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
September 17, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Every word and picture.
September 5, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Impressive and rare kind of judicial reporting here
September 5, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
Something rare—maybe unprecedented—is unfolding in D.C.: Grand juries are refusing to indict Trump opponents whose minor acts of defiance have been inflated into felony charges.

Washingtonians have few tools to resist the occupation of their city. This is one of them.
slate.com/news-and-pol...
September 4, 2025 at 5:44 PM
"People don’t even know what the government does until it’s not doing it. HUD is one of the perfect examples of that.”
Housing Secretary Scott Turner wants to build-baby-build. But so far his tenure at HUD has looked more like slash-slash-slash — with plunging numbers for staff, grants and proposed funding.

@sarahholder.bsky.social and I profiled Turner and his unorthodox agenda: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Trump’s Housing Chief Wants to Build, But With What?
HUD Secretary Scott Turner says it’s time to put millions more Americans in homes. He’s also standing by while his agency’s staff and funding disappear.
www.bloomberg.com
September 4, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
Federal housing agenda looks a bit different under Turner: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
September 4, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
National Guard soldiers called into service for President Trump's law enforcement surge in D.C. have been assigned to spread mulch at federal monuments.

Normally the Park Service does that, but the administration laid off the workers.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
August 27, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
Trump's comments about gilding federal buildings in Washington are wedded to his pledge to remove homeless people from D.C. When the president talks about beauty, he always talks about disgust: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Trump’s Politics of Urban Disgust
The president’s unprecedented takeover of Washington, DC law enforcement weds a crime crackdown to a gilded vision for remaking the capital.
www.bloomberg.com
August 15, 2025 at 2:39 PM
"These service cuts are unprecedented and not just for SEPTA. No major transit agency has had to take steps this drastic." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Philadelphia Transit System Sets One-Week Deadline to Avoid Cuts
Philadelphia’s transit system must secure new state funding by next Thursday to avoid drastic cuts to its train and bus service that shuttles people around the US’ sixth-largest city.
www.bloomberg.com
August 6, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I’ve had Istanbul on my mind since the mayor was arrested on the eve of his presidential run. Since March, >100 other city officials have been arrested, including the heads of the water utility, housing authority, public transit authority and urban planning agency. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Major Istanbul Projects Are Stalling as City Leaders Sit in Jail
The arrests of the mayor and key city officials have battered Turkey’s political opposition – and left issues critical to the city’s future hanging in the balance.
www.bloomberg.com
August 6, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
Really important story here about the shockingly (even to me) small operating budget for LA county emergency management — $15 million.

This is the most populous county and one of, if not the highest, risk counties in the country. The irresponsibility of this!

www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025...
Documents reveal Los Angeles County’s meager budget for disaster response
Los Angeles County is no stranger to catastrophes. It has declared 74 disasters in the past 20 years and often hosts major events, such as the Summer Olympics in 2028.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 5, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Reposted by Nicole Flatow
Not surprised to see this data, but I differ about what should be done about it: Design a safer (from cars) outdoors for kids to play in so that they are not dependent on parents www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv... (+ hilarious to see illustrated w the Junglegym whose history is in my book)
What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones
Children who were raised on screens need more freedom out in the real world.
www.theatlantic.com
August 4, 2025 at 10:47 PM