Patrick Sisson
@patrickcsisson.bsky.social
Writer. Trends, tech, economics & policy shaping cities. Bylines: New York Times, Bloomberg CityLab, MIT Tech Review, Bisnow, Fast Company. patsisson at gmail dot com.
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
Renewable energy is saving Texans. “If not for the growth in solar and (battery) storage, we would have seen numerous conservation alerts or probably even blackouts,” Rice’s Daniel Cohan said.
www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
Texas solar power surpassed coal in 2025 for the first year ever. Here's why.
In 2025 — for the first year ever — solar arrays provided more electricity to Texas’ main power grid than coal-fired power plants.
www.houstonchronicle.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Renewable energy is saving Texans. “If not for the growth in solar and (battery) storage, we would have seen numerous conservation alerts or probably even blackouts,” Rice’s Daniel Cohan said.
www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
www.houstonchronicle.com/business/ene...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
Satellite images of methane plumes above VZ are a climate horror show (gift link)
Satellite Images Reveal Venezuela’s Massive Methane Problem
Data shows millions of tons of methane spewing from the nation’s decaying energy infrastructure, underscoring how much work is required to revive production.
www.bloomberg.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Satellite images of methane plumes above VZ are a climate horror show (gift link)
As wildfires risks increse, communities are faced with a challenge: figuring out how to inspire collective action to protect neighborhoods from the next blaze. For @nytimes.com I looked at a few efforts to protect homes and minimize skyrocketing insurance costs www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/r...
Safeguarding Fire-Prone Homes Is a Collective Action Problem
www.nytimes.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:23 PM
As wildfires risks increse, communities are faced with a challenge: figuring out how to inspire collective action to protect neighborhoods from the next blaze. For @nytimes.com I looked at a few efforts to protect homes and minimize skyrocketing insurance costs www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/r...
For Bisnow, I teamed up with my colleagues to look at the long-lasting impacts of the LA Fires, and how after the smoke cleared, the torturous rebuilding process can feel like ”walking through landmines” www.bisnow.com/los-angeles/...
The 'Lost Year': How LA's Devastating Fires Deepened Its Economic Woes
Fires claimed 31 lives and thousands of structures as Los Angeles tried to regain its footing after the pandemic.
www.bisnow.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:34 PM
For Bisnow, I teamed up with my colleagues to look at the long-lasting impacts of the LA Fires, and how after the smoke cleared, the torturous rebuilding process can feel like ”walking through landmines” www.bisnow.com/los-angeles/...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
After the US admin cancelled the $B Climate + Weather Disaster dataset, @climatecentral.org hired the scientists who ran it and set it back up.
Now the 2025 numbers are in: it's 3rd highest year on record and highest year w/o land-falling hurricanes.
More: www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv...
Now the 2025 numbers are in: it's 3rd highest year on record and highest year w/o land-falling hurricanes.
More: www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv...
January 8, 2026 at 5:33 PM
After the US admin cancelled the $B Climate + Weather Disaster dataset, @climatecentral.org hired the scientists who ran it and set it back up.
Now the 2025 numbers are in: it's 3rd highest year on record and highest year w/o land-falling hurricanes.
More: www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv...
Now the 2025 numbers are in: it's 3rd highest year on record and highest year w/o land-falling hurricanes.
More: www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv...
For Bisnow I looked at the tricky issue of maternity leave for contract employees in commercial real estate. Thanks to everyone who shares personal stories with me www.bisnow.com/national/new...
'A Big Problem': For Women Brokers, Becoming A Mom Often Means Lost Pay, Clients
As contract employees, brokers are often ineligible for maternity leave benefits.
www.bisnow.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:52 PM
For Bisnow I looked at the tricky issue of maternity leave for contract employees in commercial real estate. Thanks to everyone who shares personal stories with me www.bisnow.com/national/new...
For @nytimes.com I looked at new schemes to tackle one of the toughest challenges of fire resilience — the collective action problem www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/r...
Fire-Prone Areas Try Carrots and Sticks to Boost Home Upgrades
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:38 PM
For @nytimes.com I looked at new schemes to tackle one of the toughest challenges of fire resilience — the collective action problem www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/r...
For @bloomberg.com I looked at different ways builders are using technology and design to build faster and more resilient as part of the recovery from LA’s destructive wildfires www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
New LA Home Designs, Reimagined By Fire
As rebuilding begins in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, builders are showcasing resilient architecture and construction techniques aimed at outwitting future disaster.
www.bloomberg.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:29 PM
For @bloomberg.com I looked at different ways builders are using technology and design to build faster and more resilient as part of the recovery from LA’s destructive wildfires www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Truly invaluable chronicle of architecture, design and development in major US cities; what say you @nymag.com
The archives for the old Curbed city sites have been offline for at least two weeks. If these sites are gone for good, it’s not just a loss for those who contributed to Curbed over the years, but a loss of ~15 years of reporting on new development, neighborhoods, and architecture criticism.
January 5, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Truly invaluable chronicle of architecture, design and development in major US cities; what say you @nymag.com
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
read CHIPWRECKED here www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
December 22, 2025 at 4:01 PM
read CHIPWRECKED here www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
#climaterisk between this and @dustinmulvaney.bsky.social 's post about CEQA approving huge new solar, BESS, and transmission in the central valley, things are looking good for the golden state. Now if we could just build some transit...
‘The biggest transformation in a century’: how California remade itself as a clean energy powerhouse
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘The biggest transformation in a century’: how California remade itself as a clean energy powerhouse
The Golden State’s clean energy use hit new highs in 2025. As the Trump administration abandons US climate initiatives, can California fill the void?
www.theguardian.com
December 20, 2025 at 9:15 PM
#climaterisk between this and @dustinmulvaney.bsky.social 's post about CEQA approving huge new solar, BESS, and transmission in the central valley, things are looking good for the golden state. Now if we could just build some transit...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
"No one way of ICEWatching is the trademarked ‘perfect’ or ‘mandated’ way to do so. ... There is no ICEWatch INC., no president, no director, none of that. It’s a verb, not a membership in a group." talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/secr...
Secretive Rapid Response Networks Are Operating in Communities ‘Terrorized’ By ICE Raids
The school was on lockdown. Nov. 12 was supposed to be an...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:58 PM
"No one way of ICEWatching is the trademarked ‘perfect’ or ‘mandated’ way to do so. ... There is no ICEWatch INC., no president, no director, none of that. It’s a verb, not a membership in a group." talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/secr...
Even I, an avowed Calvin and Hobbes super fan, can’t fully express how happy I was to see my son not just read but laugh out loud while reading his first collection of the comic.
December 17, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Even I, an avowed Calvin and Hobbes super fan, can’t fully express how happy I was to see my son not just read but laugh out loud while reading his first collection of the comic.
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
I am so proud of the small group of people that has been grinding on this project for 10 years. Looks like there will finally be a ground-breaking in 2026 - thetriibe.com/2025/12/chic...
Chicago Torture Justice Memorial to be built in Washington Park • The TRiiBE
The long-awaited memorial will pay tribute to survivors and victims of police torture at the hands of the Chicago Police Department. Groundbreaking is expected in Spring 2026.
thetriibe.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:57 PM
I am so proud of the small group of people that has been grinding on this project for 10 years. Looks like there will finally be a ground-breaking in 2026 - thetriibe.com/2025/12/chic...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
We are joining other newsrooms in the Climate News Task Force to provide a single hub for signing up for all our newsletters.
It’s a simple way to access climate coverage — and to support reporting that keeps powerful industries accountable.
trustfnd.com/collaboratio...
It’s a simple way to access climate coverage — and to support reporting that keeps powerful industries accountable.
trustfnd.com/collaboratio...
Get the Climate News Task Force newsletter bundle
Twelve climate newsrooms joined forces in 2025 to create the Climate News Task Force, to increase and improve climate journalism collaborations and innovate new solutions to current challenges.
trustfnd.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
We are joining other newsrooms in the Climate News Task Force to provide a single hub for signing up for all our newsletters.
It’s a simple way to access climate coverage — and to support reporting that keeps powerful industries accountable.
trustfnd.com/collaboratio...
It’s a simple way to access climate coverage — and to support reporting that keeps powerful industries accountable.
trustfnd.com/collaboratio...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
A Train Grows in Brooklyn:
Everything you could possibly want to know about the IBX, its challenges, and how it could reach its full potential.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Everything you could possibly want to know about the IBX, its challenges, and how it could reach its full potential.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
A Train Grows in Brooklyn
New York City’s first new transit line in decades, the $5.5 billion Interborough Express, could transform fast-growing parts of Brooklyn and Queens.
www.bloomberg.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:57 PM
A Train Grows in Brooklyn:
Everything you could possibly want to know about the IBX, its challenges, and how it could reach its full potential.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Everything you could possibly want to know about the IBX, its challenges, and how it could reach its full potential.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
The Pacific Northwest is where most U.S. hops are grown. It's also a region that's been battered by wildfires in recent years - and it's affecting our beer.
New from @aimeerawlins.bsky.social, how researchers are scrambling to help hops growers adapt:
ambrook.com/offrange/cro...
New from @aimeerawlins.bsky.social, how researchers are scrambling to help hops growers adapt:
ambrook.com/offrange/cro...
Smoke Gets in Your Beer - Offrange
Wildfires have become the new norm in the Pacific Northwest — where most of our hops are grown. Researchers are digging into the short- and long-term effects.
ambrook.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:52 PM
The Pacific Northwest is where most U.S. hops are grown. It's also a region that's been battered by wildfires in recent years - and it's affecting our beer.
New from @aimeerawlins.bsky.social, how researchers are scrambling to help hops growers adapt:
ambrook.com/offrange/cro...
New from @aimeerawlins.bsky.social, how researchers are scrambling to help hops growers adapt:
ambrook.com/offrange/cro...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
"Previous global building maps captured roughly 1.7 billion structures. This new dataset pushes that count to 2.75 billion, offering a resolution thirty times finer than earlier efforts."
www.zmescience.com/tech/map-eve...
www.zmescience.com/tech/map-eve...
Scientists just released a map of all 2.75 billion buildings on Earth, in 3D
A new global atlas captures humanity’s entire built environment—from megacities to remote villages.
www.zmescience.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:56 PM
"Previous global building maps captured roughly 1.7 billion structures. This new dataset pushes that count to 2.75 billion, offering a resolution thirty times finer than earlier efforts."
www.zmescience.com/tech/map-eve...
www.zmescience.com/tech/map-eve...
Great, timely story www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
In L.A., $750 a Month to Live in a Backyard Storage Unit
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Great, timely story www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
The war on renewables is being driven in part by nuclear operators and fossil fuel interests.
🎁🔗 to an absolutely comprehensive look at the backroom alliance shaping opposition
🎁🔗 to an absolutely comprehensive look at the backroom alliance shaping opposition
Nuclear and Fossil Fuels Join Forces to Undermine Renewables
The once unlikely alliance took root in Texas and now reaches right into the White House, where President Trump wants to ban wind energy projects.
www.bloomberg.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:18 PM
The war on renewables is being driven in part by nuclear operators and fossil fuel interests.
🎁🔗 to an absolutely comprehensive look at the backroom alliance shaping opposition
🎁🔗 to an absolutely comprehensive look at the backroom alliance shaping opposition
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
December 9, 2025 at 8:45 PM
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
In addition to all of the other benefits already reported about NYC congestion pricing, "In the first six months of the program, air pollution – in the form of particulate matter 2.5 micrometers and smaller – dropped by 22% in the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ)"
news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
Congestion pricing improved air quality in NYC and suburbs | Cornell Chronicle
Cornell researchers tallied the environmental benefits of New York City’s congestion pricing program and found air pollution dropped by 22% in Manhattan, with additional declines across the city’s fiv...
news.cornell.edu
December 9, 2025 at 2:19 AM
In addition to all of the other benefits already reported about NYC congestion pricing, "In the first six months of the program, air pollution – in the form of particulate matter 2.5 micrometers and smaller – dropped by 22% in the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ)"
news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
For a couple of years now, I've been fascinated with what's happening at small liberal arts colleges, which are running out of money for reasons unrelated to Trump funding cuts. Businessweek let me go deep on the problems, and one college that's trying to blaze a new trail.
Why a College Fighting for Survival Is Slashing Econ and Physics Majors
At Albright in Pennsylvania, the new president is cutting programs, selling art and real estate, and vowing not to hire anyone with tenure. Is this the way forward for liberal arts colleges?
www.bloomberg.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
For a couple of years now, I've been fascinated with what's happening at small liberal arts colleges, which are running out of money for reasons unrelated to Trump funding cuts. Businessweek let me go deep on the problems, and one college that's trying to blaze a new trail.
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
Growing backlash — It turns out a lot of people are not happy with their local school district and city spending millions with Amazon under sham contracts that specify dynamic pricing and shutout competing local suppliers.
December 9, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Growing backlash — It turns out a lot of people are not happy with their local school district and city spending millions with Amazon under sham contracts that specify dynamic pricing and shutout competing local suppliers.
Reposted by Patrick Sisson
It's time once again for my annual #treebybike post. This is the 12/19/42 cover of @newyorker.com, so one full year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This would be the first real Christmas alone, or without a family member, for millions in the US. Gas and tire rationing had begun earlier that year.🗃️
December 8, 2025 at 3:38 PM
It's time once again for my annual #treebybike post. This is the 12/19/42 cover of @newyorker.com, so one full year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This would be the first real Christmas alone, or without a family member, for millions in the US. Gas and tire rationing had begun earlier that year.🗃️