Adam Estroff
@adamestroff.bsky.social
Denver, YIMBY, housing, busses, Magic the Gathering, video games, and occasionally some AI
They both suck. Mamdani doesn’t have a plan for anything. Mayors don’t control grocery prices.
June 8, 2025 at 1:56 AM
They both suck. Mamdani doesn’t have a plan for anything. Mayors don’t control grocery prices.
Yes what we really need is a discredited economic philosophy from an alcoholic 19th century European guy that leads to authoritarianism in every real world attempt. Surely that will allow us to build housing.
May 17, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Yes what we really need is a discredited economic philosophy from an alcoholic 19th century European guy that leads to authoritarianism in every real world attempt. Surely that will allow us to build housing.
You are discounting how much these “inputs” are captured in cities, especially when it comes to housing. I have participated in processes where white seniors were over represented at twice their rate in the population to justify stopping housing. Capture by rich people is a feature, not a bug
May 17, 2025 at 6:21 PM
You are discounting how much these “inputs” are captured in cities, especially when it comes to housing. I have participated in processes where white seniors were over represented at twice their rate in the population to justify stopping housing. Capture by rich people is a feature, not a bug
The market has been the main driver of times when housing was affordable in the US and Canada. Housing in Japan is affordable because of the market, not subsidy.
May 17, 2025 at 6:16 PM
The market has been the main driver of times when housing was affordable in the US and Canada. Housing in Japan is affordable because of the market, not subsidy.
Do you… ever go to support one of these affordable projects? Like in person? I’m curious because it just seems like your understanding is very intellectually based and ignores the reality that people oppose subsidized housing the same or more than private.
May 17, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Do you… ever go to support one of these affordable projects? Like in person? I’m curious because it just seems like your understanding is very intellectually based and ignores the reality that people oppose subsidized housing the same or more than private.
Americans support affordable housing as an abstract concept but tend to oppose specific projects near them. NIMBYs have a lot of sway
May 17, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Americans support affordable housing as an abstract concept but tend to oppose specific projects near them. NIMBYs have a lot of sway
I don’t understand your point. The proccesist regime has led to the most urban sprawl and habitat loss in history, yet you are being critical of the attempt to densify cities?
May 17, 2025 at 5:05 PM
I don’t understand your point. The proccesist regime has led to the most urban sprawl and habitat loss in history, yet you are being critical of the attempt to densify cities?
They use many of the same arguments as people in Canada, and the same ones against market rate housing. Traffic, crowding, new people are dangerous etc. Abundance argues those folks shouldn’t get a veto.
I’m sure there are groups in your community fighting for affordable housing right now.
I’m sure there are groups in your community fighting for affordable housing right now.
May 17, 2025 at 5:04 PM
They use many of the same arguments as people in Canada, and the same ones against market rate housing. Traffic, crowding, new people are dangerous etc. Abundance argues those folks shouldn’t get a veto.
I’m sure there are groups in your community fighting for affordable housing right now.
I’m sure there are groups in your community fighting for affordable housing right now.
Americans don’t want government built housing near them, so an abundance agenda is a way to actually get it done. I don’t think Communism works, I find the historiography unpersuasive and the real world examples negative. I will add I think the MIC stuff in the piece is a strawman. (3/3)
May 17, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Americans don’t want government built housing near them, so an abundance agenda is a way to actually get it done. I don’t think Communism works, I find the historiography unpersuasive and the real world examples negative. I will add I think the MIC stuff in the piece is a strawman. (3/3)
But they are unwilling to tackle a path to changing them, jumping straight to essentially dualism via their magic energy cells. The piece argues zoning reform and single stair won’t solve the housing crisis, but the flip is how can you approach the problem without building more (2/3)
May 17, 2025 at 4:58 PM
But they are unwilling to tackle a path to changing them, jumping straight to essentially dualism via their magic energy cells. The piece argues zoning reform and single stair won’t solve the housing crisis, but the flip is how can you approach the problem without building more (2/3)
Thank you for sharing but I don’t think this was persuasive. Abundance doesn’t call for unfettered production it’s about specific things - housing, transit, green energy. That need to be built to accomplish big societal goals. The SCs in the piece talk about wanting to break the MIC and FF (1/3)
May 17, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Thank you for sharing but I don’t think this was persuasive. Abundance doesn’t call for unfettered production it’s about specific things - housing, transit, green energy. That need to be built to accomplish big societal goals. The SCs in the piece talk about wanting to break the MIC and FF (1/3)
That’s a fair point
May 17, 2025 at 4:46 PM
That’s a fair point
My experience is that left wing processism is really about giving privileged people a veto under the guise of egalitarian inclusivity. At least in Denver the public comment period can be used to whittle down a bike lane project, but unless someone literally dies, it will never get “upgraded”
May 17, 2025 at 4:43 PM
My experience is that left wing processism is really about giving privileged people a veto under the guise of egalitarian inclusivity. At least in Denver the public comment period can be used to whittle down a bike lane project, but unless someone literally dies, it will never get “upgraded”
People don’t need to post everything smdh
May 17, 2025 at 4:31 PM
People don’t need to post everything smdh
So no housing can be built until the revolution? I don’t think tying housing construction to significant federal reform and just wishing away the realities of housing politics in cities- where many on the left oppose housing- is credible. The YIMBY/Abundance frame offers a way to build now.
May 17, 2025 at 12:52 PM
So no housing can be built until the revolution? I don’t think tying housing construction to significant federal reform and just wishing away the realities of housing politics in cities- where many on the left oppose housing- is credible. The YIMBY/Abundance frame offers a way to build now.
So if you turn off private development the corporations you are taxing make no money, so produce no tax, so no money for subsidized housing. I don’t know if you have ever gone to a project approval hearing but people don’t support government built housing near them any more than commercial. (2/2)
May 17, 2025 at 12:42 PM
So if you turn off private development the corporations you are taxing make no money, so produce no tax, so no money for subsidized housing. I don’t know if you have ever gone to a project approval hearing but people don’t support government built housing near them any more than commercial. (2/2)
That doesn’t solve the problem because you still can’t make enough social housing if zoning is limited to a single detached 3k sq ft home per lot- a situation you leave in place. Subsidized housing made by the government is already more expensive to build and is funded by private dev (1/2)
May 17, 2025 at 12:42 PM
That doesn’t solve the problem because you still can’t make enough social housing if zoning is limited to a single detached 3k sq ft home per lot- a situation you leave in place. Subsidized housing made by the government is already more expensive to build and is funded by private dev (1/2)
There is a book called “Abundance” by Ezra Klein that lays it out. Though he’s synthesizing earlier arguments made by many housing and environmental advocates.
May 17, 2025 at 3:16 AM
There is a book called “Abundance” by Ezra Klein that lays it out. Though he’s synthesizing earlier arguments made by many housing and environmental advocates.
I feel like the problem here is while there are groups on the left that “disagree” with the Abundance take, they generally don’t have an alternative theory of the case.
May 17, 2025 at 1:01 AM
I feel like the problem here is while there are groups on the left that “disagree” with the Abundance take, they generally don’t have an alternative theory of the case.
When he gets caught with a private email server on the plane
May 14, 2025 at 9:47 PM
When he gets caught with a private email server on the plane
I think one of the problems is that learning to use AI effectively requires both work and being open to change, and many people don’t like those things.
May 13, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I think one of the problems is that learning to use AI effectively requires both work and being open to change, and many people don’t like those things.