Alan
@akgerber.bsky.social
he/him
literally just some guy— mostly shooting the shit about transportation/climate change/architecture/urban planning/economics/land use
also computer stuff
literally just some guy— mostly shooting the shit about transportation/climate change/architecture/urban planning/economics/land use
also computer stuff
it's always been wild to me that he was somehow Senator from Wisconsin at the same time that Milwaukee was reelecting a capital-s Socialist mayor
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Z...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Z...
November 10, 2025 at 10:24 PM
it's always been wild to me that he was somehow Senator from Wisconsin at the same time that Milwaukee was reelecting a capital-s Socialist mayor
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Z...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Z...
a lotta fleet vehicles have turned over in NYC eg Parks has lots of electric F150s and most new for-hail vehicles are various obscure EVs like the remnant Fisker fleet bought on the cheap
November 10, 2025 at 7:20 PM
a lotta fleet vehicles have turned over in NYC eg Parks has lots of electric F150s and most new for-hail vehicles are various obscure EVs like the remnant Fisker fleet bought on the cheap
NYC in particular will basically always be a relatively difficult place to own an electric car given how many cars are stored on the curb or in garages packed with cars by valets but it's also a city where most people have gotten around via electric vehicles for over a century
November 10, 2025 at 6:23 PM
NYC in particular will basically always be a relatively difficult place to own an electric car given how many cars are stored on the curb or in garages packed with cars by valets but it's also a city where most people have gotten around via electric vehicles for over a century
yeah I would like to rent maybe a Hyundai Ioniq6 with NACS for a road trip someday from a rental company that has chargers at its lot and thus can accept the car back with a non-full battery
but definitely not with the EV status quo a couple years ago when Hertz went heavy Tesla
but definitely not with the EV status quo a couple years ago when Hertz went heavy Tesla
November 10, 2025 at 5:57 PM
yeah I would like to rent maybe a Hyundai Ioniq6 with NACS for a road trip someday from a rental company that has chargers at its lot and thus can accept the car back with a non-full battery
but definitely not with the EV status quo a couple years ago when Hertz went heavy Tesla
but definitely not with the EV status quo a couple years ago when Hertz went heavy Tesla
does seem like things are improving a lot over the past couple years and will be even better once cars standardize on NACS but there is still quite a learning curve and I am a big enthusiast of getting rid of fossil fuels
November 10, 2025 at 5:37 PM
does seem like things are improving a lot over the past couple years and will be even better once cars standardize on NACS but there is still quite a learning curve and I am a big enthusiast of getting rid of fossil fuels
Also, like, do you need to return a rental EV with a full battery? That makes renting a car much much harder
November 10, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Also, like, do you need to return a rental EV with a full battery? That makes renting a car much much harder
we had a trip to Galena IL from O'Hare and it turned out where we were going had a charger but I wasn't ready to count on it given the limited information online
November 10, 2025 at 5:33 PM
we had a trip to Galena IL from O'Hare and it turned out where we were going had a charger but I wasn't ready to count on it given the limited information online
We should put a second screen on the back of an e-reader with the book cover to enable performativity for males who read ebooks too
November 10, 2025 at 5:25 PM
We should put a second screen on the back of an e-reader with the book cover to enable performativity for males who read ebooks too
We rent cars pretty regularly for road trips because we live in NYC and don't own a car and hopefully times have changed but I'm not ready to count on charger availability for road trip logistics in rural areas
November 10, 2025 at 5:24 PM
We rent cars pretty regularly for road trips because we live in NYC and don't own a car and hopefully times have changed but I'm not ready to count on charger availability for road trip logistics in rural areas
we've quickly forgotten how even indoor lighting used to cost a substantial amount of money
November 9, 2025 at 6:58 PM
we've quickly forgotten how even indoor lighting used to cost a substantial amount of money
I haven't read this but I believe it to be substantially about the topic
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postwar...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postwar...
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 9, 2025 at 6:49 PM
I haven't read this but I believe it to be substantially about the topic
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postwar...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postwar...
and the US in general was unusually wealthy because nearly all of the rest of the industrialized world had suffered great destruction of the capital stock during WWII (which followed the depression when very little was built), so modest suburban houses felt exceptionally nice because they were
November 9, 2025 at 6:45 PM
and the US in general was unusually wealthy because nearly all of the rest of the industrialized world had suffered great destruction of the capital stock during WWII (which followed the depression when very little was built), so modest suburban houses felt exceptionally nice because they were
my mom and her 11 siblings did have a pretty nice standard of living growing up mostly in the Midwest but that's because it was one of the richest places in the world then rather than a normally well-off part of the US (with endemic poverty due to the US's limited social services) like it is now
November 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
my mom and her 11 siblings did have a pretty nice standard of living growing up mostly in the Midwest but that's because it was one of the richest places in the world then rather than a normally well-off part of the US (with endemic poverty due to the US's limited social services) like it is now
I have a sport jacket not unlike that (that I got new with tags at the thrift store because no one bought it lol) and I think the intention is mostly for urban cycling and travel rather than hiking
November 9, 2025 at 3:17 PM
I have a sport jacket not unlike that (that I got new with tags at the thrift store because no one bought it lol) and I think the intention is mostly for urban cycling and travel rather than hiking
2000sqft is a common enough unit size just not usually divided into 5 bedrooms
November 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
2000sqft is a common enough unit size just not usually divided into 5 bedrooms
and over $3000/mo maintenance
November 9, 2025 at 3:12 PM
and over $3000/mo maintenance
looks like a combined unit in a location less convenient to transit than a lot of Brooklyn
November 9, 2025 at 3:11 PM
looks like a combined unit in a location less convenient to transit than a lot of Brooklyn
Strong Towns suggests many silly things but is very reasonable when it comes to small town municipal finance
November 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Strong Towns suggests many silly things but is very reasonable when it comes to small town municipal finance
Midwestern property taxes are generally not low because they need to fund a relatively high level of services on a much lower base of land values, and there is no assessment limit escape valve
Eg a modest house like I posted earlier pays ~$4000/yr or $362/mo
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
Eg a modest house like I posted earlier pays ~$4000/yr or $362/mo
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
www.zillow.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Midwestern property taxes are generally not low because they need to fund a relatively high level of services on a much lower base of land values, and there is no assessment limit escape valve
Eg a modest house like I posted earlier pays ~$4000/yr or $362/mo
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
Eg a modest house like I posted earlier pays ~$4000/yr or $362/mo
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
And in places where there isn't enough demand for mansionization or densification (or where those are banned), rebuilding EOL postwar infrastructure at suburban densities will basically be economically impossible without a huge spike in property tax rates
November 9, 2025 at 2:21 PM
And in places where there isn't enough demand for mansionization or densification (or where those are banned), rebuilding EOL postwar infrastructure at suburban densities will basically be economically impossible without a huge spike in property tax rates
yep, the era when the automobile made it possible for just about anyone to have a large lot on the outskirts of a growing major city was basically a one-time thing— still possible outside small cities but certainly not a place like Boston, where the choice is between densification or mansionization
November 9, 2025 at 2:18 PM
yep, the era when the automobile made it possible for just about anyone to have a large lot on the outskirts of a growing major city was basically a one-time thing— still possible outside small cities but certainly not a place like Boston, where the choice is between densification or mansionization
I suspect that many upper Midwest post industrial cities will experience a similar trajectory as the pain of the late 20th century deindustrialization fades into the past and their now-milder yet relatively stable climate and relatively-affordable housing draws people again
November 9, 2025 at 2:12 PM
I suspect that many upper Midwest post industrial cities will experience a similar trajectory as the pain of the late 20th century deindustrialization fades into the past and their now-milder yet relatively stable climate and relatively-affordable housing draws people again
was just looking at Levittown where the 6000sqft lots that were built out with similar houses are rapidly being rebuilt with $1.5M+ mansions because there are no more potato fields within a reasonable commute of NYC
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
November 9, 2025 at 2:09 PM
was just looking at Levittown where the 6000sqft lots that were built out with similar houses are rapidly being rebuilt with $1.5M+ mansions because there are no more potato fields within a reasonable commute of NYC
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
true, in current superstar metros, prices for land under 50s houses have exploded
in the 50s the superstar metros were the industrial cities where a person could make a middle class wage and a lot of the country, especially the south, was simply poor
in the 50s the superstar metros were the industrial cities where a person could make a middle class wage and a lot of the country, especially the south, was simply poor
November 9, 2025 at 2:06 PM
true, in current superstar metros, prices for land under 50s houses have exploded
in the 50s the superstar metros were the industrial cities where a person could make a middle class wage and a lot of the country, especially the south, was simply poor
in the 50s the superstar metros were the industrial cities where a person could make a middle class wage and a lot of the country, especially the south, was simply poor