@astrieanna.bsky.social
Reposted
this is why i think the power of point access blocks is even greater at scale...
not only do you house nearly same number of people - you do it in like 60% of the footprint
meaning construction costs go way down.
more privacy. more space for trees. more daylight. homes that cross ventilate.
not only do you house nearly same number of people - you do it in like 60% of the footprint
meaning construction costs go way down.
more privacy. more space for trees. more daylight. homes that cross ventilate.
here's version w/ (4) 6 story 'el'-shaped PABs
300 homes
half of them are 2-4 bedrooms (status quo development in seattle right now has that number at <6%)
max FAR: 2.8 (less than half what would normally see on a 6 story site)
lot coverage: 47%
look at how massive those courtyards are: 🌳🌳🌳🌳
300 homes
half of them are 2-4 bedrooms (status quo development in seattle right now has that number at <6%)
max FAR: 2.8 (less than half what would normally see on a 6 story site)
lot coverage: 47%
look at how massive those courtyards are: 🌳🌳🌳🌳
October 30, 2025 at 6:19 PM
this is why i think the power of point access blocks is even greater at scale...
not only do you house nearly same number of people - you do it in like 60% of the footprint
meaning construction costs go way down.
more privacy. more space for trees. more daylight. homes that cross ventilate.
not only do you house nearly same number of people - you do it in like 60% of the footprint
meaning construction costs go way down.
more privacy. more space for trees. more daylight. homes that cross ventilate.
Reposted
it’s honestly crazy how the New York City council, at the behest of speaker Adrienne Adams, is illegally spending millions of your taxpayer dollars on an unhinged NIMBY propaganda campaign
if you live in NYC vote YES on measures 2-5 to make it easier to build affordable housing
if you live in NYC vote YES on measures 2-5 to make it easier to build affordable housing
my kink. getting my mouth taped shut by Vickie Paladino and Bob Holden when I try to build affordable housing in Queens
October 23, 2025 at 2:48 PM
it’s honestly crazy how the New York City council, at the behest of speaker Adrienne Adams, is illegally spending millions of your taxpayer dollars on an unhinged NIMBY propaganda campaign
if you live in NYC vote YES on measures 2-5 to make it easier to build affordable housing
if you live in NYC vote YES on measures 2-5 to make it easier to build affordable housing
Reposted
For every €1 provided through a Basic Income For Artists pilot program in Ireland, the government got €1.46 back. So it’s being made permanent.
Over and over we see it. It saves public money to provide public housing. And it makes public money to provide basic income.
We can’t afford to NOT do it.
Over and over we see it. It saves public money to provide public housing. And it makes public money to provide basic income.
We can’t afford to NOT do it.
Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
October 7, 2025 at 12:40 AM
For every €1 provided through a Basic Income For Artists pilot program in Ireland, the government got €1.46 back. So it’s being made permanent.
Over and over we see it. It saves public money to provide public housing. And it makes public money to provide basic income.
We can’t afford to NOT do it.
Over and over we see it. It saves public money to provide public housing. And it makes public money to provide basic income.
We can’t afford to NOT do it.
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Really sucks that Jersey City might replace one of the most YIMBY mayors in the country (Steve Fulop) with one of the most NIMBY ones. Do not vote for Solomon
Solomon: "we're going to stop them from building luxury-only housing"
Nimbyest candidate in the race.
Nimbyest candidate in the race.
October 7, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Really sucks that Jersey City might replace one of the most YIMBY mayors in the country (Steve Fulop) with one of the most NIMBY ones. Do not vote for Solomon
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The Atlantic: not liking noise pollution is gentrification.
Me, a housing policy person, sobbing: you can’t just say everything you don’t like is gentrification.
The Guardian: turning a jazz club into single room occupancy housing in a neighborhood where 1br apartments cost $3200? Gentrification.
Me, a housing policy person, sobbing: you can’t just say everything you don’t like is gentrification.
The Guardian: turning a jazz club into single room occupancy housing in a neighborhood where 1br apartments cost $3200? Gentrification.
So if I'm understanding the situation properly, these things are basically new SROs? And people are arguing they're harbingers of gentrification? Luxury SROs are going to gentrify the neighborhood? Do I have that right? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Tiny co-living spaces are popping up across New York. Local communities see them as ‘harbingers of gentrification’
Such properties are a housing alternative for younger people, but longterm residents worry about being priced out of their homes and losing community
www.theguardian.com
September 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
The Atlantic: not liking noise pollution is gentrification.
Me, a housing policy person, sobbing: you can’t just say everything you don’t like is gentrification.
The Guardian: turning a jazz club into single room occupancy housing in a neighborhood where 1br apartments cost $3200? Gentrification.
Me, a housing policy person, sobbing: you can’t just say everything you don’t like is gentrification.
The Guardian: turning a jazz club into single room occupancy housing in a neighborhood where 1br apartments cost $3200? Gentrification.
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This new bike corridor is 500 metres from an existing parallel route. What’s the point?
1. Relieves congestion. The other route is very popular.
2. More direct for many trips. A friend’s round-trip to a sports league is now 10 mins faster, avoiding 2 km of detour (4×500 m) each day he goes.
1. Relieves congestion. The other route is very popular.
2. More direct for many trips. A friend’s round-trip to a sports league is now 10 mins faster, avoiding 2 km of detour (4×500 m) each day he goes.
September 20, 2025 at 3:18 PM
This new bike corridor is 500 metres from an existing parallel route. What’s the point?
1. Relieves congestion. The other route is very popular.
2. More direct for many trips. A friend’s round-trip to a sports league is now 10 mins faster, avoiding 2 km of detour (4×500 m) each day he goes.
1. Relieves congestion. The other route is very popular.
2. More direct for many trips. A friend’s round-trip to a sports league is now 10 mins faster, avoiding 2 km of detour (4×500 m) each day he goes.
Reposted
More evidence of a pretty straightforward strategy for Canada here for everyone (rightfully) mad at the USA.
Build lots of Housing + Expand Immigration = Eat the USA's lunch
Build lots of Housing + Expand Immigration = Eat the USA's lunch
Restricting visas doesn’t lead to hiring non-immigrants—it leads to hiring foreigners. For every H-1B visa rejection, multinationals add ~0.4–0.9 foreign employees, especially in R&D hubs like India, China, and Canada.
via @florianederer.bsky.social
via @florianederer.bsky.social
September 20, 2025 at 10:06 PM
More evidence of a pretty straightforward strategy for Canada here for everyone (rightfully) mad at the USA.
Build lots of Housing + Expand Immigration = Eat the USA's lunch
Build lots of Housing + Expand Immigration = Eat the USA's lunch
Reposted
The NIMBY argument against replacing single family homes with apartments on affordability grounds asks you to believe that a 100+ year old $895,000 fixer upper with $4,750/month mortgage payments is somehow *more* affordable than a larger brand new $3,425 apartment nearby.
September 3, 2025 at 4:29 PM
The NIMBY argument against replacing single family homes with apartments on affordability grounds asks you to believe that a 100+ year old $895,000 fixer upper with $4,750/month mortgage payments is somehow *more* affordable than a larger brand new $3,425 apartment nearby.
There’s a survey for the BRT from Metrotown to North Van. And it includes big question: should the route go through the shops in Burnaby Heights or run along the less dense/useful Boundary Road?
translinklistens.ca/bus-rapid-tr...
translinklistens.ca/bus-rapid-tr...
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Program
Help shape our region’s next rapid transit expansion projects. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a form of bus-based rapid transit designed to improve your commute by providing fast, frequent, and reliable s...
translinklistens.ca
August 31, 2025 at 11:25 PM
There’s a survey for the BRT from Metrotown to North Van. And it includes big question: should the route go through the shops in Burnaby Heights or run along the less dense/useful Boundary Road?
translinklistens.ca/bus-rapid-tr...
translinklistens.ca/bus-rapid-tr...
Reposted
North Jersey needs way more transit. They're already eating NYC's lunch when it comes to housing permitting.
Analyzing raw ridership is useful but ignores service levels; so I charted transit rides per service hour & discovered JC has the most productive US rail line, NJ should expand HBLR & run it more instead of building highways!
Also I knew Denver’s LRT was ineffective but still surprised it’s last
Also I knew Denver’s LRT was ineffective but still surprised it’s last
August 23, 2025 at 7:43 PM
North Jersey needs way more transit. They're already eating NYC's lunch when it comes to housing permitting.
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Making it illegal to build new homes for yuppies does not keep older homes affordable. Rich people just buy the old homes and build luxurious new homes inside their walls, which drives up the price of housing.
I understand that this is unsatisfying to people who want housing for the neediest first.
I understand that this is unsatisfying to people who want housing for the neediest first.
I would be very pleased if we could find a way to build brand new 30 year old houses. Unfortunately that is impossible; so the next best thing is to allow rich people to take the depreciation hit on new homes so they don’t buy existing cheaper homes and gut renovate them into new luxury housing.
August 19, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Making it illegal to build new homes for yuppies does not keep older homes affordable. Rich people just buy the old homes and build luxurious new homes inside their walls, which drives up the price of housing.
I understand that this is unsatisfying to people who want housing for the neediest first.
I understand that this is unsatisfying to people who want housing for the neediest first.
Reposted
Tapping the sign. If you believe in parking mandates it’s because you want housing to cost more
August 16, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Tapping the sign. If you believe in parking mandates it’s because you want housing to cost more
Reposted
if you want more families living downtown - cities need to legalize mid-rise single stair buildings
this is literally 90% of urban multifamily housing outside the US and canada
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
this is literally 90% of urban multifamily housing outside the US and canada
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Struggling Downtowns Are Looking to Lure New Crowds
Traditional business districts in cities like Chicago and Portland are still waiting for office workers to return. Can younger residents and families fill the gap?
www.bloomberg.com
August 11, 2025 at 4:49 PM
if you want more families living downtown - cities need to legalize mid-rise single stair buildings
this is literally 90% of urban multifamily housing outside the US and canada
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
this is literally 90% of urban multifamily housing outside the US and canada
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Reposted
Private equity and foreign buyers are not the people gumming up the works at every city zoning meeting. That would be old hippies yelling about trees and Gen Xers who don't want multifamily buildings next door
Not a huge Derek Thompson fan but he's straightforwardly correct here. Financial institutions own a tiny percentage of US homes and generally rent them out rather than keeping them vacant. Preventing BlackRock from buying housing wouldn't do much to help affordability.
www.gao.gov/assets/gao-2...
www.gao.gov/assets/gao-2...
August 11, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Private equity and foreign buyers are not the people gumming up the works at every city zoning meeting. That would be old hippies yelling about trees and Gen Xers who don't want multifamily buildings next door
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The empirical evidence is clear and overwhelming: new market rate housing reduces rents *at the bottom of the market,* making housing more affordable for those who struggle the most.
Fresh research confirming chain-of-address filtering is as powerful in Class A residential as the "flight-to-quality" Class A office phenomenon 👇
New housing supply lowers rents the most in *Class C old buildings*, not the rents in other new Class A buildings!
x.com/PewStates/st...
New housing supply lowers rents the most in *Class C old buildings*, not the rents in other new Class A buildings!
x.com/PewStates/st...
August 1, 2025 at 5:24 PM
The empirical evidence is clear and overwhelming: new market rate housing reduces rents *at the bottom of the market,* making housing more affordable for those who struggle the most.
Reposted
@englishrail.bsky.social and I have a piece in the Globe & Mail about how Canada can make housing more affordable and accessible, and disentangle itself from its unreliable and hostile southern neighbor: give its elevator industry the option to use the European/global standard, not just the U.S. one
Opinion: Canada’s outdated elevator rules are adding to the housing crisis
The high cost of elevators is a barrier to the development of affordable, accessible homes
www.theglobeandmail.com
July 23, 2025 at 6:19 PM
@englishrail.bsky.social and I have a piece in the Globe & Mail about how Canada can make housing more affordable and accessible, and disentangle itself from its unreliable and hostile southern neighbor: give its elevator industry the option to use the European/global standard, not just the U.S. one
Reposted
@urbandispatch.bsky.social is talking about single stair, but this is a point you can make about urbanism generally.
A decade ago I was railing against “luxury apartments” and sitting in traffic angry that CT wouldn’t add lanes to I-95.
Then I dug into the evidence and data! Common story, I bet.
A decade ago I was railing against “luxury apartments” and sitting in traffic angry that CT wouldn’t add lanes to I-95.
Then I dug into the evidence and data! Common story, I bet.
Look - I didn't start out convinced here either. But I followed the data and it clearly shows these buildings are safe, they are built across the globe, they have layered fire safety measures that aren't found in SFH/other small detached homes, and they're super pleasant to live in
July 23, 2025 at 2:19 PM
@urbandispatch.bsky.social is talking about single stair, but this is a point you can make about urbanism generally.
A decade ago I was railing against “luxury apartments” and sitting in traffic angry that CT wouldn’t add lanes to I-95.
Then I dug into the evidence and data! Common story, I bet.
A decade ago I was railing against “luxury apartments” and sitting in traffic angry that CT wouldn’t add lanes to I-95.
Then I dug into the evidence and data! Common story, I bet.
Reposted
The problem with trying to regulate building aesthetics to ensure “good design” is that you have 3 bad choices of how to do it:
- prescriptive design rules that kill creativity
- subjective design review that empowers NIMBYs
- an appointed individual with authority that can be wielded capriciously
- prescriptive design rules that kill creativity
- subjective design review that empowers NIMBYs
- an appointed individual with authority that can be wielded capriciously
I like good looking buildings too.
After spending 15 years in land use, development and construction law and policy spaces, I am not convinced there are planning and regulatory methods where even a simple majority wouls agree as to constitutes “good design.”
After spending 15 years in land use, development and construction law and policy spaces, I am not convinced there are planning and regulatory methods where even a simple majority wouls agree as to constitutes “good design.”
July 22, 2025 at 5:02 PM
The problem with trying to regulate building aesthetics to ensure “good design” is that you have 3 bad choices of how to do it:
- prescriptive design rules that kill creativity
- subjective design review that empowers NIMBYs
- an appointed individual with authority that can be wielded capriciously
- prescriptive design rules that kill creativity
- subjective design review that empowers NIMBYs
- an appointed individual with authority that can be wielded capriciously
Reposted
My semi-regular reminder of a really important reality about cities, density, services and taxes.
Any questions?
Graphic recently cleaned up by @kathrynmathias.bsky.social. #CityMakingMath
Any questions?
Graphic recently cleaned up by @kathrynmathias.bsky.social. #CityMakingMath
July 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM
My semi-regular reminder of a really important reality about cities, density, services and taxes.
Any questions?
Graphic recently cleaned up by @kathrynmathias.bsky.social. #CityMakingMath
Any questions?
Graphic recently cleaned up by @kathrynmathias.bsky.social. #CityMakingMath
Reposted
I’ve worked on parking policies in a lot of cities, and every city should be looking at getting rid of minimum parking requirements, while considering maximum parking requirements downtown & around transit stations.
At an absolute minimum though, REMOVE PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
At an absolute minimum though, REMOVE PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
Want another example of staggering lack of leadership & understanding around how to actually address our complex urban challenges? Imagine ignoring experts and rejecting this badly needed 6-storey housing project for people with disabilities, over parking spots. tricitiesdispatch.com/residents-di...
Housing for residents with disabilities put on hold due to lack of parking – Tri-Cities Dispatch
An affordable rental project for residents living with mental illness failed to cross the finish line in Port Coquitlam council chambers recently, with
tricitiesdispatch.com
July 15, 2025 at 1:44 AM
I’ve worked on parking policies in a lot of cities, and every city should be looking at getting rid of minimum parking requirements, while considering maximum parking requirements downtown & around transit stations.
At an absolute minimum though, REMOVE PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
At an absolute minimum though, REMOVE PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
Reposted
NYC experimented with new window heat pump models in some public housing units. in winter, "The window unit-heated apartments used a whopping 87% less energy than the rest of the building’s steam-heated apartments did, cutting energy costs per household in half."
heatmap.news/sustainabili...
heatmap.news/sustainabili...
Window Heat Pumps Could Change the Game
A new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has some exciting data for anyone attempting to retrofit a multifamily building.
heatmap.news
July 14, 2025 at 2:12 PM
NYC experimented with new window heat pump models in some public housing units. in winter, "The window unit-heated apartments used a whopping 87% less energy than the rest of the building’s steam-heated apartments did, cutting energy costs per household in half."
heatmap.news/sustainabili...
heatmap.news/sustainabili...
Reposted
Using imaginary possible future uses of a purpose-built building as a reason for not approving it is certainly novel — if illogical and heinous. A building with limited parking will automatically preclude inappropriate uses.
July 14, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Using imaginary possible future uses of a purpose-built building as a reason for not approving it is certainly novel — if illogical and heinous. A building with limited parking will automatically preclude inappropriate uses.
Reposted
Mayor West is emphasizing that the city would extort $2.24M from the non-profit developer and BC Housing to permit dignified housing for people living with mental illness to exist with the parking spaces required, that's just how it is and if you don't like it you don't get to live here
July 15, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Mayor West is emphasizing that the city would extort $2.24M from the non-profit developer and BC Housing to permit dignified housing for people living with mental illness to exist with the parking spaces required, that's just how it is and if you don't like it you don't get to live here