Caleb Hutchins
@cahutchins.bsky.social
He/Him, Instructional designer in higher ed, proud father and husband. Interested in professional burnout, critical AI literacy, educational justice, urbanism, sci-fi, board games, and various niche nerd topics.
The way Spokane has successfully framed housing/zoning/parking reform as bipartisan and common sense needs to be studied and replicated nationwide.
November 7, 2025 at 6:43 AM
The way Spokane has successfully framed housing/zoning/parking reform as bipartisan and common sense needs to be studied and replicated nationwide.
My theory is that for millions of Americans, the Super Bowl halftime once a year is literally their only exposure to media and culture outside of old syndicated sitcoms and their local radio station.
It's like injecting five minutes of a teen's TikTok feed into the veins of an Amish person.
It's like injecting five minutes of a teen's TikTok feed into the veins of an Amish person.
October 7, 2025 at 12:50 AM
My theory is that for millions of Americans, the Super Bowl halftime once a year is literally their only exposure to media and culture outside of old syndicated sitcoms and their local radio station.
It's like injecting five minutes of a teen's TikTok feed into the veins of an Amish person.
It's like injecting five minutes of a teen's TikTok feed into the veins of an Amish person.
The thing about Riverfront Spo is that it's so comfortably human scaled, each discrete space has physical and visual separation and boundaries.
Other similar US spaces I've been to (Seattle, Chicago, DC) are lovely, but generally feel too large, too wide open.
Other similar US spaces I've been to (Seattle, Chicago, DC) are lovely, but generally feel too large, too wide open.
September 7, 2025 at 2:03 AM
The thing about Riverfront Spo is that it's so comfortably human scaled, each discrete space has physical and visual separation and boundaries.
Other similar US spaces I've been to (Seattle, Chicago, DC) are lovely, but generally feel too large, too wide open.
Other similar US spaces I've been to (Seattle, Chicago, DC) are lovely, but generally feel too large, too wide open.
Also Kasa's patio overlooking Ice Age Park!
August 18, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Also Kasa's patio overlooking Ice Age Park!
It's probably not a huge number yet, but "5+" lumps the six-plexes in with big apartment projects, right? I wonder what it would look like with "5-6" and "7+"
August 8, 2025 at 7:48 AM
It's probably not a huge number yet, but "5+" lumps the six-plexes in with big apartment projects, right? I wonder what it would look like with "5-6" and "7+"
Meanwhile, Spokane stays winning bsky.app/profile/spok...
In the race for Spokane City Council (District 3, Position 2), the race is not close:
Zack Zappone: 51.4%
Christopher Savage: 29.2%
Cody Arguelles: 18.9%
Barring a last-minute deluge of ballots, Savage seems likelier to advance to the general.
Zack Zappone: 51.4%
Christopher Savage: 29.2%
Cody Arguelles: 18.9%
Barring a last-minute deluge of ballots, Savage seems likelier to advance to the general.
August 7, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Meanwhile, Spokane stays winning bsky.app/profile/spok...
The other side of the coin is the coalition of non-affluent urban abundance lefties and Republican homebuilding contractors, which is also weird, but here we are...
July 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
The other side of the coin is the coalition of non-affluent urban abundance lefties and Republican homebuilding contractors, which is also weird, but here we are...
Broken clocks, and all that!
Most of our historical zoning regulations were either implicitly or explicitly racist, part and parcel with redlining and Mosesian destruction of city cores.
If both sides can be convinced to reform them for different ideological reasons, I can live with that.
Most of our historical zoning regulations were either implicitly or explicitly racist, part and parcel with redlining and Mosesian destruction of city cores.
If both sides can be convinced to reform them for different ideological reasons, I can live with that.
July 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Broken clocks, and all that!
Most of our historical zoning regulations were either implicitly or explicitly racist, part and parcel with redlining and Mosesian destruction of city cores.
If both sides can be convinced to reform them for different ideological reasons, I can live with that.
Most of our historical zoning regulations were either implicitly or explicitly racist, part and parcel with redlining and Mosesian destruction of city cores.
If both sides can be convinced to reform them for different ideological reasons, I can live with that.
Agreed, but the fact that Spokane Republicans have been talking mostly favorably about all this housing and zoning reform as cutting red tape and reducing regulations for the last four years might mean that the local culture has shifted far enough to resist easy backsliding.
July 24, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Agreed, but the fact that Spokane Republicans have been talking mostly favorably about all this housing and zoning reform as cutting red tape and reducing regulations for the last four years might mean that the local culture has shifted far enough to resist easy backsliding.
Turns out you can actually build housing pretty quickly if your city has bipartisan political will to do so.
bsky.app/profile/spok...
bsky.app/profile/spok...
A duplex and a single-family home become 21 multifamily units on E 29th Ave on Spokane's South Hill. (2024 → 2025)
July 24, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Turns out you can actually build housing pretty quickly if your city has bipartisan political will to do so.
bsky.app/profile/spok...
bsky.app/profile/spok...
In 2024 in Spokane, residential building permits issued increased 32% after the zoning reforms went into effect, and multi-family permits doubled. 2025 is on track to match or exceed those numbers.
www.krem.com/article/mone...
www.krem.com/article/mone...
Boomtown: Spokane breaks records in housing boom — Here’s what’s fueling it
The city says it issued 1,433 residential permits this year, marking a 32% increase in total permits over the last three years.
www.krem.com
July 23, 2025 at 5:44 AM
In 2024 in Spokane, residential building permits issued increased 32% after the zoning reforms went into effect, and multi-family permits doubled. 2025 is on track to match or exceed those numbers.
www.krem.com/article/mone...
www.krem.com/article/mone...
It's not NOT about trains...
July 5, 2025 at 1:45 AM
It's not NOT about trains...
I was at Wednesday's peaceful protest, and by far the most aggressive and inciting law enforcement officers present were not from Spokane or from Washington State. Idaho forces had no business being there, and should never have been invited to cross state borders.
June 13, 2025 at 11:59 PM
I was at Wednesday's peaceful protest, and by far the most aggressive and inciting law enforcement officers present were not from Spokane or from Washington State. Idaho forces had no business being there, and should never have been invited to cross state borders.
Luciá is a troll account that is on many mute lists, they don't live anywhere near Spokane, they just search for divisive keywords and pick fights.
June 12, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Luciá is a troll account that is on many mute lists, they don't live anywhere near Spokane, they just search for divisive keywords and pick fights.
Do you know if Spokane currently has any Cottage Court lots, either new or historic/grandfathered?
June 5, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Do you know if Spokane currently has any Cottage Court lots, either new or historic/grandfathered?
Emerson-Garfield is a good model of what incremental density looks like, I think? A mostly single-family neighborhood with TONS of duplexes, townhouses, small apartments sprinkled throughout (most grandfathered in from earlier eras), still feels safe, natural, family and pedestrian friendly.
April 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Emerson-Garfield is a good model of what incremental density looks like, I think? A mostly single-family neighborhood with TONS of duplexes, townhouses, small apartments sprinkled throughout (most grandfathered in from earlier eras), still feels safe, natural, family and pedestrian friendly.
Huge downstream effects too.
Every time a dummy with a tuned exhaust pops off, a retiree on Nextdoor posts about hearing gunfire.
Everyone who reads the post feels less safe about their neighborhood, so they complain more and go out less.
Every time a dummy with a tuned exhaust pops off, a retiree on Nextdoor posts about hearing gunfire.
Everyone who reads the post feels less safe about their neighborhood, so they complain more and go out less.
April 8, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Huge downstream effects too.
Every time a dummy with a tuned exhaust pops off, a retiree on Nextdoor posts about hearing gunfire.
Everyone who reads the post feels less safe about their neighborhood, so they complain more and go out less.
Every time a dummy with a tuned exhaust pops off, a retiree on Nextdoor posts about hearing gunfire.
Everyone who reads the post feels less safe about their neighborhood, so they complain more and go out less.
Great reflection, definitely agree that decentering LA was a mistake. One running joke that got funnier with repetition was when Mulaney ended calls by asking what car they drive.
March 28, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Great reflection, definitely agree that decentering LA was a mistake. One running joke that got funnier with repetition was when Mulaney ended calls by asking what car they drive.
Anyone who built, taught, or took a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) in the 2010s knows how stupid this is.
March 24, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Anyone who built, taught, or took a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) in the 2010s knows how stupid this is.
My city has semi-feral urban turkeys that own the streets with the arrogance of a herd of dinosaurs.
People hate them with a passion when they block traffic, but will defend them to the death if anyone suggests culling them.
People hate them with a passion when they block traffic, but will defend them to the death if anyone suggests culling them.
March 7, 2025 at 4:15 PM
My city has semi-feral urban turkeys that own the streets with the arrogance of a herd of dinosaurs.
People hate them with a passion when they block traffic, but will defend them to the death if anyone suggests culling them.
People hate them with a passion when they block traffic, but will defend them to the death if anyone suggests culling them.