Evan Roberts
@evanrobertsnz.bsky.social
Social, demographic, & economic history @UMNews HMED & Population Studies. Coffee, photos, Dylan, urban & transit fan, road & trail runner. Constructive, loving critic of where I live (Minneapolis) and where I'm from (Wellington) @evanrobertsnz most places
Actuarial insurance is something you hope never to use. Social insurance is something you expect to (and should) use at different points in your life. Health insurance is a funny combination of both those things.
Remember that insurance is actually a thing you hope never to use, and then read this critique.
November 11, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Actuarial insurance is something you hope never to use. Social insurance is something you expect to (and should) use at different points in your life. Health insurance is a funny combination of both those things.
Reposted by Evan Roberts
Thinking about picking up my book? Do it this week! all @islandpress.bsky.social print titles are 50% off until 11/16!
islandpress.org/books/when-d...
also lots of other great books to grab as well -- thread below with some links of my favorites
islandpress.org/books/when-d...
also lots of other great books to grab as well -- thread below with some links of my favorites
When Driving Is Not an Option
islandpress.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Thinking about picking up my book? Do it this week! all @islandpress.bsky.social print titles are 50% off until 11/16!
islandpress.org/books/when-d...
also lots of other great books to grab as well -- thread below with some links of my favorites
islandpress.org/books/when-d...
also lots of other great books to grab as well -- thread below with some links of my favorites
Seems like high voter turnout in Minneapolis municipal elections (I note Seattle is similar) should be better understood. A puzzle in plain sight.
vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data...
vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data...
November 11, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Seems like high voter turnout in Minneapolis municipal elections (I note Seattle is similar) should be better understood. A puzzle in plain sight.
vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data...
vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data...
Reposted by Evan Roberts
4/ Only 1 ward where mayoral/Council winner in different factions: Ward 12. @aurinmpls.bsky.social rules, but a measure of Becka Thompson’s racist face-plant is Frey got 55% here.
… Minneapolis wards sorted along mayoral lines, much like Congressional Districts now sort by presidential preference.
… Minneapolis wards sorted along mayoral lines, much like Congressional Districts now sort by presidential preference.
November 10, 2025 at 8:24 PM
4/ Only 1 ward where mayoral/Council winner in different factions: Ward 12. @aurinmpls.bsky.social rules, but a measure of Becka Thompson’s racist face-plant is Frey got 55% here.
… Minneapolis wards sorted along mayoral lines, much like Congressional Districts now sort by presidential preference.
… Minneapolis wards sorted along mayoral lines, much like Congressional Districts now sort by presidential preference.
Reposted by Evan Roberts
"While strengthening local government is an admirable goal, I do not believe that preserving local control over land use is more important than building homes."
Good faith discussion of strategies and stakes in housing shortage vs. local control debates (mostly California content, but BC-relevant!)
Good faith discussion of strategies and stakes in housing shortage vs. local control debates (mostly California content, but BC-relevant!)
I wrote about state-level ADU reform and the differences between @strongtowns.org and YIMBYism. www.maxdubler.com/blog/2025/11...
On The Tension Between YIMBYism and Strong Towns — Max Dubler
Special thanks to those who gave their thoughtful feedback on this piece. The past couple of months have seen quite a bit of Discourse about the differences between Strong Towns and YIMB...
www.maxdubler.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:12 PM
"While strengthening local government is an admirable goal, I do not believe that preserving local control over land use is more important than building homes."
Good faith discussion of strategies and stakes in housing shortage vs. local control debates (mostly California content, but BC-relevant!)
Good faith discussion of strategies and stakes in housing shortage vs. local control debates (mostly California content, but BC-relevant!)
Someone smarter than me has written the anti-alley argument that Midwesterners need to read (since we have 'em the path forward is to legalize more building on the alley. Alleys: turning both your front *and* back yard into a car oriented space)
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
But Where Does the Trash Go????
Keep trash and car storage at the EDGE of the block to prioritize people and businesses over vehicles and city services
substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Someone smarter than me has written the anti-alley argument that Midwesterners need to read (since we have 'em the path forward is to legalize more building on the alley. Alleys: turning both your front *and* back yard into a car oriented space)
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
Reposted by Evan Roberts
I wrote about state-level ADU reform and the differences between @strongtowns.org and YIMBYism. www.maxdubler.com/blog/2025/11...
On The Tension Between YIMBYism and Strong Towns — Max Dubler
Special thanks to those who gave their thoughtful feedback on this piece. The past couple of months have seen quite a bit of Discourse about the differences between Strong Towns and YIMB...
www.maxdubler.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:25 PM
I wrote about state-level ADU reform and the differences between @strongtowns.org and YIMBYism. www.maxdubler.com/blog/2025/11...
Kinda fascinating ... (this is quick and dirty "analysis"). Remarkable how many Frey voters just didn't rank another candidate.
November 10, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Kinda fascinating ... (this is quick and dirty "analysis"). Remarkable how many Frey voters just didn't rank another candidate.
As someone who grew up with sometimes getting up in the middle of the night to watch sports with a 12 hour time difference, and regularly watching games 2 hours behind (Australian east coast time) I'm like eh, whatever, this is just the reality of following a team
November 10, 2025 at 4:59 AM
As someone who grew up with sometimes getting up in the middle of the night to watch sports with a 12 hour time difference, and regularly watching games 2 hours behind (Australian east coast time) I'm like eh, whatever, this is just the reality of following a team
Hyphenated names are a good and equitable approach for children's surnames, but having come to realize their costs on sports uniforms I am now beginning to see their impact on inflating word counts via citations. This will only get worse with each generation 😀
November 10, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Hyphenated names are a good and equitable approach for children's surnames, but having come to realize their costs on sports uniforms I am now beginning to see their impact on inflating word counts via citations. This will only get worse with each generation 😀
Reposted by Evan Roberts
🚨We’re hiring a Junior Research Fellow in Economic History (Sept 2026–Aug 2029) at Wadham College, University of Oxford. It’s a genuinely supportive place to work. Happy to answer any questions. Spread the word!
www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/about/the-da...
www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/about/the-da...
The David Richards Junior Research Fellowship in Economic History
Wadham College invites applications for a fixed-term Junior Research Fellowship in Economic History, named the David Richards Fellowship, September 2026 – August 2029.
www.wadham.ox.ac.uk
October 29, 2025 at 11:43 AM
🚨We’re hiring a Junior Research Fellow in Economic History (Sept 2026–Aug 2029) at Wadham College, University of Oxford. It’s a genuinely supportive place to work. Happy to answer any questions. Spread the word!
www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/about/the-da...
www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/about/the-da...
Reposted by Evan Roberts
Cross-posting my discovery of the day. This guy could have been the Shoup of design review.
He's was a random architect working from home in Bernal Heights. Never had a faculty position.
He churned out scores of academic papers and one great book.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19873...
He's was a random architect working from home in Bernal Heights. Never had a faculty position.
He churned out scores of academic papers and one great book.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19873...
Thread by @CSElmendorf on Thread Reader App
@CSElmendorf: I stumbled across the work of Arthur E. Stamps III this morning and, wow, my eyes have been opened! He's was (is?) an architect in San Francisco who wrote scores of academic papers on th...
threadreaderapp.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Cross-posting my discovery of the day. This guy could have been the Shoup of design review.
He's was a random architect working from home in Bernal Heights. Never had a faculty position.
He churned out scores of academic papers and one great book.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19873...
He's was a random architect working from home in Bernal Heights. Never had a faculty position.
He churned out scores of academic papers and one great book.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19873...
Reposted by Evan Roberts
This encapsulates something about the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. It is author and former St. Paul Pioneer Press reporter Larry Millett, speaking on how far apart the Twin Cities were, psychologically and practically, pre-interstate.
November 9, 2025 at 4:20 PM
This encapsulates something about the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. It is author and former St. Paul Pioneer Press reporter Larry Millett, speaking on how far apart the Twin Cities were, psychologically and practically, pre-interstate.
Reposted by Evan Roberts
🚨 We are hiring! ‼️‼️
tenured track assistant or associate prof in economics at university of Melbourne @unimelb.bsky.social
welcome applications from all fields (but especially from econometrics)
econjobmarket.org/positions?sh...
tenured track assistant or associate prof in economics at university of Melbourne @unimelb.bsky.social
welcome applications from all fields (but especially from econometrics)
econjobmarket.org/positions?sh...
EJM - Econ Job Market
econjobmarket.org
October 16, 2025 at 11:19 AM
🚨 We are hiring! ‼️‼️
tenured track assistant or associate prof in economics at university of Melbourne @unimelb.bsky.social
welcome applications from all fields (but especially from econometrics)
econjobmarket.org/positions?sh...
tenured track assistant or associate prof in economics at university of Melbourne @unimelb.bsky.social
welcome applications from all fields (but especially from econometrics)
econjobmarket.org/positions?sh...
Reposted by Evan Roberts
Our School of Information Sciences is running four searches, and we can hire more than four candidates. Here’s the first link, for a job that might appeal to people working in history of information, history of science, or digital humanities. +
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Information, Culture & Society - School of Information Science
Duties & Responsibilities
illinois.csod.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Our School of Information Sciences is running four searches, and we can hire more than four candidates. Here’s the first link, for a job that might appeal to people working in history of information, history of science, or digital humanities. +
Reposted by Evan Roberts
"HOA that thinks it's a city" actually describes a lot of urban America very well.
Also y’all actually like each other. SF is an HOA that thinks it’s a city
November 8, 2025 at 6:49 PM
"HOA that thinks it's a city" actually describes a lot of urban America very well.
The interesting thing here is they're charging more in better off parts of town, which is not always the case with local geographic price discrimination.
A gallon of whole milk can cost anywhere from $2.16 to $4.95 , but it's all coming from the same plant in north Minneapolis:
It's All the Same Milk! - Racket
A gallon of whole milk can cost anywhere from $2.16 to $4.95. Why?
racketmn.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:25 PM
The interesting thing here is they're charging more in better off parts of town, which is not always the case with local geographic price discrimination.
Is this photo reporting news about two political comebacks?! 🤔 😃 @robingarwood.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Is this photo reporting news about two political comebacks?! 🤔 😃 @robingarwood.bsky.social
Planners should listen to maps like this more than testimony at public meetings. The red areas are actually crying out for more homes.
November 7, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Planners should listen to maps like this more than testimony at public meetings. The red areas are actually crying out for more homes.
Reposted by Evan Roberts
Good piece, the thing I would add is that because the Senate underrepresents urban areas, the Republican *national* brand naturally becomes much too right-wing to win in major cities
Across the developed world, big city conservative mayors and council majorities are quite common—except in the US. Why are Republicans are so much less relevant in cities than their peers in every other developed country? My latest:
mnolangray.substack.com/p/why-are-re...
mnolangray.substack.com/p/why-are-re...
Why Are Republicans So Irrelevant In Big City Politics?
A little armchair political science among friends.
mnolangray.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Good piece, the thing I would add is that because the Senate underrepresents urban areas, the Republican *national* brand naturally becomes much too right-wing to win in major cities
Reposted by Evan Roberts
New study finds that U.S. regions hardest hit by Japan’s manufacturing surge in the 1970s–80s saw higher cardiovascular & drug-related deaths among Black workers, but not whites.
Trade shocks can deepen health inequality.
tinyurl.com/ms3zm6su
Trade shocks can deepen health inequality.
tinyurl.com/ms3zm6su
November 7, 2025 at 8:01 AM
New study finds that U.S. regions hardest hit by Japan’s manufacturing surge in the 1970s–80s saw higher cardiovascular & drug-related deaths among Black workers, but not whites.
Trade shocks can deepen health inequality.
tinyurl.com/ms3zm6su
Trade shocks can deepen health inequality.
tinyurl.com/ms3zm6su
Reposted by Evan Roberts
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AT-LARGE PARK BOARD RCV ELECTIONS
Hey! In this thread, I'm going to briefly summarize the four three-winner elections Minneapolis has held so far. I think people don't understand these very well, so just know you win when you hit 25%. 1/9
Hey! In this thread, I'm going to briefly summarize the four three-winner elections Minneapolis has held so far. I think people don't understand these very well, so just know you win when you hit 25%. 1/9
November 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AT-LARGE PARK BOARD RCV ELECTIONS
Hey! In this thread, I'm going to briefly summarize the four three-winner elections Minneapolis has held so far. I think people don't understand these very well, so just know you win when you hit 25%. 1/9
Hey! In this thread, I'm going to briefly summarize the four three-winner elections Minneapolis has held so far. I think people don't understand these very well, so just know you win when you hit 25%. 1/9
Reposted by Evan Roberts
