Hector Arbuckle
hectorarbuckle.bsky.social
Hector Arbuckle
@hectorarbuckle.bsky.social
Iowan in DC. Born this side of the millennium. Italianate architecture stan. I love a good corn maize!
Reposted by Hector Arbuckle
Most local parties are run by people who've done the job for years because no one stepped up. So step up.

Be authentically you. Speak to your community.

There is a MASSIVE leadership vacuum at the local level almost everywhere outside major cities. Fill it.
November 10, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but I'm interested in hearing more!
November 13, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Yes, I rode the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat! They were okay, but very crowded. I also rode the Rodalies, but they were definitely unreliable.
November 12, 2025 at 9:17 PM
OR building some super-fast trains to the other side of the mountains to build more dense suburbs in the fields there.
November 12, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Yeah, when I went to Barcelona last month I was really concerned with their future. The only thing I could think of besides towers would be draining and building over the Llobregat Delta.
November 12, 2025 at 12:20 AM
I would say that overall the problems are very different, in that in the US there is a ton of land near transit that could be available for redevelopment at 10x and 20x the density just by adding mid-rise apartments.

In Barcelona it seems most areas are densely built up except the farm fields.
November 12, 2025 at 12:19 AM
You're correct in that sense. It's the same as in "the zoning prevents more housing supply," but for most places in the US it would genuinely be very easy to increase housing supply just by fiddling with the rules. I agree that it's more difficult for BCN because it's so much more built-up already.
November 12, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Vienna, Austria does a fantabulous job! Most of the city is very quiet and also very dense :)
November 12, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Got it! Sounds like the same problem as US cities, then!
November 11, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Question: what do you mean by land not being legally available?
November 11, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Here is something fairly similar from NYC, except it's more of a real estate brochure:

archive.org/details/apar...
Apartment houses of the metropolis : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
298, [1], ii p. : 36 cm
archive.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I agree with you here.
November 11, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I have been told by developers that they are averse to doing 3-bedrooms in low-scoring school districts. The demand from middle-class parents to live there isn't there.

This is the first big market-rate building east of the Anacostia, which is considered a very rough neighborhood. Quite a risk.
November 11, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Alas. By the way, I'm sorry I didn't make it on Saturday. I forgot how far away Alexandria is from DC.
November 10, 2025 at 6:52 PM
This makes so much sense!
November 10, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Which website is this?
November 10, 2025 at 3:38 PM