Tootfinder

Baltimore mayor & council members introduce comprehensive yimby package. Has backing of city's main business & community action organizations:
● Legalize 2-, 3- & 4-unit houses in 1-family districts
● Abolish minimum off-street parking requirements
● Legalize single-staircase structures with more than 3 stories
I don't think I've seen all this in one package anywhere up to now.

Baltimore’s top YIMBYs want to erase zoning rules blocking more housing
A package of five bills will attempt to make it easier to build and redevelop Baltimore City properties.

Nice analysis of housing in Vienna. Back of the envelope calculation suggests rents are about 30% less than in San Francisco. Why aren't we hearing more about this from the "abundance" crowd? We know we won't get there with market driven housing production (I've had more than one developer explain that to me)

Nice analysis of housing in Vienna. Back of the envelope calculation suggests rents are about 30% less than in San Francisco. Why aren't we hearing more about this from the "abundance" crowd? We know we won't get there with market driven housing production (I've had more than one developer explain that to me)

lovely overview of social housing's benefits and recent social housing successes in the US! https://theconversation.com/from-seattle-to-atlanta-new-social-housing-programs-seek-to…

From Seattle to Atlanta, new social housing programs seek to make homes permanently affordable for a range of incomes
Americans are realizing that the country’s two-tiered system of market-rate housing and government-operated, low-income housing isn’t doing the trick.

"Backers argue the measure accomplishes two goals at once, boosting housing growth and encouraging the use of public transit."
If we aren't providing reliable , high frequency bus service that CONNECTS to serve all areas, it will not "encourage" the use of transit. And headways greater than 10- minutes are not a draw; headways of more than 20 minutes are a disincentive. But, with market rate housing (all we'll get without subsidies) it's a gift to TN…

State housing bill could clash with SF upzoning
The proposal preempts local zoning around transit hubs.

"Backers argue the measure accomplishes two goals at once, boosting housing growth and encouraging the use of public transit."
If we aren't providing reliable , high frequency bus service that CONNECTS to serve all areas, it will not "encourage" the use of transit. And headways greater than 10- minutes are not a draw; headways of more than 20 minutes are a disincentive. But, with market rate housing (all we'll get without subsidies) it's a gift to TN…

State housing bill could clash with SF upzoning
The proposal preempts local zoning around transit hubs.

Labour housing plans could destroy 215,000 hectares of nature in England, analysis shows https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/10/building-regulations-nature-biodiversity-analysis-england

"A new government of austerity and war, in a deteriorating international situation, after 17 years of economic slump and stagnation, unable to confront crises from genocide to climate change to housing shortages and preparing the way for far-right rule, would warrant sustained opposition from the left under any circumstances."
The Times They Are-a-Changin: #Labour is no longer the de…

No one wants to live on Van Ness because it's a loud car sewer. Condo listings with a Van Ness address will tell you in all-caps if the unit doesn't face Van Ness. There's also no green space there. It makes housing on the corridor a passing-through place rather than somewhere to set down roots.

Van Ness Is ‘In Crisis.’ Revival Plans Hinge On Housing Towers and Chain Stores
This main SF thoroughfare once had grand houses and auto palaces. Now there’s a great bus line, but empty storefronts. Can it again be a place to live and linger?

As mayors of two of California’s largest cities, and members of the state’s Big City Mayors coalition,
we know the devastating consequences of abandoning a statewide commitment to address the homelessness crisis
— a crisis driven by decades of underinvestment and inadequate housing production.
Homelessness is by far the most pressing issue facing communities up and down California,
and the money the state has invested through the
⭐️Homeless Housing, Assistance a…

Contributor: If state funding vanishes, California's homelessness crisis will explode
Data show California's homelessness grants have allowed cities to make real gains in reducing the problem. The support is needed now more than ever.

Disentangling Spatial and Structural Drivers of Housing Prices through Bayesian Networks: A Case Study of Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia
Alvaro Garcia Murga, Manuele Leonelli
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.09539

Disentangling Spatial and Structural Drivers of Housing Prices through Bayesian Networks: A Case Study of Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia
Understanding how housing prices respond to spatial accessibility, structural attributes, and typological distinctions is central to contemporary urban research and policy. In cities marked by affordability stress and market segmentation, models that offer both predictive capability and interpretive clarity are increasingly needed. This study applies discrete Bayesian networks to model residential price formation across Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia using over 180,000 geo-referenced housing l…

A broken housing market is driving inequality right across Europe – and fuelling the far right https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/26/broken-housing-market-inequality-europe-far-right?CMP=S…

The asylum seeker bashers in Dutch parliament - a 2/3 majority - just voted to end priority status of recognised refugees in allocating housing.
The govt organization responsible for shelter is worried about the consequences. Keeping refugees in emergency locations for years will cost billions.

The Crime of Treating Housing as a Commodity
https://jacobin.com/2025/06/housing-commodity-nyc-real-estate/

🧶 Can America Get Unstuck?
#politics

Can America Get Unstuck?
We used to be more dynamic, more mobile, and more energetic. It’s not clear if we can be again.

Potrero Yard working group has an open seat for a representative of a senior-serving organization, if that’s you or someone you know.
The group advises SFMTA on the bus yard modernization housing development on the Mission/Potrero Hill border
https://www.sfmta.com/projects/potrero-yar

Potrero Yard Modernization Project
Rebuilding Potrero Yard to better serve you!

Pivotal moments in US history shaped by confrontational street protest include:
– Unionization of the auto industry 1936
– Passing the Fair Housing Act 1968
– Ending the US invasion of Cambodia 1970

Maryland works to replace parking lots at train stations with dense housing & mixed use development.

Maryland announces $1.25 million in grants for development around rail stations
The announcement comes as Maryland is trying to double down on a bet that transit hubs can help turn the tide on climate and housing affordability issues.

Towards Continuous Home Cage Monitoring: An Evaluation of Tracking and Identification Strategies for Laboratory Mice
Juan Pablo Oberhauser, Daniel Grzenda
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.07929

Towards Continuous Home Cage Monitoring: An Evaluation of Tracking and Identification Strategies for Laboratory Mice
Continuous, automated monitoring of laboratory mice enables more accurate data collection and improves animal welfare through real-time insights. Researchers can achieve a more dynamic and clinically relevant characterization of disease progression and therapeutic effects by integrating behavioral and physiological monitoring in the home cage. However, providing individual mouse metrics is difficult because of their housing density, similar appearances, high mobility, and frequent interactions.…

Single-Family Rental Investment Snapshot — July 2025
Arbor Realty Trust - July 3, 2025
“The SFR sector continued showing strength in several key areas in the second quarter of 2025, even as residential housing market growth moderated.”

Single-Family Rental Investment Snapshot July 2025
The single-family rental (SFR) sector continued showing strength in several key areas in the second quarter of 2025, even as residential housing market growth moderated.

i saw this in a krugman post:
Recently the West Side Rag, my ultra-local news source, ran an article titled “The Upper West Side: A Neighborhood for Independent Minds.” Lots of interesting history, but frankly my first reaction was “Yeah, independent minds who can afford to pay $1600 a square foot for housing.”
meanwhile my next door neigbor just got halfway-to-new-york-ridiculous per sq ft. in ann arbor for pete's sake

Across Europe, the financial sector has pushed up house prices. It’s a political timebomb
"While housing lies at the heart of political disillusionment today, it is for the same reason becoming a primary trigger for mobilisation across Europe. In October 2024, 150,000 protesters marched through the streets of Madrid demanding action. Some governments, including Denmark and the Netherlands, are introducing policies to deter speculators. But real estate capital continues to hold the…

Rising Mortgage Rates and Recession Fears Stall a Fragile Housing Market (Ronda Kaysen/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/realestate/recession-mortgage-rates-housing-market.html?unlocked_article_code=1.L08.jHdl.YdJkGvNDjW28&smid=url-share
http://www.memeorandum.com/250602/p82#a250602p82

The future site of "The Hampton" (A five over one with affordable housing available) in Whitefish Bay:

I wonder how long before Miller/Noem/FFOTUS demand that those who own homes and apartments provide housing for the troops invading LA (and elsewhere)?
Bye-bye third amendment:
“No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”

A New Rail Line May Come to New York. Will a Housing Boom Follow?
The Interborough Express, a rail line connecting Brooklyn and Queens, could spur the building of tens of thousands of homes. Obstacles await.
#ibx

Forty-five billion will build a lot of stuff.
As a point of comparison: In 2023, the United States budgeted $12.8 billion to build new affordable housing.
We’re about to spend nearly four times on detention centers as we spend on housing.
https://newrepublic.com/article/197619…

Are We About to Have Labor Camps in the United States of America?
If you think that’s far-fetched, then you really haven’t been paying attention to what the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have been up to lately.

AHA! A solution for SF's vacant office building space that isn't compatible with conversion to housing!
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/13/london-office-empty-blocks-nightclubs…

Delistings rise nearly 50% as home sellers quit the market
https://qz.com/delistings-up-realtor-com-housing-market-report

In case you didn't know: "EXCLUSIVE: Warner, Kaine, Beyer demand answers on NSF’s forced exit from Alexandria headquarters" https://www.alxnow.com/2025/06/27/exclusive-warner-kaine-beyer-demand…

EXCLUSIVE: Warner, Kaine, Beyer demand answers on NSF’s forced exit from Alexandria headquarters | ALXnow
Alexandria's congressional delegation is escalating pressure on federal officials regarding the controversial decision to relocate the National Science Foundation (NSF) from its Alexandria headquarters to accommodate the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according to a letter obtained exclusively by ALXnow. Just one day after Senator Mark Warner criticized the move and demanded a

HouseTS: A Large-Scale, Multimodal Spatiotemporal U.S. Housing Dataset
Shengkun Wang, Yanshen Sun, Fanglan Chen, Linhan Wang, Naren Ramakrishnan, Chang-Tien Lu, Yinlin Chen
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.00765

HouseTS: A Large-Scale, Multimodal Spatiotemporal U.S. Housing Dataset
Accurate house-price forecasting is essential for investors, planners, and researchers. However, reproducible benchmarks with sufficient spatiotemporal depth and contextual richness for long horizon prediction remain scarce. To address this, we introduce HouseTS a large scale, multimodal dataset covering monthly house prices from March 2012 to December 2023 across 6,000 ZIP codes in 30 major U.S. metropolitan areas. The dataset includes over 890K records, enriched with points of Interest (POI),…

Balanced Area Deprivation Index (bADI): Enhancing social determinants of health indices to strengthen their association with healthcare clinical outcomes, utilization and costs
Mohammad Amin Morid, Robert E Tillman, Eran Halperin
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.08131

Balanced Area Deprivation Index (bADI): Enhancing social determinants of health indices to strengthen their association with healthcare clinical outcomes, utilization and costs
Background: As value-based care expands across the U.S. healthcare system, reducing health disparities has become a priority. Social determinants of health (SDoH) indices, like the widely used Area Deprivation Index (ADI), guide efforts to manage patient health and costs. However, the ADI's reliance on housing-related variables (e.g., median home value) may reduce its effectiveness, especially in high-cost regions, by masking inequalities and poor health outcomes. Methods: To overcome these l…

"Strada is seeking to use state housing laws that will both streamline approvals for the development and allow for denser construction — in exchange for the inclusion of affordable units.""
Yes, inclusion of affordable units at a lower rate than San Francisco's existing inclusionary requirements, and well below the level of induced demand per SF Planning's Residential Nexus studies. In other words, it creates even more stress in the affordable housing segment.…

SoMa housing plan ‘encouraging’ to boosters
Proposal would develop long-vacant lot.

Maryland works to replace parking lots at train stations with dense housing & mixed use development.

"You must have a market for interesting jobs, good housing, and a market to switch partners. Because people do that too"
#sovereignity #North

“We need to go beyond legislation to a cultural change, where disability is treated as an identity to be celebrated.”
Brilliant article in the FT on housing design for disability and the aesthetics of accessibility
https://www.ft.com/content/05309cf9-96d9-460…

The aesthetics of accessibility: design for disability that’s dynamic not dreary
Architecture is at a fertile inflection point. But while housebuilding goals, sustainability and retrofitting are dominating the agenda, why does accessibility too often remain an afterthought?

The UK Conservative Party is in disarray. Since 1979, they have implemented changes with unintended consequences. Water privatisation, sale of social housing, deregulation of building societies, privatisation of railways, and leaving the EU.
Now they are considering withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, born out of the ashes of the 1930s and 40s in Europe and World War 2.
Which of the 16 Articles do they really believe we should not be protected by?

The day after the mayor of the town of Coevorden bowed to violence and decided not to allow housing for 14 girls (refugees), the city council of Zwolle decided to host a center for 400 refugees. Far-right Wilders tried to whip up sentiments there, too, but lost big time.
https://www.

Zwolse gemeenteraad stemt in met komst nieuw azc in De Tippe
De kogel is door de kerk: er komt officieel een asielzoekerscentrum (azc) in De Tippe voor vierhonderd vluchtelingen. De meerderheid van de Zwolse gemeenteraad stemde in met de plannen van de gemeente.

It is only a matter of time until noem, homan, dhs, ice and potus realize dropping people out of aircraft is cheaper than housing or moving them.
Unless they already have.
Rumors are the US is engaging in death flights. Already there are some known flight paths of ice flights turning around over bodies of water.
The US Congress and international community seem to be the only things that can stop this.

HUD is working on work requirements and time limits for help. These may be unlawful - HUD's put caps on benefits before
Should federal rental aid come with a time limit? Here's how it works in one place : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/07/nx-s1-5425500/federal-rental-aid-time-limit-hud-delaware-housing-authority

"as dense urban neighborhoods grow more costly, lower- and moderate-income renters, the very people most likely to ride the bus, are pushed out and replaced by a more affluent set who, on the whole, tend to favor getting around by car."
This finding should temper expectations that building lots of market-rate, i.e., expensive, housing will automagically bring about some kind of transit renaissance.

"Strada is seeking to use state housing laws that will both streamline approvals for the development and allow for denser construction — in exchange for the inclusion of affordable units.""
Yes, inclusion of affordable units at a lower rate than San Francisco's existing inclusionary requirements, and well below the level of induced demand per SF Planning's Residential Nexus studies. In other words, it creates even more stress in the affordable housing segment.…

SoMa housing plan ‘encouraging’ to boosters
Proposal would develop long-vacant lot.

How conservatives beat back a Republican sell-off of public lands
To his surprise, Patrick Payne had ended up in a group text with Mike Lee.

Payne is a conservative Idaho outdoorsman who voted for President Donald Trump.
Lee is a Republican senator from Utah.
The group was organized by an acquaintance Payne made online, and the topic was home schooling.

But Payne saw an opportunity to directly challenge Lee on his proposal to sell up to 3.3 million acres of fe…

How conservatives beat back a Republican sell-off of public lands
When a GOP senator proposed using federal land for affordable housing, right-wing forces revolted to protect what they see as a symbol of American greatness.

The way we talk about housing in public discourse is so broken. How does kicking unhoused people out onto the street "deal with" homelessness in any sense other than a murderous one?
"Montreal's public transit agency is lifting a temporary rule against loitering in the Metro — a controversial measure established in mid-March to help deal with rising social problems in the network, including homelessness."

The argument that the market will solve the housing crisis if only we remove barriers like zoning looks weaker and weaker all the time. Why invest in affordable housing if the same investment can capture high-end prices?
https://www.

The argument that the market will solve the housing crisis if only we remove barriers like zoning looks weaker and weaker all the time. Why invest in affordable housing if the same investment can capture high-end prices?
https://www.

This is the next stages of Columbus’s long-running effort to update its 1950s-era zoning code. This phase will incorporate a housing component to address affordability issues by better aligning work and residential areas.
We also need to build more houses.
https://

If the abundance people were in any way shape or form serious, they'd talk less about magical growth without harms but taking away billionaires' money to lift everyone else up to a decent life.
If their theory worked, the rich folks would be very rich quickly. But why should poorer people wait to eat, have healthcare and safe housing until the magic wealth appears?
It sounds very inconsistent.

How do I know May Day is gonna be big? I'm going to be able to join an event in Studio City
I'm attending May Day Strong's event, “May Day Strong: We are the Many” - sign up now to join me! https://www.m…

housing ownership law possibilities
Should we maybe have a law that says any one person or entity can only own a max of 2 houses? Or that you can only own 1 not being lived in by your immediate family?
I can see several reasonable use cases for having 1 extra house, including when an old person dies and the family takes a while to decide what's happening with their previous house. And we could debate those cases, and maybe even decide it's not worth arguing over 2 or 3 extra, because that isn't the biggest problem.
But I think we could possibly mostly agree that having one person or company own 5 or 10 or 50 or 500 houses just to extract profit from them is not good for overall wellbeing.
#housing #law #HouseOwnership #HousingMarket #renting #RentalMarket

The updated budget reiterated Trump’s pursuit of deep reductions for nearly every major federal agency,
reserving its steepest cuts for foreign aid,
medical research,
tax enforcement
and a slew of anti-poverty programs, including rental assistance.
The White House restated its plan to seek a $33 billion cut at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for example,
and another $33 billion reduction at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Trump Officials Unveil Budget Cuts to Aid for Health, Housing and Research
The new blueprint shows that a vast array of education, health, housing and labor programs would be hit, including aid for college and cancer research.

Congress Introduces Housing not Handcuffs Act
https://www.splcenter.org/presscenter/congress-introduces-housing-not-handcuffs-act/

"Of mushrooms and mycelium: How fungi are powering eco-friendly solutions"
#Mushrooms #Fungi

Of mushrooms and mycelium: How fungi are powering eco-friendly solutions
Often hidden from view, fungi are a critical part of our ecosystems. Some can be eaten as mushrooms; others help trees and forests thrive. But that’s not all: they’re also helping us create low-cost, sustainable housing materials and additional income for farmers, says Gabriela D’Elia, director of the Fungal Diversity Survey and a fungi enthusiast, […]

NYC Mayoral Candidate Mamdani Seeks $70 Billion of Debt to Fund Affordable Housing (Martin Z Braun/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-17/mamdani-seeks-70-billion-of-nyc-debt-to-fund-affordable-housing
http://www.memeorandum.com/250617/p58#a250617p58

I have always been a copyright sceptic but I wouldn't have wished AI to be the force to crash it. Time to think for new models of how to keep writing and music alive. Maybe a society deciding to prioritize guaranteeing giving everyone the possibility of a safe basic income, food, housing and health care instead of forcing them into competition hell could help? Maybe?

@… :
Units with <3 bedrooms are bad and should not be built, because children don't live in them.
Units with 3 bedrooms are bad and should not be built, because children will live in them.
@slowbikeiain.bsky.social :
Low cost housing is bad because it will attract the wrong sor…

How Chinese AI companies bypass US chip restrictions by transporting hard drives with AI training data to Malaysian data centers housing advanced Nvidia chips (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/china-ai-chip-cur

Canadians: Replace Ardern with Trudeau and use other Canadian touchstones in place of #nzpol and you have an accurate article for Canada.
Which should speak to what Progressives actually need to do here, and everywhere.
"Ardern’s leadership has often been described as emotionally intelligent, compassionate, and people-centred. But compassion is not liberation. Empathy alone does not redistribute wealth, dismantle police power, or decommodify housing. What Ardern perfected was a mode of governance that couched neoliberalism in progressive language. A style of leadership that appeared anti-fascist, anti-racist, and feminist, while presiding over deepening inequality, mass incarceration of Māori, ongoing colonisation, environmental destruction, and a housing system that serves landlords and property speculators.
Ardern’s “politics of kindness” masked a status quo commitment to capitalism and state power. Her government’s housing policies floundered under the weight of market logic. Despite the crisis of homelessness and unaffordability, the Labour government never seriously considered nationalising housing, implementing rent controls, or seizing vacant properties from land-bankers. Instead, they protected the interests of property investors, many of whom were MPs themselves."
#canpoli #cdnpoli #trudeau #Liberal #Ardern
https://www.anarchistfederation.net/the-cult-of-kindness-the-reality-of-jacinda-arderns-leadership/

On June 13, military veterans and their families and supporters protested in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC,
-- demanding that taxpayer dollars for Donald Trump’s ill-fated military parade and his decision to send troops to Los Angeles should be used instead for housing, healthcare, food, and taking care of veterans.
Around 60 demonstrators were arrested by Capitol police

Thes vets swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies—including Donald Trump
“We need to unite across the spectrum to push back. Veterans like us need to continue to speak out, so that we can motivate other veterans to speak out, and also show them the hypocrisy of this administration.”

Combinatorial Multi-Access Coded Caching with Private Caches under Intersecting Index Constraints
Dhruv Pratap Singh, Anjana A. Mahesh, B. Sundar Rajan
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.24060

Combinatorial Multi-Access Coded Caching with Private Caches under Intersecting Index Constraints
We consider the coded caching system where each user, equipped with a private cache, accesses a distinct r-subset of access caches. A central server housing a library of files populates both private and access caches using uncoded placement. In this work, we focus on a constrained indexing regime, referred to as the intersection class, in which the sets used to index the demands of each user must have a nonempty intersection. This regime models resource-limited IoT scenarios such as edge-assist…

Shifting Narratives: A Longitudinal Analysis of Media Trends and Public Attitudes on Homelessness
Akshay Irudayaraj (Brown University), Nathan Ye (University of California--Berkeley), Yash Chainani (University of California--Berkeley)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.21794

Shifting Narratives: A Longitudinal Analysis of Media Trends and Public Attitudes on Homelessness
Within the field of media framing, homelessness has been a historically under-researched topic. Framing theory states that the media's method of presenting information plays a pivotal role in controlling public sentiment toward a topic. The sentiment held towards homeless individuals influences their ability to access jobs, housing, and resources as a result of discrimination. This study analyzes the topic and sentiment trends in related media articles to validate framing theory within the scop…

"There is no reason to believe [rent controls] have any effect on new housing construction. One could go a step further: economically, land use reforms and stronger rent regulations should go together."
https://jwmason.org/slackwire/can-zohran-do-it/

I'm nervous about Southend being combined with Rochford and Castle Point - will those rural councils understand our urban needs? It risks a change in character and priorities.
We already share the same bus and train transport network. We need nearby councils working with us to grow the city, as we have no fields to build on.
Our neighbours often build car-focused housing and send us the traffic. Will they embrace city life? Will they force us to build roads? Risks and opport…

Take back our economy from the oligarchs by democratizing it
Privatization of public services has proven to be a massive failure for housing, healthcare, transportation, energy, etc.
Publicly funded and operated services are how we will save our democracy!
https://youtu.be/sWHxKD27XKk

Some people like having exclusives or special features or whatever; especially because of how rare they are. And that includes health and safety and housing and food security.
The inequality is the point.

This field where cows graze
Will soon be housing others
Single detached homes.
#dailyhaikuprompt - field
#haiku
#poem

Politically driven "focus on special features over ensuring affordable housing money is stretched as far as possible" is one part of this, and same thing happens in transit:
* Electric buses don't work as well as electric cars, yet we make bus riders pay for electrification with less service, and don't require drivers to use electric cars.
* Fancy stops for "BRT" buses that offer infrequent service.
Etc Etc

These publicly funded homes for the poor cost $1.2 million each to build
Costs to house the poor are approaching, and sometimes exceeding, $1 million per unit in cities across the country, including D.C., L.A., and Chicago.

I cannot believe how evil GrowSF is. They praised the market-rate-only housing at 2588 Mission with no replacement for rent-controlled units destroyed in a fire, a project where even SFHAC said activists opposing it had a point. Now they're calling Lurie's budget that catastrophically defunds social services and will take away people's access to food and housing "a step in the right direction." They spam me with their newsletter and every time I open it my jaw drops.

The impact of economic policies on housing prices. Approximations and predictions in the UK, the US, France, and Switzerland from the 1980s to today
Nicolas Houli\'e
https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.09620

The impact of economic policies on housing prices. Approximations and predictions in the UK, the US, France, and Switzerland from the 1980s to today
I show that house prices can be modeled using machine learning (kNN and tree-bagging) and a small dataset composed of macro-economic factors (MEF), including an inflation metric (CPI), US treasury rates (10-yr), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and portfolio size of central banks (ECB, FED). This set of parameters covers all the parties involved in a transaction (buyer, seller, and financing facility) while ignoring the intrinsic properties of each asset and encompassing local (inflation) and liqu…

Trump Officials Unveil Budget Cuts to Aid for Health, Housing and Research (Tony Romm/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/us/politics/white-house-budget-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LU8.iKtq.sQY9xDlSiSs8&smid=url-share
http://www.memeorandum.com/250531/p21#a250531p21

There are any number of ways to keep Altadena affordable.
Ban single-family detached dwellings.
Ban off-street parking.
Build 6-story affordable housing on scattered sites.
The aim here is to maintain the area's high social status via exclusion. Based on uncool-ness rather than income or race.
[reply to: https://

SFMTA board is hearing Mayor Lurie’s mass displacement plan to banish working-poor, mostly Latino families living in RVs from the city.
Here’s the “refuge permit” designed as window dressing to make liberals feel ok about this. Notice to get one, you have to “agree to accept offer of… interim… housing,” ie agree to be displaced a little later anyway. 💩
#sfpol

"The lack of an announced successor space for the National Science Foundation and accusations of largesse to the Housing and Urban Development secretary have swirled since the proposal was unveiled last week."
Virginia lawmakers demand answers on Trump’s planned ‘displacement’ of NSF - Government Executive
https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/06/virginia-lawmakers-demand-answers-trumps-planned-displacement-nsf/406429/

Discrimination cases unravel as Trump scraps core civil rights tenet
For decades, the federal government has used data analysis to ferret out race and sex discrimination
-- winning court cases and reaching settlements in housing, education, policing and across American life.
Now the Trump administration is working to unwind those same cases.
The administration is unwinding settlements built on “disparate impact,” -- which holds that even neutral policies can lead to …

Discrimination cases unravel as Trump scraps core civil rights tenet
The administration is dismissing cases and unwinding settlements built on « disparate impact, » which holds that even neutral policies can lead to biased outcomes.

Machine-learning Growth at Risk
Tobias Adrian, Hongqi Chen, Max-Sebastian Dov\`i, Ji Hyung Lee
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.00572 https://

Machine-learning Growth at Risk
We analyse growth vulnerabilities in the US using quantile partial correlation regression, a selection-based machine-learning method that achieves model selection consistency under time series. We find that downside risk is primarily driven by financial, labour-market, and housing variables, with their importance changing over time. Decomposing downside risk into its individual components, we construct sector-specific indices that predict it, while controlling for information from other sectors…

#Facebook front office grabbed great publicity from its bold #billion dollar public #pledge to help solve the #BayArea

Here’s where the money Meta spent on its $1 billion pledge for affordable housing has gone
Executives at Facebook’s parent company in 2022 stopped committing funding to the initiative, slowing progress.

External Evaluation of Discrimination Mitigation Efforts in Meta's Ad Delivery
Basileal Imana, Zeyu Shen, John Heidemann, Aleksandra Korolova
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.16560 …

External Evaluation of Discrimination Mitigation Efforts in Meta's Ad Delivery
The 2022 settlement between Meta and the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve allegations of discriminatory advertising resulted is a first-of-its-kind change to Meta's ad delivery system aimed to address algorithmic discrimination in its housing ad delivery. In this work, we explore direct and indirect effects of both the settlement's choice of terms and the Variance Reduction System (VRS) implemented by Meta on the actual reduction in discrimination. We first show that the settlement terms…

US housing construction falls to 5-year low as tariffs weigh on sector (Stephanie Stacey/Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/3ffaf2cf-815c-4962-95a5-efda946c46c0
http://www.memeorandum.com/250618/p165#a250618p165

Baltimore city council to consider eliminating minimum parking rquirements. https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/transportation/baltimore-parking-mandate-housin…

Baltimore eyes eliminating requirement for developers to build parking
A new bill before the Baltimore City Council would eliminate the requirement to provide a minimum amount of off-street parking for new development.

While the nation faces record housing unaffordability and homelessness, HUD is pushing massive cuts and a move to Virginia - Streetlight
https://streetlightnews.org/hud-headquarters-move/

"The big problem is 'bottlenecks' that make it harder to produce housing, expand energy production, or build new roads and bridges."
vs.
"The big problem is that big corporations have way too much power over our economy and our government."
By 12pts all voters and by 42pts Dem voters prefer the second statement. They're right!

Poll: Democratic voters prefer "populism" over "abundance"
Democrats are asking themselves some hard questions as they ponder how they lost the 2024 election.

Well, we have some advance notice. Can we take advantage? Can we find some candidate not deluded by the neoliberal myth, the simplistic YIMBY faith that the market will provide affordable housing?
https://bsky.app/profile/laurajnelson.bsky.social/post/3lsmkny…

@ddayen.bsky.social @… This kind of "public participation" is what nimbys rail against. It's *anti-democratic* because opponents use it to frustrate the will of the majority.
What both sides of the "abundance" debate miss is that in practice you can do this to transit & infill housing but no…

Rivera Proposal Would Slow Down Seattle Light Rail Permitting - The Urbanist
# Councilmember Maritza Rivera's last-minute proposal would require additional public outreach and documentation for light rail permit applications. The underlying bill had been intended to cut red rape. After pushback from Councilmembers Rinck and Strauss, the vote was delayed a week.

Why does #MayorLurie issue a press release with great fanfare, announcing the has introduced housing legislation, and there is NO link to the legislation on the page:

Why does #MayorLurie issue a press release with great fanfare, announcing the has introduced housing legislation, and there is NO link to the legislation on the page:

Ranked: The Countries Investing the Most in R&D
#Ireland's 1.6% is appaling, given our relative wealth. It ensures our extreme reliance on other states is only likely to increase.
We need a different mindset on spending on R&D and most infrastructure. Housing is the short-term focus, but even if it was solved overnight, this other underspending will block growth and keep us in crisis for the foreseeable future.
#innovation #research #investment

"It’s also a smart reply to the recent 'abundance' arguments made by many in the party’s establishment. Yes, we need to build out transit and increase housing development, but the public sector should do those things. A strong defense of the public sector against privatization, and a willingness to push for its expansion instead of opting for 'market-based solutions,' is an essential part of what it means to be a democratic socialist"

The Democratic Socialist Core to Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign
At a time when much of the left is in retreat or ducking for cover, Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign is championing democratic socialist politics and raising expectations.

Baltimore city council to consider eliminating minimum parking rquirements. https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/transportation/baltimore-parking-mandate-housin…

The Economic Value of Depth
Pedro Afonso Fernandes
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.15354 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.15354

The Economic Value of Depth
The main goal of this article is to introduce an economic perspective in the social logic of space. Firstly, we describe the economic model of a linear city to show how depth can generate value by creating local monopolies in less integrated spaces. Then, a new syntactic measure, the d-value, is proposed to capture the relation between the depth of some space from outside and the mean depth of all spaces from outside. An application to a public housing estate suggests that economic activities a…