Tootfinder

Work, Housing and Health: Northampton Behind the Numbers https://edintone.com/work-housing-health/ In 1924, the boot and shoe industry dominated Northampton’s workforce. The Boot and Shoe O

Work, Housing and Health: Northampton Behind the Numbers - Miscellanea Edintone
In 1924, the boot and shoe industry dominated Northampton’s workforce. The Boot and Shoe Operatives Trade Union had 13,104 members; officials estimated that only 5% of adult workers were outside the union.

BAIA, quien nos iba a decir que facilitando el acceso a una vivienda a personas sin hogar les iba a servir para rehacer su vida https://thebetter.news/housing-first-finland-homelessness/
Relacionado con esto, ayer estuve viendo "Yo, Daniel Blake" de Ken Loach …

The Lurie/Mandelman RV ban is still set to go into effect and tow people's homes on Nov. 1, the same day SNAP expires and at the same time federal agents are in the Bay to terrorize immigrants.
Send a letter to the mayor and BOS asking them to extend the towing deadline:
https://

All Eyes on the Mayor’s RV Ban - No Tows Before Housing!
DSA SF is continuing its opposition to Daniel Lurie’s two-hour restriction on RV parking, which will take effect on November 1st, 2025. We know this policy for what it is - the latest attempt by San Francisco’s oligarch Mayor to exile poor and working class people from the City. While San Francisco has put in place a refuge permit program, it’s deeply flawed. The City’s initial eligibility list excludes many longtime RV residents, and those that are eligible have an uncertain offer of …

Whistleblowers Say Trump Administration Imposed ‘Strict Gag Order’ On Fair Housing Attorneys https://thedissenter.org/whistleblowers-say-trump-administration-imposed-strict-gag-order-on-fair-housing-attorneys/

For those considering #SanFrancisco's Upzoning Plan (aka #FamilyZoningPlan) , predicated on letting for profit developers build higher and denser, we have some data:
"London boroughs with the greatest number of these rental property developments, rents have increased by 48% to 5…

For those considering #SanFrancisco's Upzoning Plan (aka #FamilyZoningPlan) , predicated on letting for profit developers build higher and denser, we have some data:
"London boroughs with the greatest number of these rental property developments, rents have increased by 48% to 5…

If the federal government has its way, programs that provide housing subsidies to low-income people will soon be cut,
and current recipients will have to comply with work rules and time limits on residency.
Those who receive Section 8 subsidies are now facing draconian budget-slashing that will put millions in danger of losing their homes.
These plans have long been on the right’s anti-poor wish list.
In fact, when the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 agenda was rele…

Trump Administration Threatens Housing for Millions in “War on the Poor”
Proposed cuts to Section 8 put 3.3 million people at risk of eviction and homelessness.

America's Housing Crisis, in One Chart (Ezra Klein/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/opinion/housing-crisis-america.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/251123/p15#a251123p15

"Housing (for) a Post-Growth World: A Manifesto"
#degrowth

Housing (for) a Post-Growth World: A Manifesto
Providing housing for all is central to building any future.

HUD Orders Audit Of Public Housing To Find "Illegals" - Joe.My.God.
https://www.joemygod.com/2025/09/hud-orders-audit-of-public-housing-to-find-illegals/

The Europeans Podcast mini series Who Does It Best has started with two episodes about the housing crisis
#TheEuropeans

Who Does It Best? — The Europeans

Maryland will use Claude across its agencies to help residents apply for food aid, Medicaid, and more, and deploy Percepta tools to speed up housing permits (Maria Curi/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/13/maryland-ai-housing-government-benefits

Exclusive: Maryland taps AI for housing and government benefits
Applying for government assistance or housing permits, as well as processing those services, can be difficult and time consuming.

Mind Your Ps and Qs: Supporting Positive Reinforcement in Moderation Through a Positive Queue
Charlotte Lambert, Agam Goyal, Eunice Mok, Eshwar Chandrasekharan
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.18437

Am I the only one who is bewildered that a location so close to city hall, less than 1/3 of a mile to Van Ness BRT, BART, CIvic Center MUNI station, 5, 6 and 19 bus lines is a low priority location for urban infill? Close to a great library and large open space with playgrounds? Why there is not serious activity on the part of the city to build mixed income housing so as to help bring a range of incomes into the community? Why isn't the city mapping a strategy that transitions this n…

Plans for affordable housing at shuttered S.F. food hall site stuck in limbo 
La Cocina’s space in the Tenderloin was pitched as a community hub with cheap eats, and eventually affordable housing. Neither is happening.

Am I the only one who is bewildered that a location so close to city hall, less than 1/3 of a mile to Van Ness BRT, BART, CIvic Center MUNI station, 5, 6 and 19 bus lines is a low priority location for urban infill? Close to a great library and large open space with playgrounds? Why there is not serious activity on the part of the city to build mixed income housing so as to help bring a range of incomes into the community? Why isn't the city mapping a strategy that transitions this n…

Plans for affordable housing at shuttered S.F. food hall site stuck in limbo 
La Cocina’s space in the Tenderloin was pitched as a community hub with cheap eats, and eventually affordable housing. Neither is happening.

A hulking home addition is dividing neighbors and stumping officials
-- and it's not a ballroom
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/11/22/fairfax-virginia-housing-addition-dispute/

A hulking home addition is dividing neighbors and stumping officials
A three-story home addition in Fairfax County, Virginia, has divided a neighborhood and led to constant attention and, in some cases, harassment.

If you're free Wednesday night in SF, check out this panel on social housing at 518 Valencia. Sounds like it'll be good (I unfortunately can't make it):
Wed, Oct 22, 7:30pm
Social Housing: Challenging YIMBYs and NIMBYs
"What we’re doing on housing isn’t working. We’ve upzoned, streamlined, deregulated. And still, the crisis deepens. There is a movement waiting to be built—...rooted in care, solidarity, and the belief that everyone deserves a place to live.&qu…

I think there will now be affordable real estate in the Ingersoll area. #housing

In response to El Cheato tearing down a building that you and I own (i.e. the East Wing of the White House) then I propose that NYC condemn trump tower (for being unsafe and also for violations of the promises to preserve the prior Bonwit Teller art) and repurpose it for low incoming and homeless housing.

Listening to CBC Radio Barrie this morning and they were interviewing the manager responsible for housing starts for the Town of Innisfil. The discussion was about missed targets for housing starts and what can be done to get back on track. You could tell that he was frustrated, but the reason for less homes being built was almost solely put on the downturn in the housing market. No one is buying, so private industry isn't building.
All levels of government are throwing money at the problem, with most of it incentivizing for-profit companies to put shovels in the ground. At some point, the Federal, Provincial, and Municipal governments have to realize that public housing, government leasehold development, co-operative housing, or subsidized family apartments must be considered to solve the housing shortage. Private industry will never have the same objectives of getting families into homes - without a calculation of significant profits first.
#CanPoli #AffordableHousing

"Rachel Reeves, boasted to corporate executives that she has “unblocked” a large housing development in Sussex being held up by “some snails … a protected species or something … microscopic snails that you cannot even see”. .. The very rare little whirlpool ramshorn snail, by no means microscopic, is an indicator of fresh water not affected by sewage pollution"

While immigrants do contribute to rising housing demand,
they are not the primary drivers of increasing housing costs.
Instead, factors such as housing shortages,
restrictive zoning laws,
and shifts in housing preferences in the wake of the pandemic
are the more dominant forces behind rising prices.
Furthermore, immigrant workers are essential to the housing supply, making up a crucial segment of the construction workforce that can address shortages and …

Vance Blames Immigrants, Biden in Response to Affordability Questions
There is no significant relationship between immigration rates and rising housing costs in the US, experts have said.

lol c'mon, gtfoh

🅿️ Denver study shows removing parking requirements results in more affordable housing being built
https://theconversation.com/denver-study-shows-removing-parking-requirements-results-in-more-affordable-housin…

Denver study shows removing parking requirements results in more affordable housing being built
Structured parking can cost as much as $50,000 per space, making housing more expensive to build and for those living there.

I'm not sure how to interpret "Of those, more than 80% (57,000) have earned initial approvals but have not yet received the final sign-off from the Department of Building Inspection to begin construction."
Are they confounding Planning approval - general building form issues such as lot coverage, height, number of bedrooms, parking minimum/maximum, bicycle storage, etc - with DBI permit approval, which gets into the construction details - issues of structural integrity, f…

Supe warns SF regs lead to ‘housing death spiral’
Bilal Mahmood unveils latest permit reform measure.

I'm not sure how to interpret "Of those, more than 80% (57,000) have earned initial approvals but have not yet received the final sign-off from the Department of Building Inspection to begin construction."
Are they confounding Planning approval - general building form issues such as lot coverage, height, number of bedrooms, parking minimum/maximum, bicycle storage, etc - with DBI permit approval, which gets into the construction details - issues of structural integrity, f…

Supe warns SF regs lead to ‘housing death spiral’
Bilal Mahmood unveils latest permit reform measure.

Military families face health, safety hazards due to poor oversight of privatized housing
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2025/09/military-families-face-health-safety-hazards-due-to-poor-oversight-of-privatized-housing/

My Dad made the maps used in this article: #NHHousing

I reject this rationalization for more police and jail funding in Salt Lake County, Mayor Jenny Wilson.
If "homelessness, mental health, trauma and substance use" are problems, then more case workers, social workers, housing, and treatment resources are needed. Police and jails just inflict more pain on people who are already struggling with what problems they have.

SLCo Mayor proposes tax increase, criminal justice focus
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson unveiled her proposed budget on Tuesday, proposing a property tax increase to keep up

Nepo babies can be so stupid about their supposed familial expertise…
The Fed doesn't control long-term (i.e. federally-backed mortgage) rates.Those reflect what the credit market believes inflation will be over the long term and how much return they think they can get elsewhere. Lowering rates before inflation has absorbed the tariff shocks and settled down will increase long-term inflation expectations, raising long rates.

emptywheel (@emptywheel.bsky.social)
One reason I wrote this is bc the housing market is in pretty shitty shape. Pulte seems to think lowering rates will fix it which is not remotely true. Yet instead of doing something about that Pulte is off stoking witch hunts. [contains quote post or other embedded content]

Fine letter from Kate Macintosh on UK Labour Party's irrational retention of the Right to Buy council housing. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/06/why-labour-lacks-credibility-when-it-comes-to-housing

Stylish Prefab Home Can Be ‘Dropped’ into Flooded Areas or Anywhere Housing is Needed https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/prefab-home-can-be-dropped-into-flooded-areas-or-anywhere-housing-is-needed/

Prefab Home Can Be ‘Dropped’ into Flooded Areas or Anywhere Housing is Needed
To cope with rising sea levels, architects in Indonesia designed the Drop Pod, a stylish modular structure that is “quick to install.”

JD Vance blames the US housing shortage on immigrants....just as Hitler & the Nazis blamed Germany's housing shortage on the Jews.
See below.
Original post: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:moye3apncjjbyqgb7orp5quj/post/3m5kmfd4jo42i

Lurie admin "blamed the plan to stall housing at 101 Hyde on the state’s designation of the Tenderloin as a low-resourced area, which puts it down on the priority list for state funding."
SF has the third most billionaires of any city in the world. One of them is our mayor. Not having funds for affordable housing is a choice.

Plans for affordable housing at shuttered S.F. food hall site stuck in limbo 
La Cocina’s space in the Tenderloin was pitched as a community hub with cheap eats, and eventually affordable housing. Neither is happening.

Bellevue is a relatively wealthy city, so when "residents claim a large presence of homelessness and crimes related to unhoused people [and] Bellevue crime statistics show otherwise", you know it isn't about crime, it's about othering the poor.
Bellevue neighbors voice safety concerns as city defends housing campus | Northwest | ncwlife.com
https://www.ncwlife.com/news/northwest/watch-bellevue-neighbors-voice-safety-concerns-as-city-defends-housing-campus/article_a139af5e-cc3d-58e5-b4ca-d47fd4238908.html

Homelessness is not a moral failure or an accident of fate, it is the direct result of capitalist property relations. Under a system where land, housing, and production are privately owned, the working class is alienated from its means of existence. People are cast into the streets not because scarcity is real, but because profit determines who deserves shelter.
The solution is not charity or state bureaucracy but the abolition of private property in housing and the collective organiza…

As one who studied the development and growth of cities, the passage of this measure has caused me to wonder how short sighted are some programs to increase housing stocks.
Like rent control, which over decades can erase rental property availability, this measure will slowly nudge builders to locate new single family home construction outside of our city limits. (The average single family home price in our area is among the highest in the US.)
I am less clear about the impact on…

Election 2025: Santa Cruz affordable housing advocates celebrate win on Measure C
Santa Cruz voters have approved Measure C, the housing advocate-supported ballot initiative, with more than 53% of the vote, while the competing Measure B, supported by local real estate interests, failed with just 11.9%. County officials continue counting ballots, with the next update on Friday at 4 p.m.

an incredible supporting cast of professional cat actors! production must have been a hoot 😸
THE UNCANNY - (1977) Trailer
https://youtube.com/watch?v=reKzSETwAe4&si=wse4RXkAMcXI3IHH
> British anthology movie, housing a trio of stories all concerning angry cats seeking revenge. Somehow managed to bag an X-Rating on release. Go figure.Stars ...

dehydrating the filament does make a difference for 3D printing. Much less stringing. I'm using my food dehydrator occasionally to dry filament that was sitting outside too long on the printer. ##3Dprint #3Dprinting

https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/gypsy-traveller-sites-fires-2025/

The Netherlands has a housing shortage. In the run-up to the October elections, some politicians are claiming we're 1 million homes short. Not true.
We're 396,000 homes (4.8%) short, while 170,000 (2%) is seen as a normal, manageable shortage. So we would need 226,000 additional homes now.

Key takeaway is at end of this article [gift link].
Sales of new exurban houses are falling, but there's unmet demand for urban infill. If cities & inner suburbs repeal offstreet parking mandates & cut minimum lot sizes, builders will keep building.

As Housing Demand Continues to Fall, Builders Get Creative
A slow start to the home building market this year has prompted some builders to increase incentives and build on smaller lots.

Housing affordability has declined sharply in recent decades,
⚠️ leading many younger generations to give up on homeownership.
Using a calibrated life-cycle model matched to U.S. data, we project that
the cohort born in the 1990s will reach retirement with a homeownership rate roughly 9.6 percentage points lower than that of their parents’ generation.
The model also shows that as households’ perceived probability of attaining homeownership falls,
they systemati…

Why friends are teaming up to buy homes : NPR #housing

Says a lot that the Hayes Valley open space on land that was supposed to be affordable housing (Proxy/Parcel K) is apparently secure, with no politician threatening to build the housing anytime soon; but the Hayes Valley open space that closes 1 block of street two days a week is fighting for its life.
Save the @…!

Call-to-action: Save Hayes Promenade — Hayes Promenade
Hayes Promenade is up for permit renewal. If you want to see it continue, click here to email a letter of support, and attend the hearing online October 23, 2025, 9am at sfmta.com/calendar/iscott-meeting-1603

HUD Issues Layoff Notices, Targeting Fair Housing Staff With Deep Cuts (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-11/hud-issues-layoff-notices-targeting-fair-housing-staff-with-deep-cuts
http://www.memeorandum.com/251011/p25#a251011p25

The USA has only a million elevators, about as many as Italy, and they cost four times as in Switzerland.
https://web.archive.org/web/20250827193631/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/opinion/elevato…

Opinion | Why Are Housing Costs So High? The Elevator Can Explain Why.
An illness led Stephen Smith to study why America has so few elevators. What he learned explains why housing costs are so high.

“By 2040, the Locational scenario could reduce the total system cost by 23 – 59 Bn. EUR annually. These savings are in the order of magnitude of those associated with the integration of European electricity markets.”
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/J…

Locational Price Signals in Europe
As Europe strives to become the first climate neutral continent, grid congestion is becoming an increasingly urgent issue, with the potential to lead to large-scale curtailment of renewables and undermine the system’s security. Accordingly, the Mission Letter to Commissioner for Energy and Affordable Housing Dan Jørgensen lists the task to improve locational price signals. These aim to ensure that investments occur where they are most beneficial to the system, while incentivizing an efficien…

One of the members of my church's congregation has gotten right to work making use of our state's new ADU law: #NHPolitics #YIMBY #Housing

Location Matters: Leveraging Multi-Resolution Geo-Embeddings for Housing Search
Ivo Silva (QuintoAndar), Pedro Nogueira (QuintoAndar), Guilherme Bonaldo (QuintoAndar)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.01196

Location Matters: Leveraging Multi-Resolution Geo-Embeddings for Housing Search
QuintoAndar Group is Latin America's largest housing platform, revolutionizing property rentals and sales. Headquartered in Brazil, it simplifies the housing process by eliminating paperwork and enhancing accessibility for tenants, buyers, and landlords. With thousands of houses available for each city, users struggle to find the ideal home. In this context, location plays a pivotal role, as it significantly influences property value, access to amenities, and life quality. A great location can …

“The housing crisis is primarily one of affordability rather than solely relating to supply and a range of measures are needed to address them.
“But allowing developers an even greater level of autonomy does nothing to deliver the kind of housing solutions needed by the majority of people affected. It just allows developers and landlords to increase their profits.”
Labour told ‘numbers game’ approach to housing targets is doomed to failure | Morning Star

People in the US have just had their brains fried by suburban myths. We walked from a Copenhagen subway station to visit friends living in some of that housing, then we walked with them and their kids to the nearby pasture-N-stuff. They don't even own a bicycle yet, but they're making plans.
Afterwards, two stops up the subway line we stopped in a mall to pick up some stuff my wife needed for work the next day.

Attorney General's Office Sues Investment Firm for Obstructing Access to Stable, Affordable Housing for Over 70 Manufactured Housing Units in Taunton | Mass.gov
https://www.mass.gov/news/attorney-generals-office-sues-investment-firm-for-obstructing-access-to-stable-affordable-housing-for-over-70-manufactured-housing-units-in-taunton

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #LaurenLaverne
The Stone Roses:
🎵 Elephant Stone
#TheStoneRoses
https://theblogthatcelebratesitself.bandcamp.com/track/housing-crash-elephant-stone-the-stone-roses
https://open.spotify.com/track/57inMtXj5ZwnevKzP49bTT

#California Gov #Newsom signs #ScottWeiner bill to bulldoze over opposition to expansion of #housing density and residential construction proj…

Good Morning #Canada
On this day in 1948, the longest serving political leader in the British Commonwealth retired. William Lyon Mackenzie King served 21 years and 154 days as Prime Minister of Canada, in non-consecutive terms, from 1921–1926, 1926–1930, and 1935–1948. He led Canada through the Great Depression, introduced Old Age Pensions, nationalized the Bank of Canada, passed the 1938 National Housing Act to improve housing affordability, established the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Trans-Canada Air Lines, and the National Film Board, and implemented Unemployment Insurance. His government was also responsible for Japanese Internment Camps, and he believed strongly in the occult.
This video from TVO is an excellent overview of King's career. It's probably a two coffee viewing this morning if you have the time, but IMO worth the investment.
#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianHeroes
https://www.tvo.org/video/mackenzie-king-at-150

Leveraging Multi-Source Textural UGC for Neighbourhood Housing Quality Assessment: A GPT-Enhanced Framework
Qiyuan Hong, Huimin Zhao, Ying Long
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.16657 …

Leveraging Multi-Source Textural UGC for Neighbourhood Housing Quality Assessment: A GPT-Enhanced Framework
This study leverages GPT-4o to assess neighbourhood housing quality using multi-source textural user-generated content (UGC) from Dianping, Weibo, and the Government Message Board. The analysis involves filtering relevant texts, extracting structured evaluation units, and conducting sentiment scoring. A refined housing quality assessment system with 46 indicators across 11 categories was developed, highlighting an objective-subjective method gap and platform-specific differences in focus. GPT-4…

🌆 Why the legacy of East Germany’s prefab housing blocks is more relevant than ever
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/06/why-the-legacy-of-east-germanys-prefab-housing-blocks-is-more-relevant-than-ever

Looking for something to do this evening in SF? Come learn about municipal social housing!
https://actionnetwork.org/events/municipal-social-housing-panel?source=mastodon

Municipal Social Housing: Learning from Seattle's Win
Two DSA SF backed ballot props in 2020 were meant to enable and fund social housing, but mayoral opposition has blocked the funds being spent for that purpose. Seattle's victory offers a lesson in how we might beat that blockage. In February, Seattle's House Our Neighbors passed a ballot proposition with dedicated funds for a social housing developer. The campaign won by 26 points over opposition from Seattle's mayor and most of their city council. Join us for a conversation with Seattle orga…

The Trump administration is upending its homelessness policy,
with deep cuts to funding for long-term housing.
Instead, it will shift money toward transitional housing that requires work and addiction treatment.
170,000 people could be at risk of losing their housing 
Critics warn the major overhaul could put 170,000 people at risk of losing their housing again.
And they say the timing is terrible.
Normally, funding notices go out months earlier, but now pro…

For some reason, the #FamilyHousingPlan in the new RTO-C zoning, doesn't appear to permit the sort of live work spaces discussed here.
https://www.sfgate.com/realest…

For some reason, the #FamilyHousingPlan in the new RTO-C zoning, doesn't appear to permit the sort of live work spaces discussed here.
https://www.sfgate.com/realest…

The Lurie administration wants to slash #PotreroYard affordable housing because they "just can't find the money."
Our mayor is a billionaire. We have the third most billionaires living here of any city in the world. We can't accept these excuses.

It’s definitely a long shot.
But Rae Huang, a 43-year-old community organizer, minister and dues-paying member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America,
is making her move, throwing her hat into the ring for mayor of Los Angeles.
The virtually unknown candidate is the deputy director of Housing Now California,
a coalition that fights displacement of tenants at the state and local levels.
Huang, who announced a campaign launch on Sunday, i…

She's challenging Bass from the left. Could she become L.A.'s Mamdani?
Rae Huang, a 43-year-old community organizer and democratic socialist, is waging a long-shot campaign for L.A. mayor, focusing on free buses, public housing and police abuse.

organizing this panel about social housing and how Seattle’s success can inspire SF to get around roadblocks. please come if you’re in SF! Friday evening
https://actionnetwork.org/events/municipal-social-housing-panel?source=mastodon

Municipal Social Housing: Learning from Seattle's Win
Two DSA SF backed ballot props in 2020 were meant to enable and fund social housing, but mayoral opposition has blocked the funds being spent for that purpose. Seattle's victory offers a lesson in how we might beat that blockage. In February, Seattle's House Our Neighbors passed a ballot proposition with dedicated funds for a social housing developer. The campaign won by 26 points over opposition from Seattle's mayor and most of their city council. Join us for a conversation with Seattle orga…

Exclusive: Trump ousts watchdog of US housing regulator involved in mortgage probes of his foes, sources say (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/watchdog-being-ousted-us-housing-regulator-involved-trump-crackdown-sources-say-2025-11-03/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251103/p136#a251103p136

I’m glad to have never lived in such places that are only accessible by car. Just cities and 'burbs built up before the phenomenon of encapsulated residential developments became dominant. I always walked (or more often biked) to school as a kid and so did my kids (except for K, of course)
I wonder what sort of effect that has on the psyche. Seems like a recipe for people predisposed to xenophobia.

✊🏽 Socialist Politics Can Break Through to Asian Immigrants
#politics

"Right now, a lot of condos [are] coming online that people don't really want to live in."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/unsold-condos-metro-vancouver-bc-2025-1.7647776

"...there isn’t enough new housing to make a dent on affordability. "
What I don't understand is why journalists keep framing this as a simple supply and demand - if only we let developers build, the price will come down.
When the reality is developers will build if and only if one condition is met: Buyers (or landords) will pay a price that meets the developers profit targets. And we see evidence of that in the timelines looking at selling price vs construction…

S.F. upzoning plan heads to committee for final amendments
At Monday's meeting, amendments will range from excluding historical buildings to increasing the percentage of larger, family-friendly units.

"...there isn’t enough new housing to make a dent on affordability. "
What I don't understand is why journalists keep framing this as a simple supply and demand - if only we let developers build, the price will come down.
When the reality is developers will build if and only if one condition is met: Buyers (or landords) will pay a price that meets the developers profit targets. And we see evidence of that in the timelines looking at selling price vs construction…

S.F. upzoning plan heads to committee for final amendments
At Monday's meeting, amendments will range from excluding historical buildings to increasing the percentage of larger, family-friendly units.

"In a major shift, HUD’s plan would direct most of the $3.5 billion in homelessness funds away from Housing First to programs that prioritize work and drug treatment."
Trump Administration to Drastically Cut Housing Grants - The New York Times
https://archive.ph/54oxw

This would make it dramatically more difficult to fund both affordable housing and transit in California. The Howard Jarvis people want to pull up the drawbridge and make us an even more exclusionary, car-dependent and on-fire state. https://calmatters.org/housing/2025/10

Trump wants to axe an affordable housing grant that's a lifeline for many rural communities (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-home-affordable-housing-cuts-rural-33a44092cfe5f8451e590e4a28718936
http://www.memeorandum.com/250831/p108#a250831p108

Good Morning #Canada
I have one final chapter for The Dirt on Canadian Farming, and it's more of an opinion piece.
As I conducted research on each province for information on their agriculture, there were numerous news stories about how farmers and farm organizations were fighting against loss of farmland. Urban growth, new housing development, and sprawling industrial parks are gobbling up prime farmland. The attached article is just one example. The statistics released by each province have common trends:the average age of farmers increasing, individual farm operators in decline, larger farms are increasing, renting of farmland is growing, and overall arable land is in decline. With the sparsely populated prairies holding the majority of fertile farmland, Canada likely won't lose our global impact because of development for houses or industry. But elsewhere, our food chain will be pushed further away from where we live. Or disappear.
#CanadaIsAwesome #SaveOurFarmland
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/waterloo-region-new-update-wilmot-land-plans-1.7534644

Housing Price commentary - recognizing that housing costs are a function of many variables, and merely changing zoning may not reduce costs.:
https://www.planningreport.com/2025/07/22/dear-atlantic-stop-publishing-propaganda-housing…

Housing Price commentary - recognizing that housing costs are a function of many variables, and merely changing zoning may not reduce costs.:
https://www.planningreport.com/2025/07/22/dear-atlantic-stop-publishing-propaganda-housing…

If #MayorLurie could only explain how this plan would provide housing affordable to the full mix of household incomes, without trotting out the hypothetical (and misleading) explanations of #filtering and related misleading

Vancouver housing is 'impossibly unaffordable,' says new report
Vancouver is behind only Hong Kong and Sydney, according to the 2024 Demographia International Housing Affordability Report. Read more.

If #MayorLurie could only explain how this plan would provide housing affordable to the full mix of household incomes, without trotting out the hypothetical (and misleading) explanations of #filtering and related misleading

Vancouver housing is 'impossibly unaffordable,' says new report
Vancouver is behind only Hong Kong and Sydney, according to the 2024 Demographia International Housing Affordability Report. Read more.

Bessent predicts 'big economic pickup in 2026' and possible national housing emergency declaration this fall (Christian Datoc/Washington Examiner)
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/3789052/scott-bessent-big-economic-pickup-2026-national-housing-emergency/
http://www.memeorandum.com/250901/p52#a250901p52

🏘️ Will we ever get enough housing? The future holds promise
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-08-10/home-2050
🆓 https://

Will we ever get enough housing? Here are reasons to say 'yes'
How can we achieve more and better housing? Denser neighborhoods. Smaller homes, some modular or printed in 3-D. Properties co-owned. ADUs sold separately.

Didn't realize Katie Wilson identified as a socialist! Cool. https://komonews.c…

Mayor-elect Katie Wilson urges unity, community, collective responsibility in Seattle
Seattle's new Mayor-elect Katie Wilson is set to address the public regarding her election and upcoming role as mayor on Thursday afternoon.

‘The dungeon’ at Louisiana’s notorious prison reopens as Ice detention center
The Louisiana state penitentiary at Angola – the largest maximum security prison in the country – was out of bed space for “violent offenders” who would be “transferred to its facilities”,
the governor warned in an executive order.
The emergency declaration allowed for the rapid refurbishing of a notorious, shuttered housing unit at Angola formerly known as Camp J
– commonly referred to by p…

Unlawful caps and work requirements.
Millions could lose housing aid under Trump plan - Salon.com
https://www.salon.com/2025/10/01/millions-could-lose-housing-aid-under-trump-plan_partner/

HUD launches crackdown on illegal immigration in public housing: 'Riding the coattails' (Cameron Arcand/Fox News)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hud-launches-crackdown-illegal-immigration-public-housing-riding-coattails
http://www.memeorandum.com/250831/p29#a250831p29

Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio,
Kristi Noem, and others
have taken over homes that until recently housed senior military officers.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/10/trump-officials-military-housing-steph…

Top Trump Officials Are Moving Onto Military Bases
Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, and others have taken over homes that until recently housed senior officers.

About 20 years ago, I was part of the Neighborhood Network - people concerned about good planning and good governance. The Mayor's office was pushing to allow more nmarket rate housing. When Jim Meko and I met with the then housing czar, he explained supply and demand. When I argued commodity vs luxury item and profit motive, he admitted that unrestricted building would reduce prices by maybe 3%. Very close to the current conclusion.

S.F. upzoning would lead to $75 to $125 decrease in monthly rent, city economist says
Citywide zoning changes would have modest effects on housing construction and affordability, but big boost to GDP

About 20 years ago, I was part of the Neighborhood Network - people concerned about good planning and good governance. The Mayor's office was pushing to allow more nmarket rate housing. When Jim Meko and I met with the then housing czar, he explained supply and demand. When I argued commodity vs luxury item and profit motive, he admitted that unrestricted building would reduce prices by maybe 3%. Very close to the current conclusion.

S.F. upzoning would lead to $75 to $125 decrease in monthly rent, city economist says
Citywide zoning changes would have modest effects on housing construction and affordability, but big boost to GDP

Michael Burry,
who famously shorted the US housing market before its collapse in 2008,
has bet over $1 billion that the share prices of AI chipmaker Nvidia and software company Palantir will fall
— making a similar play, in other words, on the prediction that
the AI industry will collapse.

The Big Short Guy Just Bet $1 Billion That the AI Bubble Pops
Michael Burry, who shorted the housing market in 2008, has bet over $1 billion that the shares of AI companies Nvidia and Palantir will fall.

“Corey Smith, the director of the Housing Action Coalition, said at a city hearing last year that ‘One of the challenges we face in San Francisco is we need the rent to go back up.’”
He meant so new housing production would start, but the reason we’re supposed to want that is to bring the rent down. Without meaning to, Corey pointed out the incoherence of private-developer-driven YIMBYism.

Amid AI boom, San Francisco rents are up. So are evictions. 
San Francisco officials extol the benefits of the city's AI boom. But rents and eviction notices are rising, and tenants are suffering.

Trump poised to declare new national emergency ahead of midterm elections: report (Alexander Willis/Raw Story)
https://www.rawstory.com/housing-crisis-2673945673/
http://www.memeorandum.com/250901/p62#a250901p62

Except, of course, on city-owned property like Potrero Yards, because affordable housing doesn't pencil out.
And SF's Upzoning plan allows towers without on-site affordable, unlike the State Density Bonus, which actually requires significant on site affordable housing. Developers can just fee out for less than half the cost of building affordable units.
SO I wonder - who were the advisors on the Family Zoning Plan, and whose families would be built for?

Lurie warns Sunset: rezone or ‘there could be towers everywhere’ 
In doubleheader, Sen. Scott Wiener, architect of the state building mandates that require San Francisco to rezone, draws ire at Westside forum

Except, of course, on city-owned property like Potrero Yards, because affordable housing doesn't pencil out.
And SF's Upzoning plan allows towers without on-site affordable, unlike the State Density Bonus, which actually requires significant on site affordable housing. Developers can just fee out for less than half the cost of building affordable units.
SO I wonder - who were the advisors on the Family Zoning Plan, and whose families would be built for?

Lurie warns Sunset: rezone or ‘there could be towers everywhere’ 
In doubleheader, Sen. Scott Wiener, architect of the state building mandates that require San Francisco to rezone, draws ire at Westside forum

Facts: “The report shouldn’t be a shock to anyone...because zoning is just one factor of 100. I’m afraid ‘We’re going to sue the government until the capital markets do what we want’ is basically the textbook definition of San Francisco YIMBYism.” - @…

Gee, wouldn't it be nice if Lashinsky actually talked about how the plan would or would not support affordable housing, or had some references to support that upzoning helps develop large amounts of housing affordable to the mix of incomes in the community? (Esp in already densely built areas, liek San Francisco)
Because all of the research I have done says this is family zoning for families making over $250K a year. But I'm sure the Mayor's realtor brother is eager for m…

In the debate over Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan, emotions are still trumping facts 
I called the mayor’s upzoning scheme “incremental.” Some readers were having none of it.

Gee, wouldn't it be nice if Lashinsky actually talked about how the plan would or would not support affordable housing, or had some references to support that upzoning helps develop large amounts of housing affordable to the mix of incomes in the community? (Esp in already densely built areas, liek San Francisco)
Because all of the research I have done says this is family zoning for families making over $250K a year. But I'm sure the Mayor's realtor brother is eager for m…

In the debate over Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan, emotions are still trumping facts 
I called the mayor’s upzoning scheme “incremental.” Some readers were having none of it.

A new report sheds light on potential conflicts of interest in
Bill Pulte’s attack against Lisa Cook
and other White House enemies.
Before Donald Trump appointed him to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency,
Bill Pulte was best known to the public as the scion of a homebuilding empire
and an extremely online investor
who hawked various meme stocks and cryptocurrencies on Twitter.
In government, however,
Pulte has gained more notoriety as an …

This Terrifying Company Is Being Used Against Top Democrats. Trump’s Allies May Be Profiting From It.
A new report sheds light on potential conflicts of interest in Bill Pulte’s attack against Lisa Cook and other White House enemies.

yimbys keep calling it misinformation that #SB79 allows demolition of rent-controlled duplexes and telling others to read the bill. it's right here, plain as day!

I wasn't originally planning to, but I commented on SF's Family Zoning Plan. Upzoning the west side is good. It's inequitable how SF has concentrated new housing in eastern neighborhoods like the Mission while Seacliff, the Marina, the Sunset, etc saw very little.
But, I don't dismiss the risk of displacement from upzoning westside areas with many rent-controlled buildings. In addition to strong demo protections, I asked them to shift capacity to single-family home area…