Tootfinder

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…

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

What I've been saying... YIMBY "wins" in California have failed to actually build housing. The blockage is investment. The solution is public investment, ideally in the form of social housing!
With quotes from @…

SF YIMBYs keep winning, so where's the housing?
Legislators and voters have approved novel ideas to generate funding, but a lack of political will has scuttled them.

We have a working 2nd exit thanks to the ankle killer #Uckermark #project25 #weeding

@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.

How popular media gets love wrong
Now a bit of background about why I have this "engineered" model of love:
First, I'm a white straight cis man. I've got a few traits that might work against my relationship chances (e.g., neurodivergence; I generally fit pretty well into the "weird geek" stereotype), but as I was recently reminded, it's possible my experience derives more from luck than other factors, and since things are tilted more in my favor than most people on the planet, my advice could be worse than useless if it leads people towards strategies that would only have worked for someone like me. I don't *think* that's the case, but it's worth mentioning explicitly.
When I first started dating my now-wife, we were both in graduate school. I was 26, and had exactly zero dating/romantic experience though that point in my life. In other words, a pretty stereotypical "incel" although I definitely didn't subscribe to incel ideology at all. I felt lonely, and vaguely wanted a romantic relationship (I'm neither aromantic nor asexual), but had never felt socially comfortable enough to pursue one before. I don't drink and dislike most social gatherings like parties or bars; I mostly hung around the fringes of the few college parties I attended, and although I had a reasonable college social life in terms of friends, I didn't really do anything to pursue romance, feeling too awkward to know where to start. I had the beginnings of crushes in both high school and college, but never developed a really strong crush, probably correlated with not putting myself in many social situations outside of close all-male friend gatherings. I never felt remotely comfortable enough to act on any of the proto-crushes I did have. I did watch porn and masturbate, so one motivation for pursuing a relationship was physical intimacy, but loneliness was as much of a motivating factor, and of course the social pressure to date was a factor too, even though I'm quite contrarian.
When I first started dating my now-wife, we were both in graduate school. I was 26, and had exactly zero dating/romantic experience though that point in my life. In other words, a pretty stereotypical "incel" although I definitely didn't subscribe to incel ideology at all. I felt lonely, and vaguely wanted a romantic relationship (I'm neither aromantic nor asexual), but had never felt socially comfortable enough to pursue one before. I don't drink and dislike most social gatherings like parties or bars; I mostly hung around the fringes of the few college parties I attended, and although I had a reasonable college social life in terms of friends, I didn't really do anything to pursue romance, feeling too awkward to know where to start. I had the beginnings of crushes in both high school and college, but never developed a really strong crush, probably correlated with not putting myself in many social situations outside of close all-male friend gatherings. I never felt remotely comfortable enough to act on any of the proto-crushes I did have. I did watch porn and masturbate, so one motivation for pursuing a relationship was physical intimacy, but loneliness was as much of a motivating factor, and of course the social pressure to date was a factor too, even though I'm quite contrarian.
I'm lucky in that I had some mixed-gender social circles already like intramural soccer and a graduate-student housing potluck. Graduate school makes a *lot* more of these social spaces accessible, so I recognize that those not in school of some sort have a harder time of things, especially if like me they don't feel like they fit in in typical adult social spaces like bars.
However, at one point I just decided that my desire for a relationship would need action on my part and so I'd try to build a relationship and see what happened. I worked up my courage and asked one of the people in my potluck if she'd like to go for a hike (pretty much clearly a date but not explicitly one; in retrospect not the best first-date modality in a lot of ways, but it made a little more sense in our setting where we could go for a hike from our front door). To emphasize this point: I was not in love with (or even infatuated with) my now-wife at that point. I made a decision to be open to building a relationship, but didn't follow the typical romance story formula beyond that. Now of course, in real life as opposed to popular media, this isn't anything special. People ask each other out all the time just because they're lonely, and some of those relationships turn out fine (although many do not).
I was lucky in that some aspects of who I am and what I do happened to be naturally comforting to my wife (natural advantage in the "appeal" model of love) but of course there are some aspects of me that annoy my wife, and we negotiate that. In the other direction, there's some things I instantly liked about my wife, and other things that still annoy me. We've figured out how to accept a little, change a little, and overall be happy with each other (though we do still have arguments; it's not like the operation/construction/maintenance of the "love mechanism" is always perfectly smooth). In particular though, I approached the relationship with the attitude of "I want to try to build a relationship with this person," at first just because of my own desires for *any* relationship, and then gradually more and more through my desire to build *this specific* relationship as I enjoyed the rewards of companionship.
So for example, while I think my wife is objectively beautiful, she's also *subjectively* very beautiful *to me* because having decided to build a relationship with her, I actively tried to see her as beautiful, rather than trying to judge whether I wanted a relationship with her based on her beauty. In other words, our relationship is more causative of her beauty-to-me than her beauty-to-me is causative of our relationship. This is the biggest way I think the "engineered" model of love differs from the "fire" and "appeal" models: you can just decide to build love independent of factors we typically think of as engendering love (NOT independent of your partner's willingness to participate, of course), and then all of those things like "thinking your partner is beautiful" can be a result of the relationship you're building. For sure those factors might affect who is willing to try building a relationship with you in the first place, but if more people were willing to jump into relationship building (not necessarily with full commitment from the start) without worrying about those other factors, they might find that those factors can come out of the relationship instead of being prerequisites for it. I think this is the biggest failure of the "appeal" model in particular: yes you *do* need to do things that appeal to your partner, but it's not just "make myself lovable" it's also: is your partner putting in the effort to see the ways that you are beautiful/lovable/etc., or are they just expecting you to become exactly some perfect person they've imagined (and/or been told to desire by society)? The former is perfectly possible, and no less satisfying than the latter.
To cut off my rambling a bit here, I'll just add that in our progress from dating through marriage through staying-married, my wife and I have both talked at times explicitly about commitment, and especially when deciding to get married, I told her that I knew I couldn't live up to the perfect model of a husband that I'd want to be, but that if she wanted to deepen our commitment, I was happy to do that, and so we did. I also rearranged my priorities at that point, deciding that I knew I wanted to prioritize this relationship above things like my career or my research interests, and while I've not always been perfect at that in my little decisions, I've been good at holding to that in my big decisions at least. In the end, *once we had built a somewhat-committed relationship*, we had something that we both recognized was worth more than most other things in life, and that let us commit even more, thus getting even more out of it in the long term. Obviously you can't start the first date with an expectation of life-long commitment, and you need to synchronize your increasing commitment to a relationship so that it doesn't become lopsided, which is hard. But if you take the commitment as an active decision and as the *precursor* to things like infatuation, attraction, etc., you can build up to something that's incredibly strong and rewarding.
I'll follow this up with one more post trying to distill some advice from my ramblings.
#relationships #love

Austria's sustainable EV battery case made with cork and wood outperforms Tesla in fire test. #climatechange #climatesolutions #climate

Austria's EV battery case made with cork, wood beats Tesla in fire test
Scientists have developed a wood-steel EV battery housing that outperforms Tesla's in crash and fire trials.

🛣️ Albuquerque’s Route 66 Motels Are Turning Into Affordable Housing
#housing

Albuquerque's Route 66 Motels Are Turning Into Affordable Housing
Amid the ongoing housing crisis, once-dilapidated buildings are finding new life as homes for immigrants and other working-class New Mexicans.

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…

"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, […]

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 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/

This is very cool!
#housing #zoning #video

> The stabbing is understood to have taken place near consultancy firm Prospira Global and housing provider Trademark Homes.
The BBC have made a choice here in how to report that location. I don't condemn the decision, I'm just sad that it had to be made.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz71wj…

Man arrested after two stabbed to death at Bermondsey business
A man, aged 31, is arrested following the stabbing deaths of two people in south-east London.

@… :
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…

🤦🏿‍♂️ A company tried to put real estate on the Blockchain and now it's facing a lawsuit from the city of Detroit
#detroit

A Company Tried to Put Real Estate on the Blockchain and Now It's Facing a Legal Disaster
Detroit is waging legal battle against an international crypto scheme which is gobbling up low-incoming housing for profit.

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:

WGBH, Boston’s PBS station, had this sign up this morning.

Well, the Trump Sales Tax (tariffs) are starting to hit. Here is a shovel-ready project for nearly 400 housing units (many for low income) here in Santa Cruz, that is being terminated in large part because of the costs and inflationary effects of FFOTUS' crazy tariff mania.
"Developer backs out of 389 apartments on Ocean St. in Santa Cruz"

🏗️ Tear it down they said... but he kept on building
(looks like China has an answer to the Watts Towers!)
#buildings #housing #china

Tear It Down, They Said. He Just Kept Building.
Defying demolition orders, a Chinese man turned his home into a rickety 11-story tower. Now tourists are coming.

27% of families in New York City with children and income below $100,000 live in apartments with more than two people per bedroom. [gift link] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/nyregion/nyc-overcrowding-h…

The Hidden Victims of New York’s Worsening Housing Crisis
Thousands of people don’t have stable housing, sleeping on floors and couches and packed into too-small bedrooms. But they are not considered to be homeless.

join the DSA SF social housing reading group!!
next Tuesday 7/22 7pm in person
#sfPol

Social Housing Reading Group
What could social housing look like in San Francisco, and how do we get there? Join DSASF for a reading of the Budget and Legislative Analyst's report on how the city can build its own publicly owned, deeply affordable housing. We will also read the SF Berniecrats report, Housing for the 99%, which lays out a vision for social housing for all in San Francisco.

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

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:

NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's focus on affordable housing and climate change, particularly Local Law 97, could shape the city's future. #climatechange #climatesolutions #climate

Climate Law Could Shape the Race for New York City’s Next Mayor
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, has vowed to strictly enforce the measure, Local Law 97, which calls for potentially expensive upgrades to buildings to curb greenhouse emissions.

I mean… protected bike lanes as a double win? Sure!
“We’ve taken a strong and visible approach to the problem of speeding and reckless driving... That’s also why we’ve installed so many protected bike lanes. One of the goals is to prevent speeders from passing on the right.”

Mayor Cavalier Johnson: ‘A leader has to stand up and lead even if some residents are not happy’
Nearly four years into the Milwaukee Mayor’s job, Cavalier Johnson, at only 38, wears the mayor’s mantle like a favorite pullover as he talks policing, crime and housing in Milwaukee.

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/

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

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

"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…

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

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)

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

"Labour housing plans could destroy 215,000 hectares of nature in England, analysis shows"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Nature

Court blocks Trump's anti-LGBTQ restrictions on grants in health and housing
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2025/07/25/court-blocks-trumps-anti-lgbtq-restrictions-on-grants-in-health-and-housing/

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

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)

📉 Home, but not safe: How poor housing is harming health
#housing

Home, but not safe: How poor housing is harming health
When Israelis think about health, they may picture hospitals, doctors, or the rising cost of prescription drugs. But a new integrative study by Jordan Hannink Attal (Hebrew University and the University of Melbourne) and Prof. Yehuda Neumark (Hebrew University) suggests the most important factor may be much closer to home—literally.

“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?

A classic. Reporter fails to pay attention to what the nimbys actually say.
Reporter: Critics fear that [very modest] upzone won't produce "housing that is actually affordable for county residents"
Then quotes critic who fears it will "just provide more affordably priced rental units"
https://…

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.

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.”

What does the public want their local government to hear? A data-driven case study of public comments across the state of Michigan
Chang Ge, Justine Zhang, Haofei Xu, Yanna Krupnikov, Jenna Bednar, Sabina Tomkins
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.18431

What does the public want their local government to hear? A data-driven case study of public comments across the state of Michigan
City council meetings are vital sites for civic participation where the public can speak directly to their local government. By addressing city officials and calling on them to take action, public commenters can potentially influence policy decisions spanning a broad range of concerns, from housing, to sustainability, to social justice. Yet studies of these meetings have often been limited by the availability of large-scale, geographically-diverse data. Relying on local governments' increasing …

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.

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…

"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.

Trump administration prepares to drop seven major housing discrimination cases
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/19/2334089/-Trump-administration-prepares-to-drop-seven-major-housing-discrimination-cases

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.

"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.

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.

🎛️ To Get Abundance, We Need to Discipline Capital
#economics

To Get Abundance, We Need to Discipline Capital
Concerned to increase the supply of housing and improve infrastructure, some on the Left have come to embrace the “abundance agenda.” But what capital needs is discipline, not deregulation.

Great reframing by Malcolm Harris at 52:50 here: When a capitalist says they need more profit to invest in something socially beneficial like housing, that profit is a fee they collect from the public, and a blockage that exists *because* there's a capitalist class that controls the money we need. That's really insightful and I'd never thought of it that way.

"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.

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?

All 5 SF YIMBY endorsed supervisors—Sauter, Engardio, Mahmood, Dorsey, and Melgar—voted to take $34 to $53 million away from building permanent affordable housing, *and* to ban RVs from all city streets.
So much for "legalize housing." With YIMBYs like this, who needs NIMBYs? #sfPol

🏘️ To spur the construction of affordable, resilient homes, the future is concrete
https://theconversation.com/to-spur-the-construction-of-affordable-resilient-homes-the-future-is-concrete-254561

To spur the construction of affordable, resilient homes, the future is concrete
When most Americans imagine a home, they picture a wood-framed house. But in an era of high housing costs and extreme weather events, precast concrete offers a mix of durability and efficiency.

"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.

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…

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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://

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.

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…

DC historic districts, where it's very hard to build new housing, contain 20% of city's population. All but a few are wealthy white areas. DC Office of Planning agrees to study historic districts' equity effects.
Then it turns around & turns study over to preservation advocates.

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

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…

DC historic districts, where it's very hard to build new housing, contain 20% of city's population. All but a few are wealthy white areas. DC Office of Planning agrees to study historic districts' equity effects.
Then it turns around & turns study over to preservation advocates.

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.

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…

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

@… Isn't that the section of University Blvd where some loud people in nearby neighborhoods insist that we can't allow any more housing because it would slow down traffic?