This didn’t age well.

This one weird trick. Allowing townhouses in central areas has crushed house price growth in Auckland. www.oneroof.co.nz/news/the-20-...

I wrote about the one actually great thing that happened this week

Legend @connorsharp.bsky.social keeping the OG light rail project alive. www.1news.co.nz/2026/02/28/l...

Dawn blessing / opening of the new traffic filtered streets around the new train station. ✨✨

How does Willis commit to the Wellington tunnels AND balance the books? Seems to be painting herself into a corner. 🍿 www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Important. Chunk up the projects in stages matching the political terms (and budgets). Auckland “light rail” missed this wildly.

Govt: Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell says the country is in a "perpetual cycle of response and recovery", with 25 local states of emergency declared in the past two years. Also Govt: Here’s a list of unfundable fantasy roading projects that we will waste 3 years on

I don’t know how many people join Bluesky each day, but my sense is that more & more people are discovering the outstanding community/conversation here (best on social media) about better cities. I still think STARTER PACKS are a superpower. I’ve made many, but here’s my first again. Please share.

FYI I’ve opened this up for full public reading, listening & sharing after requests from paying subscribers. Their support allows me to do this kind of public interest journalism on Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate & poverty in public. #nzpol thekaka.substack.com/p/why-not-sp...

Moving more electricity use off-peak could save the country up to $3 billion and transform the energy system in the process. The study found New Zealand could, through fully exploiting modern technologies, lower electricity use at the busiest times by up to 25%. www.eeca.govt.nz/about/news-a...

UPDATE: The Democrat won the latest batch of roughly 6,000 votes, continuing to dominate in the count. The Election Day vote is bluer than the early vote day so far. With 55K votes in, Rehmet is up 57% to 43%. This is a 30% swing since 2024 for now.

This piece on road pricing is not super helpful. Yes, PT needs to improve but most of the drivers heading to the city centre clogging up the network are from close-in where PT is very good. www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2026...

Yikes. The insurance industry doesn’t care about your views on climate change. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

🧐

Check this one fact out: "In 2024, the total installed electricity capacity of the planet—every coal, gas, hydro, and nuclear plant and all of the renewables—was about 10 terawatts. The Chinese solar supply chain can now pump out 1 terawatt of panels every year."

Oh snap.

Next level doing it for the bit ..

The weight of electric double decker buses has been raising issues. Now there are lighter ones. www.wearekinetic.com/newsroom/a-m...

“but what about Chi…”

Woah and Europe has recently legalized house to house electricity connections. I think he called it “Freedom Cables” 🌞

The Trump administration is excusing murder by ICE using the same lies as those told by Maduro’s regime. These lies are part of the logic of death squads. Govt controls the story & the next murder is easier. And suddenly this is normal and people simply disappear. snyder.substack.com/p/maduro-in-...

This heatwave has marked a historic turning point in the Australian energy grid - we used to have blackouts as everyone turned their AC's on, with pundits telling us that 'renewables aren't the answer'. No blackouts this time, and silence from the nay-sayers. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

Kinda basic but important, markets require the rule of law.

LET'S GOOOO www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

“this is something we can do immediately, so that’s what we’ve done”

Zohran just went out and fixed the Williamsburg Bridge bike entrance. Just did it. No faffing, no nonsense. Bam. Fixed.

NEW POST While cities across North America struggle with housing shortages, Edmonton is proving that zoning reform works. In 2025, for the first time in history, the number of homes permitted in 5-8 unit rowhomes surpassed detached homes. 🧵 #yeg #yegcc #yimby www.jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/zb...

Mayor Mamdani on the success of congestion pricing:

"American dominance" is our new foreign policy. And it will create a counter-reaction, everywhere. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Today is a good day for New Zealand to stop using so much oil.

Magic day in Auckland

Trump must be impeached immediately. This is not how a democracy functions.

Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan… * Vehicle traffic: -11% * Foot traffic: +3.4% * Storefront vacancy: -0.9% * Pollution: -22% * Revenue for mass transit: $548M So YES this has been a huge success.

New dump of files on the failed “light rail” project. www.transport.govt.nz/area-of-inte...

Another under the radar project recently opened. The Strand - SH16 cycleway (and T2/HV lane). 🤫

A rare and fascinating close reading of what was said in the NZ Parliament about the Bondi attack. Reading carefully from prepared remarks, PM Chris Luxon referred to “mass, uncontrolled immigration”… …drawing an off-the-cuff rebuke from Labour’s Chris Hipkins: #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

womp womp. Performative culture war policy doesn’t last long. www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

It’s super inspiring that people look to Auckland and NZ for successful examples of housing reform. thespinoff.co.nz/society/16-1...

Public open day for a 3km cycleway between Māngere and Māngere Bridge in south Auckland.

One of the obvious impacts of Govt not investing into a downturn is tanking taxes (= higher deficits). Countless examples across the world, but sadly most of our reckonomics commentariat are small island caveman monetarists, so, prices going up? Ug. Throw kiwis on the dole, ug, crash economy. [🧵1/n]

Holy shit San Francisco! 60% of the city rezoned, most places exceeding (!!) SB 79. The most restrictive of these allows attached 4–8 story apt buildings with no cap on the # of homes inside, no parking mandates, and by-right streamlined approval. Movement racking up the municipal wins today 🏆🏆🏆

Housing growth expected in central areas with latest zoning plans. knowledgeauckland.org.nz/media/xxfhos...

More Homes is hosting YIMBY drinks on Wednesday in Auckland for a US delegation looking into housing reform @cayimby.bsky.social and @metroabundance.bsky.social

Loved seeing Te Komititanga full of people celebrating the lighting of Te Manaaki, Auckland’s Giant Christmas Tree. Hard to believe a few years ago this civic space was a four lane road. It’s much better now and it is used by tens of thousands more people each day. I 💚❤️ AKL

Incredibly exciting electrification revolution is happening right now. overcast.fm/+AAoT_nRAn40

Details of traffic changes to pedestrianise Oxford Street haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/oxford-stree...

Super interesting speech by Transport Minister Bishop seemingly distancing himself from the roadsfest they ran on. www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speec...

Sorry you had to wait 10 months for your cancer surgery – a politician needed to save 10 minutes getting to the airport.