Hi (urbanist) gay! I just got back from a few days in Palm Springs. It was lovely, relaxing, and of course, my mind was racing with #urbanism takes: a 🧵

Election Day tomorrow, wherever you are, vote for faster bus lanes, wider sidewalks, safer bike lanes, slower streets and abundant housing

Streets for people mean streets for fashion shows. 📍JP Open Streets

Disrespect for pedestrians in Palm Springs. Imagine if a road through a city just became 1/2 the width and dirt for a block. And you had to instead drive over onto a runway to get around it.

Next Gen #acelafie @amtrak.com

I visited Minneapolis for the first time two weeks ago, so once again, its time for #urbanism hot takes: a thread 🧵

Boston's great, but with these 5 urban design changes, it would truly be an S tier livable city: 🚲 Protected bike lane network 🚶‍➡️ Pedestrian Newbury, Charles St, & Harvard Sq 🏊 Charles & harbor swimming areas 🚉 Frequent regional rail w/ North/South rail link 🌳 Dense zoning & urban growth boundary

Remember not too long ago when everyone was posting photos of #MBTA countdown clocks with 20+ mins? These days the clocks tend to look more like this. The change into a system that is (mostly) fast and reliable* is impressive and transformative. * Green Line D branch from Union excepted.

This bike has handle bars and pedals that collapse, making it easier to whee through a crowded space. This is innovation.

One of the best things about the inflatable suits is that it’s really hard to paint protesters as dangerous when the video of you arresting them looks like this.

Free Charles street from cars.

Boston says #NoKings! Absolutely massive crowd, this is hope fuel.

MSNBC captured the crowd from the Boston "No Kings" rally:

Congratulations to bicyclists: you're one of the most efficient movers in the animal kingdom! 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

Zoning works! “An all-affordable apartment building is moving forward at 2072 Massachusetts Ave. under zoning changes made since its first version was withdrawn in August 2021 – then as high as nine stories with 49 homes, now 12 stories with 73 homes that would become available within four years.”

“This is quite clearly about asking that queer people do not show their identity in public. That’s really what it’s ultimately about.”

Let’s do this yesterday!

I spent 2.5 weeks in the UK and the Nordics this summer. Better late than never, here are my London, Bristol, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, and Tallinn #urbanism takes: a (very long) 🧵

The iPhone … YouTube … and bike share! Montreal's bicycle-sharing system BIXI has been named among the top 25 inventions of the past 25 years by TIME magazine. cultmtl.com/2025/10/bixi...

Public life on the Esplanade. Love this city ❤️

Hi Midwest bloomfies! I’ll be in Minneapolis this week. What are the urbanism must-sees?

All the transit I took while traveling for 2.5 weeks in Europe by the numbers. 🚌 Busses: 11 🚋 Trams: 8 🚈 Light metros: 4 🚇 Metros: 15 🚄 Trains: 14 ⛴️ Ferries: 4 🚡 Aerial ropeways: 1

This store’s parking lot is completely empty, but the bike rack is full. Down with parking car minimums!

This signal phasing makes no sense to me… @massdot.bsky.social @mass.streetsblog.org

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

@mayorwu.boston.gov things we can do 1: Eliminate parking requirements 2: Ban parking garages 3: Remove height restrictions 4: Ban single family zoning (any existing are grandfathered for retrofit) but do not allow ppl to tear down and rebuild single family

New Boston hidden gem unlocked! Spectacle Island is a restful oasis just a 30 min ferry ride from downtown! Not sure how it took me so long to finally check it out.

Dream collab!!!

SB 962/ HB172, An Act To Promote Yes In My Backyard 🏘️ allow up to 5-homes per lot 🚗 eliminate parking mins 🚂 allow more homes near transit Send Massachusetts legislators your support now; ✅ Sign on: tinyurl.com/yadt8bmh ✅ Submit testimony: tinyurl.com/3waz26ms

Why your next car should be an electric cargo bike

Yeah man we should really fight back by staying on X

"The need for Same Day Registration will be especially acute next year, as the state primary is currently scheduled for September 1, a major move-in day across the state. " www.progressivemass.com/we-can-mitig...

If you city hall parking lot looks like this, you’re doing something right.

@mayorwu.boston.gov Trounces Anti-Bike Challenger In Preliminary Election - #mapoli mass.streetsblog.org/2025/09/10/m...

Eyes On the Street: Filling In Gaps In Cambridge’s Bike Network - mass.streetsblog.org/2025/09/08/e...

As ICE increases presence in Boston, a great resource to report ICE sitings to help keep communities safe www.lucemass.org

Protesters Urged Not To Give Trump Administration Pretext For What It Already Doing

Tonight: @mbta.com Promotes New Late-Night Service With Free Rides After 9 PM - mass.streetsblog.org/2025/09/05/t...

What Copenhagen trip is complete without a visit this classic Danish staple?

Oh hej there!

Time to choose a new starting word!

Cool! New Half Mile of Bike Lane Funnels Cyclists Straight into Portal to Hell: tinyurl.com/79pnj5fu

mass.streetsblog.org/2025/08/25/t... A LOT is wrong out there but the constant good news story of the @mbta.com coming back to full health a little bit more at a time almost weekly is some kind of help. Like the Baker years in reverse.

If you didn’t come to Ratchella 2 (the squeakquel), you missed out.

Newbury Street when?

@museumofscience.bsky.social hosts ‘Pedal Power’ this Saturday, with free admission for visitors who arrive on foot, by bike, or on public transit: mass.streetsblog.org/2025/08/20/m...

I wholeheartedly endorse this opinion.

I know a health insurance rep hate to see me coming (got a call from my insurance company saying I was RIGHT about the bill I had been fighting for 6 months and they made a mistake!). They still have not paid the bill, but acknowledging they were wrong is a start!

I saw these when I was in Ptown a few weeks back! Great start—next step, full pedestrianization 🚶