🏘️🏗️🏙️ Today, we release findings from the 2025 #MeninoSurvey, the only nationally representative survey of American mayors that explores what mayors see as the main drivers of rising housing costs, housing policy, and political barriers they face to building more homes. surveyofmayors.com 🧵⬇️

Read the full report, supported by @arnoldventures.bsky.social, titled, “Unlocking Housing Supply: Mayors’ Views on the Politics of Housing” at surveyofmayors.com. Co-authored by @katherineeinst.bsky.social, @davidmglick.bsky.social, @maxwellpalmer.com

So many regulatory processes, from local zoning to federal rule-making, rely on public comment, and comments are treated as submitted in good faith. I've heard anecdotal cases of comments being written by AI, but not astroturfing-as-a-service.

Consistently, in survey after survey, housing availability and affordability is THE number one issue facing Massachusetts voters. A ‘status quo’ approach to housing from any elected official, of any political party, should be considered malpractice today.

A new poll from @abundanthousingma.org & YouGov finds 58% of voters support legalizing starter homes on 5,000sf lots. Just 21% oppose it. Legalizing smaller homes, instead of locking communities into 40,000sf+ mansion zoning, makes the American Dream more attainable in Massachusetts.

It's only two weeks into 2026, but I'm pretty sure The Raven Scholar is going to be the one of the best books I read this year.

Is there an incompleteness or impossibility theorem about this? It's impossible to prevent hallucinations, and any model that reviews models to detect hallucinations is also vulnerable to hallucinations?

How to fix America's gerrymandering problem? @benschneer.bsky.social and I wrote in Time today about a solution we developed (with @cantstopkevin.bsky.social). time.com/7309565/amer...

How to fix America's gerrymandering problem? @benschneer.bsky.social and I wrote in Time today about a solution we developed (with @cantstopkevin.bsky.social). time.com/7309565/amer...

I've been thinking through the implications of extreme gerrymandering for several years now. Today I wrote an article in Time that lays out the problem and describes one solution. We think that we need a "partisan" solution to partisan gerrymandering. time.com/7309565/amer...

You may have noticed things are happening fast in the world of redistricting… I along with @maxwellpalmer.com and @simko.bsky.social wrote an article last week (though published today) that analyzes the changes to the congressional district map in Texas, and particularly San Antonio.

Blocking new development doesn’t “preserve” your town—it drains your wallet. No new homes = no new taxpayers… but guess what does grow? School budgets, potholes, annual maintenance costs and legacy pension requirements. Fewer people to split that bill = higher taxes for you.

Please check out the thread and paper @jamesfeigenbaum.bsky.social, @maxwellpalmer.com, and I wrote below. We started this project a LONG time ago, and could never have anticipated exactly how timely it would be when it finally was published.

What happens when immigrants and their descendants enter the halls of power? Does family history matter for policy on a contentious topic like immigration? @benschneer.bsky.social, @maxwellpalmer.com, and I wrote a post for the LSE United States Centre about our forthcoming @qjeharvard.bsky.social

Really?

A truly depressing account of the enormous time, effort, & resources that go into building *anything* in blue cities. Can not be exaggerated how much this phenomenon is crippling blue politics in the US. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...

bill de blasio in park slope, ordering his breakfast sandwich as “mi sandwich especial” and quoting the onion headline omg www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Boston's Zoning Board of Appeals, in a 5-2 vote, rejected plans for 70-units of new housing, just 0.3mi to the MBTA's Andrew Square station, to replace a 2-story industrial building. US Congressman Stephen Lynch (D) sent an aide to read a letter opposing the development for lack of parking...

New: Johnston, R.I., has formally taken ownership of 31 acres of land through eminent domain as it moves forward with plans to build a new Town Hall and police and fire stations there, thwarting a proposal seeking to build affordable housing at the site. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/17/m...

Local politics is the best politics. www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

I am confident that this will be the best thing I read today.

This story underscores just how much communities are willing to spend to avoid building more housing. @maxwellpalmer.com and I find that communities buy land, sometimes to block affordable housing, with no plan or capacity to maintain/redevelop the property. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/01/05/m...

I just completed all 25 days of Advent of Code 2024! #AdventOfCode adventofcode.com

I just completed "Hoof It" - Day 10 - Advent of Code 2024 #AdventOfCode adventofcode.com/2024/day/10

I just completed "Red-Nosed Reports" - Day 2 - Advent of Code 2024 #AdventOfCode adventofcode.com/2024/day/2

The Thanksgiving stuffing waffle is the platonic ideal of leftovers.

Nothing says "climate emergency" like "policies to slow down addressing the climate emergency."

How much money is going to be spent from the "Intervenor Trust Fund" on lawsuits brought solely to delay clean energy infrastructure?

Great callout from @bostonglobe.com from our new report with The Boston Foundation:

Excited to see @maxwellpalmer.bsky.social and my research in this @bostonglobe.com op-ed this morning. The use of public money to actively block much-needed affordable housing is appalling, and shows the strength of opposition to new housing in Greater Boston. www.bostonglobe.com/2024/11/25/o...

The Boston Foundation released the 2024 Greater Boston Housing Report Card today, including a report on the potential use of publicly owned land for building housing by me and Katie Einstein. www.tbf.org/-/media/tbf/...

There's no better way to procrastinate than trying out a new task manager.

New Job: BU Political Science @bupolisci.bsky.social is hiring a tenure-track AP in Environmental Politics. academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/28327 #APSA2024 #polisky

Has anyone seen my HDMI adapter? Last seen in May. #FirstDayOfClass

Thanks @ispsyale.bsky.social for a great summary of my work with Ben Schneer and @cantstopkevin.bsky.social on partisan gerrymandering. isps.yale.edu/news/blog/20...

Excited to share that "A Partisan Solution to Partisan Gerrymandering: The Define–Combine Procedure" is now out at Political Analysis. With @cantstopkevin.bsky.social and Ben Schneer. t.co/sc5Tt5wpYq

Great NYT crossword theme today for #polisky. “Political pun-ditry.”

Happy to see Arlington, Lexington, and Brookline go beyond the minimum for new multi-family housing zoning. I hope other towns follow. www.bostonglobe.com/2023/11/16/o...

The NYT map of New York City neighborhoods is amazing, and the article on how neighborhoods are defined and changed is great too. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

How many hours of research time have political scientists lost in 2023 watching votes for Speaker of the House? How many more hours are we going to lose?

I am both happy and sad that I’m not teaching a course on Congress right now.

Sarah Binder is THE person to read on congressional procedure. This is a great short piece explaining the rules and history of vacating the Speaker, which, in my mind, make the chances of a shutdown even lower than I previously thought. goodauthority.org/news/what-do...