Especially great to talk with @yimbylaura.bsky.social, Berkeley Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, KQED's Adhiti Bandlamudi, and CA State Senator @scottwiener.bsky.social about politics and media in the fight to make cities more affordable, sustainable, safe, and just.

As a disabled parent, I am simply begging NIMBYs to stop trying to "help" me by making it more expensive to live in transit oriented neighborhoods by blocking housing.

🎉 LOBBY DAY WRAPPED 🎉 ✅ 22 advocates 🏛️ 38 legislator meetings 💬 47 offices contacted 🏙️ 28 Chicagoland lawmakers 💼 12 legislative leaders: 🔹 10 House Leaders 🔹 2 Senate Leaders 🌆 1 Cook County President 🏛️ 1 Governor 📄 Legislative wins: ➕ 3 new co-sponsors for HB 1813 ➕ 3 new co-sponsors for HB 1814

I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about how the "community benefits" negotiation game with housing developers sure does rhyme with the Trump Tariff Negotiation Process, and an amazing person who wanted to remain anonymous sent me this GEM of a draft document from SF's Planning Department...

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Why is That YIMBY Party 1970s themed? Because the median home price in California back then was $41,000 and a bag of magic beans. onecau.se/_9crf91

"If a politician won’t say their position in public, they won’t vote for it in public either." inpractice.yimbyaction.org/p/politician...

Big props to Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire for selecting her as chair of the housing committee, breaking the streak of housing champions in that seat. Masterful gambit, sir.

Great article by @yimbylaura.bsky.social on how discretionary approval slows down and increases the cost of housing as developers buy out wealthy, well-connected residents at great expense. Permitting should be predictable, uniform, and boring! inpractice.yimbyaction.org/p/what-trump...

Join us for our inaugural event in this exclusive series on April 16th in San Francisco, featuring Toni Atkins in conversation with YIMBY Action Executive Director @yimbylaura.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/finding-a-...

Like everyone, I'm reading Abundance and having my takes: "Little by little, we stitched together a gigantic wet blanket that continues to hold back housing production. It’s easy to blame liberals, but like all of our worst problems, it was bipartisan." inpractice.yimbyaction.org/p/abundance-...

I'm getting on the substack bandwagon! One of the best/worst examples of how a law *designed* to be a nightmare to implement is the CA Housing Element system. Hopefully this convinces states considering adopting a "fair share" law that there be dragons! inpractice.yimbyaction.org/p/the-way-ca...

@sfacc.bsky.social what's the latest with the bleeding husky dog loose in the Castro? Did you manage to catch him?

My landlord (illegally) replaced our windows with new ones that are so so so much safer. They even have built-in child safety locks! "Preservationists" is a generous term for people who want to control everyone around them at any expense.

Happy Hanukkah!

We're having a very Merry Muni Christmas, taking the bus to the grandparents! Reminder: public transportation is way better for families than free parking!

It is at this special time of year when we remember to tell the stranger to get out and stay out.

New study from Colorado shows that Denver right-sizing our parking could be a boon to solving our housing shortage. www.sightline.org/2024/12/10/p...

About to speak at the Council for State Governments on the housing shortage, and dropping our latest report: "Pro-housing State Lawmakers Have a 95% Re-Election Rate" It will be available online Monday!

Who should I follow here in YIMBY and urbanism?

It's that magical time of year when Americans remind themselves that they actually do love missing middle housing. Obviously, people are willing to pay a premium for dense, vibrant, walkable, decorative communities!