Wild times in Marquette, where this otherworldly portal leads to the Michigan Land Bank Association’s summit, with Godfather @dan-kildee.bsky.social as the keynote.

“Some still insist ‘downtowns will never attract kids and shouldn’t try.’ Then they design downtown to virtually repel kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Vancouver proves the opposite can be true...” Canadians @johnlorinc.bsky.social & @brenttoderian.bsky.social in this Cali article!

AKA partly why 9,000 college graduates leave the state of Michigan on an annual basis.

Truly the best place ever to have cut my teeth as a local elected. Libraries serve the public in so many ways because of course institutions of learning are institutions of DOING. Thank you, @aadl.org!

The Song Foundation convenes grantees every other year for what we call, “The Joy Report.” Instead of requiring elaborate reports, we invite grantees to a day of rest, reflection, and sharing with nonprofit leaders. This is what philanthropic partnership can look like with respect and care.

So proud of my friend Paul Fleming’s book! Added it to our office library, a fraction of the thousands of books we have at home. pjfleming.com/imaginebetter

Did a thing here in my low-density city of Ann Arbor. Thanks for coming out and hearing me speak to how being neighborly can be anti-racist work, and how when we oppose density we oppose people we should know and care about.

Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation’s annual meeting with attendees telling it like it is, then my first State Land Bank Authority meeting in Lansing with a stop for Hmong sausages and Nepalese momo to bring back to Ann Arbor. Housing, housing, housing.

It was a good day in Detroit with solid policy nerds. So proud to have Abundant Housing Michigan featured as a Changemaker. And Kudos to Anika Goss for speaking to housing challenges tribal nations face in this state. She’s why I’m a Detroit Future City fangirl. And these slides from Up For Growth!🔥

Important new research on the impact of zoning on the housing market. Minimum lot size requirements have two main effects: they increase housing costs and contribute to racial segregation. This was somewhat known to housing folks, but this paper matters because it uses advanced methods and data

The coalition behind Measure ULA just released a report attacking UCLA research on the tax. They’re claiming it “debunks” the research. It doesn’t even come close. 🧵

This lie is rampant in Ann Arbor as well, in the most educated city in America. We are the Spider-Man Pointing Meme. #a2council

The Smithsonian, according to former senior historian and curator David C. Ward, is “the greatest museum in the world.” That’s why he sees the massive changes sought by the Trump administration as “demoralizing” and “farcical.”

My crush on Durham continues. www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke...

The Abundance Conference’s cast of characters was similar to my 30th high school reunion. Nerds were alright, jocks less so, but we showed up because we have ideas about who we were, who we’ve become, & what the future can be like if we live to our next reunion. Off to NMAAHC to reset and remember.

Sharing how proud I am of #a2council on housing and the heavy lift ahead. Policy nerds unite! Abundance is the way!

Flint! Foundation visit as we explore more grant investments in the area with philanthropic partners. Totally recommend the fried catfish and spaghetti!

Furthering urban planning dreams without actually getting another graduate degree. I told my kids this means I get to go to even more meetings with the nerdiest of nerds.

One important caveat: Corporations don't own single-family homes in any significant numbers. With the exception of a couple of markets, namely Atlanta and Memphis, the "investors" buying homes to rent are mom-and-pop landlords. It's a fake news problem

I scared the Uber driver when I yelled, “OMG, the towers!” So I biked back and paid my respect to Senakw. Later stopped by Lelem, also built by First Nations, with housing above retail, splash park, grocery, pharmacy, bistro, dentist, and Popeye’s. Housing and fried chicken happiness.

Vancouver’s downtown library just celebrated its 30th anniversary and is a testament to a city council’s vision. Staff told me it would never be built today. Green roof, performance spaces, retail shops with an updated children’s area coming this year. Inspiration for Ann Arbor. @aadl.org #a2council

Mark Carney calls on drag queens at Vancouver Pride to serve Canada like they did during the war.

Props AB passed but it took 13 years since losing the @aadl.org bond & 12 years to build housing at Veridian. Meanwhile, median home costs increased 4x inflation, rents up 2.5x inflation. Ann Arbor NIMBYs punish current and future generations with their cynicism. Keep rejecting that fear! #a2council

This is a major reason why we are facing the Silver Tsunami in my city without any stair-free new homes built after early 1970s

Voted at my @aadl.org library branch in support of Ann Arbor Props A&B. Get to it, friends! #a2council

Find myself thinking about these words by Kurt Vonnegut: ...the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.

Keagan is a 4th grader and neighbor whose Mom walked her through Props A & B. She sent out these postcards. #a2council

I asked friends, fellow former @aadl.org Trustees, and social workers to help me send postcards in support of Props AB. They in turn recruited a geriatrician fresh off of a 16 hour day, their kids, and a werewolf. Awooooooo! #a2council

Thrilled to see Ann Arbor’s teachers in support of a new downtown library with housing. Teachers partner with the @aadl.org all the time, from student art exhibits to curriculum development. Let’s help this partnership grow. Vote Yes on Props A & B! #a2council

Thank you, @umfordschool.bsky.social for inviting me to speak with HBCU students who aspire to work in the public sector. I’m inspired and grateful for your contributions as young leaders!

Best booth at the Ann Arbor Art Fair! Thanks @avalonhousing.bsky.social for showcasing Dunbar Towers and @moreneighborsa2.org! #a2council

AADL staff picked some of their favorite My Dream Library submissions and sent along some words about why they loved those designs the best! See what they had to say ⬇️

More on library and city dreams. #a2council

Who would @aadl.org partner with to build housing? While I was on the AADL board, we had discussions with Glacier Hills. Senior living above a library, across from transit, closer to the Big House, and close to 3 hospital systems is the dream. Their ownership changed so we did a needs assessment.

Who would @aadl.org partner with to build housing? While I was on the AADL board, we had discussions with Glacier Hills. Senior living above a library, across from transit, closer to the Big House, and close to 3 hospital systems is the dream. Their ownership changed so we did a needs assessment.

Boulder and Denver, saying what needs to be said.

Boulder’s public library, with a half pipe underneath, green space, outdoor features, cafe, and theater with housing nearby. This can be us, Ann Arbor. Vote Yes on Props A & B. #a2Council

Boulder pedestrian mall since 1977, with water features. Ann Arbor could have had a splash pad, hotel, city revenue, and housing on top of a parking deck in 2018. Instead we got a NIMBY leader smoking a bong during a committee meeting, insisting the love economy would pay for a park.#a2council

Fifty years since the end of the Vietnam War and a draft dodger sends us into war. We’ve learned nothing.

Great start to the @mmlfoundation.org board retreat, as I’m voted in as Vice Chair followed up by trustees sharing gifts from their municipalities. Highlights include sour cream pound cake in remembrance of the Great Migration and a children’s book on Detroit.

About 300 students in Ann Arbor Public Schools were homeless last year, roughly the same number of children at Angell Elementary School. Homelessness and housing supply are directly correlated. #a2council www.mlive.com/news/ann-arb...

Rezoning for market rate housing to share the same benefits single family homeowners have…mainly to have housing in this lifetime. #a2council

Excellent read as I learn more about MA’s Anti-Snob Zoning Act of 1969, requiring municipalities to build their fair share of afforable housing if less than 10% of their housing stock is affordable. By golly indeed. tcf.org/content/repo...

Good morning, Detroit! #theShepherdDetroit

This guy and his mohawk says vote yes to allow for the top of a parking deck to become housing AND a library. A true, Midwest twofer. #a2council

At the ICE raid and subsequent community resistance in Paramount, California this morning, this skater kid ate dozens of munitions from Border Patrol agents, walked away slowly and flipped them off.

Thanks to Global Detroit and the Detroit Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs for convening the national Welcoming Interactive Conference. So encouraging to meet fellow funders in this space.

My parents relied on WIC to feed me and my little sister as they worked multiple jobs, learned English, and took turns going to college. Currently, WIC serves only 51% of eligible participants. Cuts as high food costs persists is cruel. It is not the savings Americans want or need.

Loving the energy on the @abundanthousingmi.bsky.social board and its dreams for Michigan’s future. Thanks @thenimbee.bsky.social for sending goodies in time for our reception!

We are officially on the lookout for an Executive Director to lead the day-to-day charge for housing abundance here in the Great Lakes State! Official job description can be found on our website here: abundanthousingmi.wordpress.com/2025/05/06/a...