Who wants to join me for the 2025 “THE ENO CHALLENGE"? ➡️Hike ALL Eno River State Park trails from Thanksgiving-New Year's. It's EIGHT 2-hour hikes, each with great 1-on-1 conversation. In past years, I've hiked with mayors, journalists, builders, professors & students. DM me if you want a slot!

This is student housing. It was built FOR STUDENTS. #cottondistrict #DanCamp #MissState photos Jeff Kirton

It's the codes, stupid. Words of wisdom from incremental #affordable #housing developer Alli Quinlan.

This is incredible. via Francisco Gomez

Crimes Against Urbanity

Homelessness is a HOUSING problem. Homelessness is not a drug problem. Homelessness is not an economic problem. Homelessness is not a climate problem. HOMELESSNESS IS A HOUSING PROBLEM. When we don’t build enough homes, the price of housing goes up. via @zillow

Where there's a surplus of supply, rents are falling. Where there's a shortage of supply, rents are rising. It's 2025, and supply and demand still matter. __ Note that #NorthCarolina is the only state with three cities in Quadrant 1 (the success quadrant) #housing #affordability

There is a pro-housing left and there is an anti-housing left. If you want to WIN, subscribe to the former. @motherjones on @scottwiener & #yimby #housing https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/11/scott-wiener-defeated-californias-nimbys-can-he-fix-americas-housing-crisis/

When developers want to build affordability, housing at variable price points, and town centers, it's usually the planning processes that stop them. I'on developer @GeoffGraham tells the story. https://www.aaronlubeck.com/p/some-thoughts-on-the-democratization

There is a new proposal to knock down the Durham Athletic Park---the most famous minor league baseball stadium in the world--and replace it with a lawn. Let me speak for #baseball and movie fans everywhere: "NO". #BullDurham

One wonders: how did Haussmann get his variances for stormwater, stepbacks and parking? #paris #urbanism #design #tradition #architecture

Spokane has been killing it with housing reforms: eliminating parking minimums near transit increasing height maximums Reducing lot minimums THE RESULTS? The proof is in the puddin':

"Urban Sprawl" is an oxymoron.

A lovely modern take on the #MissingMiddleHousing graphic. This is what an equitable city looks like. via @DevaniAlkarim at mddl.com

For about ten years, I did nothing but historic restorations. None were harder--or more gratifying--than the restoration of this office building. At the time, its 2200sf footprint meant that it was The Smallest #LEED Platinum Building in the World. I served as the developer and contractor.

Consolidation and corporatization of development has transformed our cities. Local developments typically consist of < 4 units, while corporate developments often exceed 50. Since the 1990s, we have radically corporatized. This underscores the importance of defending localism.

Scream it from the mountains: Lot size correlates INVERSELY with affordability. #housing #reform -> #lowers #housing #costs

According to "The Effect of Minimum Parking Requirements on Housing Affordability", parking spaces can increase the cost of new homes up to $50,000 each. Dropping the mandate opens the door to more affordable housing and walkable neighborhoods. #HB369

This week, I continue to write on political philosophy, on Michael Polanyi's Moral Inversion: "The language of virtue is intentionally used to disguise and promote immoral or harmful acts." Read my latest, onHousing ➡️ https://loom.ly/9igX8e8 (This one is paywalled. Thanks for your support!)

Radical transformation is possible in short periods of time. G'dam, Gdansk! #10years #gdansk #poland 🇵🇱

4 plex stock plan legal by right in nearly every US neighborhood pre 1927 🇺🇸 Where did we go wrong? 🇺🇸

Urban townhomes of this size would be natural starter homes, but they have largely been legislated out of existence by urban planners, who habitually require: minimum lot sizes setbacks parking density maximums It's an equity issue: these rules kill urban starter homes.

Through its Missing Middle Subdivision State Law, Portland has built more than 1400 new homes in just 3 years. Credit to #YIMBY Governor @TinaKotek! Most of them are lower-cost than the neighborhoods where they are built.

I dig back into political classics to explain why homebuilding humbles the maker—and enrages the idle. Read my latest essay, onHousing: https://www.aaronlubeck.com/p/the-builder-and-the-blamer #deTocqueville #Nietzsche #MatthewCrawford #housing #politicalphilosophy

Kathleen A. Madden (1947-2025) I am saddened by the passing of Kathy Madden, a pioneer in the field of placemaking and co-founder of Project for Public Spaces. I had the opportunity to meet Kathy at the Better Cities Film Festival in Detroit in 2023. She will be missed. https://loom.ly/qWxC_VM

Much of our housing crisis can be understood through Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: We should focus on developing housing that not only fosters love and belonging but also promotes human flourishing at the highest levels. One idea to achieve this is... 👇

I am leading a panel on urban placemaking in Charlotte in November. The trains in North Carolina are just scarce enough that it doesn't work. I need a train from Durham to Charlotte that departs around 5:30 AM and arrives in Charlotte by 8:00 AM for the workday.

The best part of my crazy fall? Coaching the Riverside Varsity Girls Tennis Team. Last year, they beat a #ChapelHill school for the first time ever. This year, they made the 2nd round of playoffs and sent all four qualifying teams to regionals—#1 doubles nearly made states. stay tuned #states26!

American Main Street buildings are ubiquitous across the country and around the globe. But new ones have been almost completely eradicated in the last 50 years. Who is responsible for their disappearance? And how do we bring them back? From Classical Architecture Studio in #Charleston.

HOT TAKE: Yes, the Interstate System should have been built. No, those freeways should not have been built anywhere inside of already-existing American cities. via Segregation By Design

It's election season in Durham, North Carolina, and that means Class-A psychopathy and gaslighting are around the corner! Bookmark this to come back to it later. + If you SEE it, SAY it.

I got to review the new California Forever town plan. This will be the largest new town built in America in a century, and it's filled with creative design and placemaking. Read my latest onHousing: link via bio https://www.aaronlubeck.com/p/i-got-to-review-the-new-california

If you mandate B, you'll get a lot less A.

Sometimes, placemaking is A LOT simpler than you'd think. #design #architecture #theater #tacticalurbanism

Minimum lot size and #affordability inversely correlate?!? Who could have known?

The common denominator of beauty? USE ONE DAMN MATERIAL. This? 👇 ........................... or That? 👇

Affordability is more readily achieved through detached and 1- and 2-family homes than through large multi-family developments. Very few people understand this, resulting in unproductive policy discussions. Read my latest, onHousing. Link via bio

We are doing it wrong. Power to the People > Power to the State

Shutters that don't fit the window are one of the easiest ways to identify whether or not a trained professional worked on the design.

American cities are reserved for single-family homes. #Democrats want to be relevant? ☝️☝️☝️ FIX THIS ☝️☝️☝️ via @nytimes

Parking requirements + car culture = URBICIDE.

There is no greater joy than taking stewardship of a thing that came before you, and preparing it for the generations that come after. #northcarolina #historicpreservation #placemaking #architecture

This is the way. #pocketneighborhoods #cottagecourts #intentionalcommunity

Sketch for a 2-bedroom home from the Durham Small Lot Collection. Developed in collaboration with Allison Ramsey Architects.

Sometimes, infill construction can make a neighborhood look MORE like itself. #architecture #traditional #design #infill #incrementaldevelopment

I am honored to be one of the keynotes at the Urban Guild's Annual Summit in Chattanooga. These are the best urban designers in the world. The Guild is growing, the roster of speakers is filled with heavy hitters, and I am thrilled to be a part of it. https://www.urbanguild.org/guild-summit

WE ARE DOING IT WRONG! 1920 vs 2020

Affordable housing looks like A, not B. Builders, Carpenters, Plumbers > Bankers, Lawyers, Consultants

North Carolina's Zoning Code Consultants AND The North Carolina State Legislature