I can’t believe I’m old enough to write this but here it is! Communities need to demand better from corporations. #dollargeneral #dollarstores #urbanplanning #buffalo #singleuseplastic open.substack.com/pub/bernicer...

Tales of a small scale developer: Construction prices (especially plumbing & HVAC) have nearly doubled since Covid. I’m feeling thankful for a copper line that someone installed 20 years ago because it’s saving me $10k off a water line but it’s still nearly $35k to dig, connect, test! 😭

PREMIERE REMINDER: Please plan to tune in tmw, Fri, April 17th, at 2 pm Eastern for a chat with Ben Wolf, Director of the new Changing Lanes documentary, which chronicles a fascinating street-transformation story in New York that offers inspiring lessons for cities everywhere. youtu.be/XE9CW_3IWFc

The Dutch recommend bike paths be smooth, clear of obstructions, and a minimum of 230cm (7.5') for 1-way & 400cm (13') for 2-way paths. Because conflicts inevitably happen on narrower paths. And because we love to travel together with other people. 🚲❤️ Jaarbeursplein, Utrecht

“Mikula took aim at the single-most prevalent and least justifiable regulation in American zoning codes: the minimum lot size…. Mikula’s approach has outsized importance because it will be the first time U.S. voters are on record about a statewide zoning rule.” rangeworks.co/news/reinven...

YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Pls tune in today, Sat, April 4th, at 2 pm Eastern for an in-depth conversation with Tom Flood, Grant Ennis, and Brent Toderian about their new collaborative effort, the @urbantruth.bsky.social delivering the truth about cities in an age of disinformation youtu.be/ptHuub8NViw

This!

"To women around the world on women’s month Those who are thriving and those who are merely surviving Those who are tired and those who run carefree You are seen." Melissa takes one last moment to honour the visibile and invisible actions of women everywhere. modacitycreative.com/2026/03/31/y...

Beat rising gas prices with this one weird trick.

“Monte Anderson divides large houses into multiple homes. He turned an old Ace Hardware into a market. He builds housing in what used to be grocery store parking lots. These are not miracles so much as they are replicable moves.” open.substack.com/pub/thehappy...

“The good ideas are the easy part… it’s how you actually make the good ideas happen that differentiates the practitioners that are actually doing something useful and those that aren’t.” @brenttoderian.bsky.social 💓

Listening to @brenttoderian.bsky.social is inspiring me, as a trained urban planner but working in buildings / preservation, to stay focused and keep my eye on the prize. Working in Buffalo has deep challenges but is worth investing love and time into. open.spotify.com/episode/7k8T...

Infill small scale development talk ! open.spotify.com/episode/70ZN...

Time to meet your movement! The 2025 Strong Towns National Gathering has a packed schedule of speakers who share your vision. Here’s one: Jon Jon Wesolowski! Get your tickets before they’re gone! buff.ly/FpjKP7U

Curious on knowing more about the buffalo green code? Tomorrow there’s a virtual talk with Chris Hawley and I from 12-1pm EST. 🔗 Register now: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... #BuffaloGreenCode #UrbanPlanning #LunchAndLearn #BuffaloNY

You know I love a good Venn Diagram. Been seeing this one around lately. Seems to sum up the times.

Let’s pay the bills using good urbanism. open.substack.com/pub/bernicer...

American housing policy in four words: Not. One. Homeless. Automobile.

“Copenhagen reported that 62% of its residents are now commuting to work or school by bike — an increase from 52% in 2015 & 36% in 2012, when the City Council launched a 14-year-plan to improve the quality, safety & comfort of cycling.” #Copenhagen chose. They keep choosing even better every year.

Making the case for Buffalo: Buffalo Bills Edition substack.com/home/post/p-...

Gotta say the Dutch really snapped naming their bike/pedestrian safety movement “Stop de Kindermood” (stop the child murder) instead of something more polite like Vision Zero.

Have you read this important book yet? “The 15-Minute City” by @carlosmorenofr.bsky.social building on his groundbreaking work advising Paris and its inspirational Mayor @annehidalgo.bsky.social. Honoured to be on the back cover with other passionate urbanists. #UrbanismBookClub

I am not praising myself when I say this but using it as a reminder: instead of buying a boxset online via Amazon or b&n, I took the time to call my local bookstore. A human picked up, it took 3 min to order and will be here in a few days. Take the extra five minutes of time to SHOP LOCAL.

Hear my perspective about Niagara Falls looking for developers for over a dozen historic buildings. What an opportunity for local ownership and small businesses! substack.com/@berniceradl...

Wow, we have an entire Main St. for sale in Niagara Falls and locally owned, small scale developers are the answer. See details here. open.substack.com/pub/bernicer...

Highly recommended.

Small scale developers need support - not just $$ but a “hug” of support as they put their limited money & time they have into a risky situation. It’s why we (NEVO) wrote a workbook & work with communities to build the ecosystem. Here is a success in Lafayette! Gigi and her hubby saved this cutie. 🩷

Buffalo is launching a strong towns chapter - with me leading the effort. any advice / words of wisdom you want to give on start up? Organizing?

Remember: it’s all local now. Everything you are passionate about at the national level has a local analog that needs your attention. The time and effort you put into making your place stronger and more prosperous will make a huge difference.

Our Neighborhood Evolutions (NEVO) contract in Lafayette Louisiana has been renewed for a third year! This deep dive focuses on helping local owners with their projects - workscopes, financing, bank packages, construction and so much more. ✨

Last year our NEVO team helped a couple buy an old vacant golf course. We laid out new parcels w/ engineer and architect. We assisted w/ construction budgets, bank financing, insurance, etc. SO, if an old vacant golf course or big box store exists in your community, reach out. We can help. 🩵

If you’ve got an old mall dying in your community, reach out to me. Our NEVO team has been deep diving into these spaces - reviewing leases, outlining new layouts and construction expansion that makes financial sense AND embraces affordable spaces for locals.

Buffalo is struggling a bit downtown due to post COVID trends and not enough residential. We started a strong towns chapter this week! Our group is looking for downtown plans in midsized cities that EXCITE. Give me recs?

RIP TikTok. The ultimate example of the olds not getting it. It is especially ironic that we're freaking out about a foreign owned social network when we're letting untrustworthy figures straight through the door over here

Buffalo has yet to join the strong towns world but NO LONGER! We are kicking off the new year right so we can fight harder.

Instead of just electrifying the status quo, Dutch cities’ new Zero-Emission Zones include incentives to shift freight and service transport to cargo bike, with their infrastructure making it safe and time-competitive—creating a win-win for entrepreneurs and for cities. zagdaily.com/places/the-n...

Remember this picture, & others like it, every time you hear someone in your city say "we're not Amsterdam." This was #Amsterdam in the 1970s. Many of the cities we admire made better choices regarding cars in the past. and are still making better choices today. Better choices instead of excuses.

Two challenges: 1. Identify the most important urbanists & city-builders who aren’t on Bluesky yet. Share them in a reply or quote post. 2. All of you who see those urbanists on other platforms, reach out to them there and, in a positive and constructive way, encourage them to give Bluesky a try.

“According to the finance ministry’s calculations, the cost to society of trips by car is close to one euro/km. On the other hand, every km travelled by bike yields societal gains of 60 euro cents thanks to the health benefits of cycling, transport efficiency gains, & lower infrastructure spending.”

"Adding highway lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity." - Lewis Mumford in 1955. We’ve known this for a LONG time, but we’ve put massive energy, money, space, and time into pretending we don’t know it. #TheTRUTHaboutTraffic #InducedDemand #lawofcongestion

You know I love to give my Black Friday 5am parking lot updates for my urbanist friends! 5:45am at a Kohls - in a suburb outside Buffalo, Ny.

ICYMI: I have a new ride-along video for y'all on the Channel. Click on this link: youtu.be/vcbGn8qzHYQ to see the full ride with Amanda as we explore Amsterdam on her "new" bike. Cheers! John 😀

In the land of incremental small scale development, we’ve been doing these one on one sessions on site with owners and it’s been FUN. We talk zoning, renovation, structural concerns and financing and leave them with 1-3 important next steps to keep their project moving. @strongtowns.bsky.social

In Copenhagen, the pedestrian, cycling, and driving networks are so well integrated. It's a perfect system, bikes 3" up from cars, peds 3" up from bikes. Signals for everyone, which everyone behaves because the system works so well for everyone. An efficient, intelligent, and sociable dance. A joy.

If you want to see this small scale development girlies heart explode … show me a yellow vintage kitchen in a vacant little house that is asking for TLC. 💛💛💛

Trip 3 in #Lafayette , Louisiana is complete! This year we partnered w/ LEDA to do workshops on financing, design / form and a deep dive into due diligence. We combined this w/ a full day of one on ones with projects / people to help them renovate or build new. #deepwork #smallscaledevelopment