Barb Van Kerkhove
@bvankerk.bsky.social
đ€ 36
đ„ 51
đ 23
politics watcher, loves the outdoors, locavore foodie, trying to be the change
California is addressing at least some of the housing crisis with ADUs. It took the state at least a decade to gradually change its laws to encourage their development. Now CBS Sunday Morning has a story on ADUs!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1UD...
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ADUs: A solution to housing in your own backyard
YouTube video by CBS Sunday Morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1UDf_xJzMc&t=4s
3 days ago
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Really enjoying exploring the Housing Data App,
housingdata.app
, developed by Sid Kapur,
@sid-kap.bsky.social
. The charts comparing permits across cities and places over time are very informative! I'm sharing a clarification question or two I have, so others can see Sid's answers.
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Housing Data
https://housingdata.app/
4 days ago
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Brent Toderian
11 days ago
They spend millions to make sure you stay car dependent, and to make sure you think thatâs normal. So normal in fact, that youâll actually fight to protect that dependency, in the name of âfreedom.â Their profit depends on it.
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And be sure to read the comments! Lot's there positive (festivals, music, parks, Lake Ontario) and not-so-positive (mainly weather, the name of our region).
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2 months ago
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Rachel Barnhart
2 months ago
This is good. The city and county should review our processes as well.
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Mamdani halts NYC's 'predatory' private tax lien sale process
The mayor is ordering a six-month suspension in order to review the controversial system and add homeowner protections.
https://gothamist.com/news/mamdani-halts-nycs-predatory-private-tax-lien-sale-process
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Rachel Barnhart
2 months ago
This isnât in the story but 9 of the townhouses will have ADUs owners can rent out if they choose. Fascinating.
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Neighbor group seeks to build townhouses on remaining Inner Loop lot
The half-acre lot at 125 Charlotte St. was one of the first shovel-ready parcels the city offered up after tearing out and filling the eastern leg of the sunken highway.
https://www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2026-03-17/neighbor-group-seeks-to-build-townhouses-on-remaining-inner-loop-lot
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Thank you,
@cityofrochester.bsky.social
, for (finally) plowing the South Ave sidewalk under I-490. Now people can safely walk to/from the South Wedge & downtown
#ROC
. And thank you to the City staffer in the downtown sidewalk plow I spoke with last Tues am. You made it happen that day & yesterday!
3 months ago
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The Trump administration needs to be held accountable for this. AND so do AI companies. Just another reason, among many, to say NO to AI.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
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âThey Couldnât Break Meâ: A Protester, the White House and a Doctored Photo
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/us/politics/nekima-levy-armstrong-minnesota-protest.html
4 months ago
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Hey,
#ROC
. Check this out.
4 months ago
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reposted by
Barb Van Kerkhove
The Atlantic
4 months ago
The Legacy Museum, which is âperhaps the closest thing America has to a national slavery museum,â is free from government control and displays the âhistory that the Trump administration aims to de-emphasizeâif not outright erase,â
@clintsmithiii.bsky.social
argues.
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The Power of Private Museums
The Equal Justice Initiativeâs historical sites in Montgomery, Alabama, show whatâs possible when history isnât subject to federal funding cuts or executive orders.
https://bit.ly/4jQBBL1
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reposted by
Barb Van Kerkhove
Brent Toderian
5 months ago
Sadly the current right-wing coalition government in Finland has foolishly cut the funding for the nationâs âHousing Firstâ success story, and homelessness is predictably now on the rise again. That just reinforces the fact that such programs work, if lazy political ideology doesnât get in the way.
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Homelessness on the Rise in Finland - Y-SÀÀtiö
Asunnottomien ihmisten mÀÀrÀ on kÀÀntynyt kasvuun. Nyt asunnottomien mÀÀrÀ kasvoi HelsingissÀ, vaikka asunnottomia asutettiin vuoden aikana vaikuttava mÀÀrÀ.
https://ysaatio.fi/en/news/homelessness-on-the-rise-in-finland/
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Barb Van Kerkhove
NBC News
11 months ago
Legislation making its way to President Trumpâs desk stands to have wide-ranging effects on the economy â bolstering tax benefits for businesses, higher-income households while threatening health insurance for millions of Americans. More:
nbcnews.app.link/lE2aQBZdIUb
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reposted by
Barb Van Kerkhove
M. Nolan Gray đ„
12 months ago
It's impossible to make sense of American zoning, historically or today, without understanding that it has almost nothing to do with separating residential and classic nuisance. It's a mechanism of segregation, that's it.
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Fall leaves
about 1 year ago
Three more in comments.
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Nate Blouin
about 1 year ago
Federal officials should be immediately decrying this. Full stop. Enough of the "we're working behind the scenes" crap. Give people some confidence that you're doing the right thing.
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reposted by
Barb Van Kerkhove
Peter Norton
about 1 year ago
The experts on walking are the walkers. On February 23, 1954, Rochester banned jaywalking. As an experienced walker, Sally Otis had something to say on the subject.
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Welcome walkers, wheelchair users, and bicyclists.
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about 1 year ago
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Peter Norton
about 1 year ago
Walking did not merely decline. It was deterred. When authorities were drafting plans for Rochesterâs downtown expressways, few Rochesterians ever drove downtown. The great majority rode streetcars and buses â and walked.
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More on Rochester transportation history.
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about 1 year ago
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We can learn from transportation history.
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about 1 year ago
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Brent Toderian
about 1 year ago
âWe found thereâs this perfect one-to-one relationship. If a city increased its road capacity by 10% then driving in that city went up by 10%.â Still one of the best articles on why building bigger roads leads to more driving. Understanding
#InducedDemand
Via
@wired.com
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What's Up With That: Building Bigger Roads Actually Makes Traffic Worse
The concept is called induced demand, which is economist-speak for when increasing the supply of something (like roads) makes people want that thing even more. Though some traffic engineers made note ...
https://www.wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-traffic-induced-demand/
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Thanks for printing
@economist.com
and for bringing it to my attention
@hcrichardson.bsky.social
, but I really don't want to wait that long.
about 1 year ago
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Read how the NY Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act makes both economic and environmental sense. Pass it this session!
www.beyondplastics.org/publications...
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REPORT: Projected Economic Benefits of the NY Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act â Beyond Plastics - Working To End Single-Use Plastic Pollution
New report from Beyond Plastics estimates roughly $1.3 billion in savings over 10 years after passing key packaging reduction legislation in NYS.
https://www.beyondplastics.org/publications/prria
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Barb Van Kerkhove
Urban Institute
about 1 year ago
Is owning a home less valuable than
#renting
? In an Urban Wire post, Urban researchers offer a method for more accurately comparing the value of renting versus owning a home that
#policymakers
can use to address systemic barriers to
#homeownership
.
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Measuring the True Value of Renting versus Owning a Home
Accounting for differences in property and neighborhood characteristics, the value of homeownership relative to renting is greater than what existing methods suggest.
https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/measuring-true-value-renting-versus-owning-home?utm_source=urban_social&utm_medium={SOCIAL_NETWORK}&utm_campaign=renting_vs_owning&utm_term=marketing_calendar&utm_content=housing
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Senator Rachel May
about 1 year ago
Weâre always thinking of innovative ways to address the lack and cost of housing.
@alexbores.bsky.social
and I sponsor the Land Value Tax Bill (S1131), which we discussed on Capitol Pressroom. This would shift the tax burden from buildings to land, spurring housing development and economic growth.
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Blue sky through budding trees, so we can take a break and breathe.
about 1 year ago
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Another example of the Trump administration supporting corporate profit on the backs of the poor and working class.
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about 1 year ago
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Public Citizen
about 1 year ago
Direct File makes it free and easy for millions of Americans to file their taxes. Getting rid of this popular program makes zero sense. Trump's admin is taking money out of the pockets of working people and giving it away to their Big Business and tech bro buddies.
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Barb Van Kerkhove
The Atlantic
about 1 year ago
Through new policies and aggressive cuts, the Trump administration is taking steps that will encourage more pollution while muffling the science that shows its harms. The very air that Americans breathe will likely become less safe,
@zoeschlanger.bsky.social
reports:
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Breathing in America Is Going to Get More Dangerous
A third of Americans still breathe unhealthy air after decades of improvementsâwhich the Trump administration wants to roll back.
https://bit.ly/4jp5iBa
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reposted by
Barb Van Kerkhove
Reconnect Rochester
about 1 year ago
Join us on Thursday to learn about the grassroots effort for frequent, reliable, and accessible public transportation as well as safe streets for walking and biking all across New York!
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#ROC
shows up for
#HandsOff
!
#HandsOffDemocracy
#HandsOffCFPB
#HandsOffImmigramts
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Barb Van Kerkhove
Brent Toderian
about 1 year ago
Half of business owners on this Toronto street estimated that more than 25% of their customers arrived by car. In fact, it was 4%. And the % of customers who who walked or cycled? 72%. Retailers routinely overestimate the # of âcar customers.â Via
@carltonreid.com
www.forbes.com/sites/carlto...
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reposted by
Barb Van Kerkhove
Patrick S. Tomlinson
over 1 year ago
Vaccines are why 1 of every 4 of us didn't die in infancy. Fluoride is why most of us keep our teeth into old age. The ACA is why 21 million of us can see a doctor. The FDIC is why we don't lose our life savings. And a handful of GOP billionaires want to take it all away.
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Stop single use plastics.
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over 1 year ago
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đ€š Agreement on facts is much harder to find these days.
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over 1 year ago
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Barb Van Kerkhove
Damon Beres
over 1 year ago
On climate debt: "Indebtedness breeds austerity, and if countries are unable to shield themselves from the effects of climate change and to transition away from fossil fuels, then that crisis deepens into an issue of global security."
@zoeschlanger.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...
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Climate Diplomacyâs $300 Billion Failure
Climate negotiations at COP29 ended in a deal that mostly showed how far the world is from facing climate changeâs real dangers.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2024/11/cop-climate-baku-outcome-finance/680789/?gift=iWa_iB9lkw4UuiWbIbrWGXlDJ1bxht-pvOiFywXiusU&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
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Hope we can soon edit out posts in
@bsky.app
.
over 1 year ago
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Interesting that I'm reading and posting about this on
#Bluesky
. I still have an X account but I rarely go on it anymore.
add a skeleton here at some point
over 1 year ago
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you reached the end!!
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