The first scholarly papers about AVs came out ten years ago. I'm re-reading many and sort of amazed, with a decade of distance, how the general focus if how to make cities work for AVs. Nearly none suggested we make a new technology (AVs) work for existing cities or known problems.

These international declines may leave a mark if they hold up through the application process. Without knowing what kinds of students cause the decline it’s hard to know yet.

Might I suggest this approach for universities at risk for funding losses. They should create and offer a named Peace Prize as an offering.

I don't have any particular interest in or defense of pennies, but with the last ever US pennies being minted today it is still goofy that the president just eliminated an entire physical unit of currency through a directive.

WH Press Sec. Leavitt: The Federal statistical system may have been permanently damaged.

Waymo now uses freeways for some rides: www.azfamily.com/2025/11/12/w...

This thread and paper gets at some of the dollar values of publishing, which are nuts. The incentives associated with academic publishing, from journals to authors to universities and beyond, need reform.

One thing I like about Dani Rodrik's approach is that he argues for a stronger role by the state in setting priorities and goals for the economy. I certainly think regulatory reform is needed, but the state is our mechanism for saying what kind of economy we want.

If you're ever upset about the state of US land use policy, just spend 30 seconds reading anything about the UK. Automated NIMBYism! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The race to churn out papers is a systemic problem. Early career scholars are desperate to get more papers to compete in the academic job market. This can make it hard for faculty mentors hard to reduce their output unless they shrink their lab (which removes opportunities from next generation).

For better or worse, home ownership is the main path to wealth building in the US. 50 year mortgages would diminish that. I’d expect NIMBYism to get worse, too, as restricting supply would be the main way to build any equity. Like it is now, but more extreme.

This is a good quick history of the American work week. Most people work more than 40 hours currently (53%). Gift link:

So phones and cars are only supposed to be charged to 80% for normal use. I feel like this is a Nigel Tufnell moment where 80% should just be 100% now, then. No one will complain if they get some extra battery life they weren’t expecting.

This is interesting and a reminder how the built environment reflects the economy in many instances. As the economy changes the built form will, too. Skyscrapers were a result of concurrent technological and economic changes. gift link

That football team already jettisoned one name people found offensive, so they know the drill when the time comes.

Understaffed FAA Recommends Pilots Just Go With Their Gut https://theonion.com/understaffed-faa-recommends-pilots-just-go-with-their-gut/

One thing extra frustrating about the TSA workers not getting paid during the shutdown is TSA is funded by a $5.60 fee per trip that passengers pay.

PHX is looking to create a zoning overlay near downtown to abide by state housing laws. One problem PHX has, is it never developed apartment blocks near downtown. It's all small SF homes, but these are exactly where denser development should occur for proximity and infrastructure reasons.

A good piece. One point of disagreement: “This bond debt is part of an American tradition of leaving public-service funding to private actors,” which magnifies inequality. The logical alternative is public actors, but that’s the whole issue - at what level? 1/2

The compilation album this song is on is an excellent collection of jangle pop by bands you probably haven't heard of.

For those who care about local finance issues, and their implications, this is a good story of interest. Gift link.

As a point in support, the Phoenix City Manager makes $415k, which is about 4.5x what the mayor makes. It’s choices, not available money.

I really enjoyed How Progress Ends. One reason I found it insightful is the author isn’t American, so US issues are discussed at arms length. Most notably with Silicon Valley issues, this is not at all hagiographic.

This is neat:

It's sort of wild that sub-4% mortgages aren't getting buyers. I do wonder if regions have gotten so large that we've partially moved beyond "drive until you qualify." The new development on the edges of Phoenix are really far from daily needs, for instance, though that's changing quickly. GL.

FIFA seems a bit freaked out about whether the World Cup will go on as planned, it seems. This is buying insurance.

Mesa, AZ recalled a city council member for not being MAGA enough as a Republican.

Seems worth remembering that there was a brief moment that Republicans wanted to change to constitution to allow foreign born people eligible for president. This was a Schwarzenegger idea, they had.

Does anyone know if any other city has created a cannabis manager job as weed has legalized? This raises interesting planning issues as it is a new land use, and the isn't evidence from typical planning studies. It is also caught in a virtue or vice trap. Are stores medical or places of "sin"?

I don't understand why AI firms, such as these in the story, are introducing their AI product, which is supposed to be revolutionary, as a manipulated device. Before establishing trust or reputation, they are torching the entire industry. It's like airlines trying to compete on safety. Gift link.

After decades of growth moving east, the Phoenix region is growing fastest to the west now. It’s been the case for a while that housing is far outpacing jobs and amenities on that side of the metro. Industry is catching up out there

A colleague has an amazing new book about Prince and the geography of music coming in February. ( @anildash.com you will find this of interest, @chrissteller.bsky.social you will find a #localangle)

The Amazing World Of Tomorrow

As Waymo gets busier in Phoenix the service gets worse. Wait times are way more inconsistent, and you don’t learn true wait until after booking, as one example.

The state needs to be able to try things that may seem silly or ineffective, just to see what works. Maybe this helps improve public engagement. I mean, more frequent service everywhere would be better, but they’re trying.

Drive-thrus should be banned, and drive-thru only businesses, especially coffee businesses, should be outlawed. These are bad neighbors and anti-urban. Gift Link.

I don’t know how accurate these specific trends are in this piece, but overall our relationship with work is changing. My view is that transport and city planning has not fully incorporated these changes into forecasts and scenarios. Core home/work/school/transport relationships need re-theorizing.

This is likely a real effect, where ATC are not showing up and stretched thin. The affected airports are regular choke points in the system. But, we can't rule out that this is punitive to punish people. This is one of many reasons governments (used to) value reputational benefits. Gift link.

The "clean CR" is supposed to expire on Nov 21, and this makes it seem that the earliest the shutdown will end is the week on Nov 17, ending the 21st, when funding runs out again. Correct?

“Cities are on relatively tight budgets,” says Peter Stone, a computer-science professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “And so far, robots aren’t making things less expensive.” Gift link.

Between the shootings and the crashes it is pretty clear ICE is making US roads much less safe for everybody. These are issues with interactions that local police have worked to improve for years. This is dangerous and nuts.

In LA ICE again started shooting when doing a traffic stop. That's the second ICE shooting in a few days in CA. These shootings are widespread. There is ample reason to be skeptical of ICE's claims about drivers trying to flee.

That this proposal is promoted as a savior of downtown is troubling, again. Downtown Mpls can succeed without an arena, and even with the ideas here arenas are bad neighbors. 1) Teams want to maximize revenue indoors, not nearby. 2) This will take at least a decade to build. Gift link.

ICE is doing traffic stops, and ICE doesn't know how to do traffic stops if they are walking in front of the vehicle stopped with guns drawn.

This is a good thread and suggests one of the ways that city planning is tied up with national politics and polarization. Planning is a political field.

I see Waymo is now doing A/B testing to see how far people are willing to walk for a pick up. Many firms offering taxi-type services don’t understand why people use taxis.

Lucid claims to be developing an automated vehicle for private ownership. Regardless of the merits of this claim, the idea that people would always and only choose to share an AV rather than own one has always seemed off to me. People generally like private space over shared, unless they save costs.

This seems bad on net as it will increase vehicle trips for deliveries, plus labor issues. This does seem a ripe area for study, though, in terms of what are the real effects. Gift link.