@cityobservatory.bsky.social
Original research and commentary on what matters for city success.
@markster3000.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialMy Cancellable Urbanist Take is that you actually can do this; you just have to build freeways that don't suck.
@robertscotthorton.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialPrinceton, McGill and Penn have all denied tenure to women who went on to win a Nobel Prize. It says quite a bit about tenure standards, and the treatment of women in academia. MAGA thinks that DEI gives them an unfair advantage. And that's farcical. www.forbes.com/sites/conorm...
@donmoyn.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialNew open-access paper: Direct File showed that govt could build its own user-centered platform without relying on contractors. But the product was killed after a DOGE lead spoke with the private tax preparation industry lobbying against a private option.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@jasonfurman.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialThis is what crowd out looks like.
@siegman.bizReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialTo figure out how many vehicles Americans actually want, and what types of vehicles, we should abolish minimum parking mandate nationwide. Because we lack a free market for automobile storage, we cannot determine what Americans would freely choose.
@nilo.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialAdd parking to another victim of american cost inflation.
@gravelinfluencer.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialThe mobility of children is simply not taken seriously or viewed as important. Something illustrative is how people will often say that kids "don't count" when you remind them that children and young teens are nondrivers who deserve the right to get around without cars.
@cityobservatory.bsky.socialThe Rose Quarter Freeway Widening Sucks . . . Sucks up all the money The largely un-funded $3.5 billion I-5 Rose Quarter Project will suck up all of the available revenue for transportation...
@cityobservatory.bsky.socialHighway engineers will call anything an auxiliary lane.
Orwellian freeway-widening – City Observatory share.google/b6J2rLxgAh8z...
@cityobservatory.bsky.socialAnd state DOTs will label all added lanes as "auxiliary" lanes. Under this rule, they can also concatenate a series of auxiliary lane projects and effectively widen an entire roadway with no environmental review.
@frontiertony.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialOne implication of "permitting reform" that transportation folks should be aware of: The bill eliminates environmental review entirely for repair or replacement projects in the "immediate vicinity" of existing infrastructure that do not increase capacity by >20%.
@bensh3.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialUnfunded inclusionary zoning mandates are ineffective, part 999: Philly's mandatory overlay zones haven't produced meaningfully more affordable units than the rest of the city, while decimating what should be a development hotspot and largely directing to outer areas
www.phila.gov/media/202608...
@streetsblogca.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialCEQA was created when new highways and highway expansion were destroying communities.
Prop 45 would roll out the red carpet for just the type of projects that we created CEQA to prevent.
@pushtheneedle.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialPermit timeline on SFH: 100 days Permit timeline for townhomes: 400 days MHA fees on SFHs: $0 MHA fees on townhomes: $40,000 each Cost of a new SFH: $1,800,000 Cost of a new townhome: $750,000 Seattle is so equitable
@jeffasher.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialNew York City has recorded the fewest murders through September since before 1960, Baltimore since 1962, Philadelphia and Detroit since 1964, Oakland since 1967, and New Orleans since 1969.
@holz-bau.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialnot only are US escalators slower, but they are way more expensive - and fail or are out of order at much higher rates than other countries
@cityobservatory.bsky.socialODOT estimates are supposed to include expected inflation (i.e. "year of expenditure" dollars). And if inflation is unexpectedly higher, the report should reflect that, rather than falsely claiming "on budget." ODOT always blames inflation. cityobservatory.org/ibr-falsely-...
@maxdubler.comReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialPeople mistakenly believe that unfunded inclusionary zoning is a way to tax developers and rich people to fund subsidized housing for the poor. It is not. In reality, it’s a tax on working and middle class renters. Actual rich people, who overwhelmingly own single family homes, pay nothing at all.
@yonahfreemark.comReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialHow much did overall fuel costs change from 2025 to 2026? It really depends on the state. Drivers in Oregon & Washington are spending <$40 *more* per month. Drivers in New Mexico & Wyoming are spending >$100 *more* per month. That's because of a combination of gas prices & driving distances.
@pushtheneedle.bsky.socialReposted by @cityobservatory.bsky.socialYou tax things you want less of. It’s why they tax cigarettes. To make it too expensive to bother with that bad habit It is a disgrace this logical fallacy is applied to housing. If you believe in IZ you don’t actually want more housing, you just want certain housing, which prevents other housing
