@jacksonp42.bsky.social
Urban Planner (by education, somewhat by employment). YIMBY. Humanist. Fan of science, nature, and science fiction. Unfortunately unable to look away from the train wreck that is American politics. Posted opinions my own unless otherwise indicated.
This is new: boomer on boomer and hit-and-run. Demographics ensure that we will be seeing a lot more of it lloydalter.substack.com/p/we-may-soo...
We may soon have 70 million boomers too old to drive, too car-dependent to stop.
As the baby boomer bubble pushes into its eighties, we are driving into a demographic wall.
lloydalter.substack.com
KSBW Action News 8@ksbw.bsky.social · 2h agoWatsonville police arrested a 78-year-old woman after an 80-year-old pedestrian suffered serious injuries in a hit-and-run crash. Read more: https://www.ksbw.com/article/watsonville-hit-and-run-pedestrian-injured/73982484
@astrokatie.com I thought you might appreciate this external view of the hotel, Katie. The pods are the rooms, featured in the previous animation. Cheers. #blender #scifi #sciart
⭐ ᗰᗩᖇᛕ ᗩ. ǤᗩᖇᒪIᑕᛕ ⭐@markgarlick.com · 3d agoMore fun with my orbital space hotel. Made in #blender. FUN only. Not a serious concept. The barrel-shaped pods are the living quarters. They're detachable in case of damage to the underlying ring. (Although, not sure how much help that will be!) #sciart #spaceart #scifi
Artwork commissioned by Rod Pyle, Editor-in-Chief of Ad Astra, the magazine of the National Space Society. It shows a bunch of tourists on Mars. Thank you, Rod. @isaac-arthur.bsky.social #blender #sciart #scifi
My latest drone video is some footage of the Dutch city of Utrecht in the summer youtu.be/O1bKW1XwSPA
Spend a summer day in Utrecht, Netherlands. | 4K Drone Video
YouTube video by Hackney Cyclist
youtu.be
"Among the more recent additions to the storage universe are car condos... They frequently include what are known in the industry as mezzanines, upper levels outfitted like living spaces. The fanciest car condos sell for well over a million dollars." 😵💫
Bill Lindeke@blindeke.bsky.social · 3h agoImportant questions to be asked here www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Was too young to remember this but yep… la.streetsblog.org/2014/07/11/c...
Cedillo Kills Approved North Figueroa Bike Lanes Citing "Safety" Reasons - Streetsblog Los Angeles
As a candidate, Gil Cedillo pledged his support for the approved road diet bike lanes on North Figueroa Street. Once elected, Los Angeles City Councilmember Cedillo maintained that he was listening to...
la.streetsblog.org
Chris@chrisbybikes.bsky.social · 5h agoA cyclist was killed last night on Figueroa exactly where there was supposed to be a bike lane put in 11 years ago. Road Kill Gil Cedillo continues to take lives even in retirement.
New study estimates the time durations of permitting and development for standardized new housing projects across 60 U.S. cities from 2000 to 2025. Time durations are increasing, which raises housing costs and reduces availability. www.vox.com/future-perfe...
The astonishing gap between America’s fastest- and slowest-building cities
It shouldn’t take five years to build an apartment building.
vox.com
“[Crashes] also act as a kind of terrorism against everyone who uses our transportation system,” he continued. “Even if you are not experiencing one of these crashes [personally], you may pull yourself back from walking, from biking, from taking the bus...” usa.streetsblog.org/2026/10/01/s...
Steal This Idea: 'Emergency Streets' Strategy Gets First Real-World Pilot — Streetsblog USA
A talked-about road safety strategy just had its debut in Spoken, Washington – and it inspired some strong community reactions.
usa.streetsblog.org
A cyclist was killed last night on Figueroa exactly where there was supposed to be a bike lane put in 11 years ago. Road Kill Gil Cedillo continues to take lives even in retirement.
The bill could “bring together all disparate data and knowledge collected from the deep ocean, as well as along the Palos Verdes Shelf—where DDT was discharged for years via the sewer system—and the mouth of the Dominguez Channel, a long-identified DDT hot spot.“ www.latimes.com/environment/...
New bill in Congress seeks to investigate toxic dump off California coast
The bill was prompted by Los Angeles Times reporting that revealed as many as half a million barrels of toxic waste had been dumped into the ocean off the coast of Southern California.
latimes.com
Why can't LA build more affordable housing? Well, you see, because a building located in an R5(CW) zone shall not cast a shadow on a lot located in the R4 or R5 zone for more than two hours each day between the hours of 9AM and 3PM on the Winter Solstice and 9AM and 5PM on the Summer Solstice.
Somehow not everyone is aware of fact alluded to below. So one more time: John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett were all on GWBush 2000 'Florida Recount' team. (Which made GWB first prez in 112 yrs to 'win' after losing popular vote. Now they 'impartially' rule on our future.)
g.h. kirsch@gh-kirsch.bsky.social · 4h agoLet me see if I've got this right. The team of lawyers who stole an election in Florida, and gave W the presidency, are now the Scotus team at the center of the GOP theft of our democracy.
New #TalkingHeadways podcast! Blaine Brownell, director of the UNC Charlotte Department of Architecture joins the show to discuss the architectural and urban design tradeoffs that lead to population decline. We also talk about what makes walkable cities great. link.theoverheadwire.com/druaj
Talking Headways Podcast: Architecture’s Role in Population Decline — Streetsblog USA
Good design is great, but if you can't afford it, you can't have babies. A very special edition of the podcast.
link.theoverheadwire.com
The event video is now posted: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Yt... @johnmacpdx.bsky.social @roof.bsky.social @marisazapata.bsky.social @trecpdx.bsky.social @projecthome.bsky.social @uclaits.bsky.social
The Intersections of Transportation and Homelessness
YouTube video by UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies
youtube.com
Jacob Wasserman@jacoblwasserman.bsky.social · last wk.Happening today!: its.ucla.edu/tribe-event/... @uclaits.bsky.social
From electric vehicles to “DEI bike lanes,” transportation has become a partisan battleground. But 50 years ago, Washington came together to save transit systems, address deadly car designs, and reduce vehicle pollution. Much has changed—and it’s not just MAGA. My exploration (gift link) 🧵
Why US Transportation Policy Became a Partisan Battleground
Republicans and Democrats keep clashing over what was once a comparatively nonpartisan issue. When did getting around turn into another thing for Americans to fight about?
bloomberg.com
One surprising effect of the way Boulder has built housing for the past 50 years is school closures. Brian keegan explores how the legacy of limited and costly housing in Boulder, CO has locked young families out of the city. #Boulder #Colorado #SchoolClosures #Housing #LandUse
Opinion | Brian Keegan: Boulder's school closures were decades in the making
BVSD’s declining enrollment reflects 50 years of housing and land-use choices — and won’t reverse without different policies.
buff.ly
The Calmatters series was excellent, and the victims of reckless, repeat DUI driving described in it deserve much better than this. Honestly, the members of California legislature should be embarrassed that this counts as progress.
Marcel Moran@marcelmoran.com · yesterdayHuge kudos to the reporting team at @calmatters.org whose incredible series on the California DMV's lax approach to drunk driving has led to a number of new laws passed:
READ: If you haven’t seen this yet, please take a look. Motonormativity ("car brain") is a bias that stops people from making rational judgements about driving. This study co-authored by @ianwalker.bsky.social looks at where this bias comes from & how it works. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"However badly Republicans are defeated at the polls in 2026 and 2028, they will still be given the opportunity to reverse those losses in 2030 and 2032. More to the point, Republican voters will continue to form a large bloc that will inevitably exercise an influence over our politics and society."
Editor's Notes: Your Local Fascists
We know what to do with Trump and his stooges. The harder question is what to do with the ordinary Americans we will have to live alongside afterwards.
liberalcurrents.com
I've spent the last four hours scrambling to talk with all the key players and bring you hot fresh news and analysis, so please click and read and also subscribe to my independent climate newsletter if you can ! climatecoloredgoggles.com/subscribe
Subscribe to Climate-Colored Goggles
Finding climate solutions in pop culture, media and sports. Written by Sammy Roth. Click to read Climate-Colored Goggles, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
climatecoloredgoggles.com
Sammy Roth@sammyroth.bsky.social · 16h agoBREAKING: Newsom signed a bunch of clean energy bills! Californians can now install balcony solar. Plus big wins for virtual power plants, reining in utility profits and converting farmland to solar. One loser: community solar. Really stings. Details: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/newsom-cle...
tapping the sign www.economist.com/asia/2026/08...
Indian cities should embrace skyscrapers
Local rules prevent their construction. Hyderabad shows why that’s silly
economist.com
Calliope@calliope5431.bsky.social · 21h agoIndia has all the issues of major Chinese cities in the 2000s on steroids, Delhi is bigger than Shanghai or Beijing ever got but is also way less built up.
Let’s remind Hegseth of Casimir Pulaski’s example, in the spirit of 1776 that the Secretary touts. General Pulaski— the father of the American Calvary and hero of Savannah— was an intersex or trans Polish horseman who came to this country, saved George Washington’s life, and died for our Revolution.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterdayHegseth: "It's worth saying again so the fake news understands it. We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that -- no fatties no trannies no beardos no weirdos no wimps no radicals. Just warriors."
Thing I learned working on my virtual biking game: The USGS does aerial LIDAR scans to get the topography of all major cities in the US. Makes sense. What I didn't understand is this LIDAR data is incredibly rich: it isn't just a top-down view but is oblique enough to reconstruct entire downtowns
This is a meaningful accelerant for building electrification and a good reclamation of "choice" from the gas utilities that have long tried to make an exclusive claim to that term.
Right To Zero@righttozero.bsky.social · 20h agoBREAKING: @governor.ca.gov just signed the Home Energy Choice Act, a bill that will give Californians the freedom and funds to install electric appliances with money that would otherwise have been used to replace old gas lines earthjustice.org/press/2026/c...
This housing feasibility study is basically a highlights reel of why zoning reform is necessary, but not sufficient, to get urban infill housing built. Zoning can't change: * high construction costs * condo financing challenges * historic preservation approvals engageoakpark.com/30486/widget...
On X @cselmendorf.bsky.social posted a nice deep dive into the benefits of SB 457, which unfortunately he didn’t cross post over here. x.com/cselmendorf/...
Chris Elmendorf (@CSElmendorf) on X
Is CA's RHNA & housing element process a waste of effort? This question was much debated at @Yimby_Law's conference earlier this week. Whatever one makes of the history, SB 457 (⤵️) in combination w/ several other recent bills portend a significantly brighter future. 🧵/25
x.com
The article and the framing is such a clear sign that fully-throated pro high-speed rail outside/grassroots advocacy is desperately needed in California. @movecalifornia.bsky.social & @transbaycoalitiocalmatters.org are stepping up to fill that void calmatters.org/politics/202... (1/2)
California’s high-speed rail authority made a legislative wishlist. It mostly stalled out
California’s bullet train agency said timely construction of the rail line depended on these reforms. They mostly failed.
calmatters.org
