If your local town, county or state has a budget deficit, try upzoning. #urbanism #housing
Oh The Urbanity!@ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 22h agoEdmonton’s broad upzoning has (so far) added $15 million to the city’s yearly property tax revenue.
Ronit Aviva Dancis
@ronitadancis.bsky.social
Trains, 🚍, cities, plazas, ☕️, beer, bikes, 🛴 walking. (She / her )
Oh The Urbanity!@ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 22h ago
Today on Volts: What should local officials do when a data center comes calling? With Saleem Chapman, I walk through @climatecabinet.org's comprehensive blueprint: what to require of them before they're built and when they are running, so that they benefit communities, not just investors.
What should state policymakers do about data centers?
A conversation with Saleem Chapman of Climate Cabinet.
volts.wtf
All of you should let your mayors and councilmembers know that if your city does not embrace pro-housing reforms then it is very likely leaving federal grant money on the table. www.pew.org/en/research-...
The Success of the New Federal Housing Law Now Rests on States and Localities
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, enacted on July 11, represents the first comprehensive federal law in decades designed to increase homebuilding. The bipartisan package contains more than 50 prov...
pew.org
Infill urban housing/upzoning/walkability is by far the top answer to this question, and there isn't really a close second.
Kevin J. Kircher@kevinjkircher.com · 2h agoClimate pals, what are your favorite examples of actions that simultaneously reduce climate pollution and help us adapt to climate changes that we can no longer avoid? Joint Adaptation and Mitigation (JAM), if you will.
Drivers did not always have a monopoly on the use and design of roads.
Peter Norton@norton.bsky.social · last wk.“‘Jaywalker’ was a tool in this reconstruction effort. It implied a new answer to the question ‘What is a street for?’ – an answer that carried a sting.”
I hate that we have concentration camps in our midst (and that is what these are). Every tool at our disposal needs to be used to shut them down and to protect people who are being harmed.
If you’ve been personally affected by traffic violence and want to channel your hurt and rage into *something,* please reach out. @safestreetsdc.bsky.social can use your help…and might be able to help you, too. 💛
Jessica Hart@jlrhart.bsky.social · last wk.This child should have been able to walk, bike, or scoot in what is essentially their home’s parking area without being hit by a speeding driver. A driver who has shown clear disdain for the law and is a danger to others.
The only thing scarier than the number of seniors driving "self-driving" cars, convinced that the car will keep them independent when they can't drive anymore... is how long most states let seniors who drive go between mandatory vision tests.
Dr Grace S Peng@gspeng.bsky.social · last wk.I have heard this from half a dozen elderly drivers in Manhattan Beach, CA
Road safety is a #transitridership issue is a #transit issue is a #greenenergy issue is a #jobs issue is a #econdev issue
Ken McLeod@kenmcld.bsky.social · last wk.Massachusetts hot topic focuses on their Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessment which found that 41% of pedestrian-involved crashes were within 300 feet of a bus stop That's changed their focus to look at bus stops and surrounding sidewalk and crosswalk networks
Riding transit to a sporting event is like a rolling pep rally. Too many must partake the aggravation and isolation of driving to a game. The walk to the stadium is half the fun in many cities around the world.
Arif Hasan, but NFL🔨⚒️🛠️@arif.bsky.social · last wk.Last week, a tweet about a stadium shot went viral and it sparked a really interesting conversation. I looked into it. Why Was That Picture of MetLife So Bleak? wideleft.football/p/why-was-th...
We want to hear from you. The Rider Experience Lab is our focus group program, created to gather real rider feedback and improve the transit experience. Learn more at mta.maryland.gov/riderlab.
Congress appropriated billions of dollars for new transit projects. Why is the Trump administration spending none of it? Why are even transit projects in red states going unfounded? New reporting in @nytimes.com (gift link): www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u...
In America, mass transit is widely considered to be an alternative of last resort for the extremely poor rather than a safer, cheaper, cleaner and more efficient means of moving people around a metropolitan area.
CAHSR's Strongest Soldier@emoscientist.bsky.social · last wk.One thing that stands out about the Metrolink fight is how much pressure there is to center transit-dependent riders. That's the only demo journalists or board members want to hear from, which is pretty hard to do for a commuter rail line. Nobody cares about giving people options or reducing VMT
#transit & #biking & #walking & #rolling & #urbanism bc this www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
More than 80,000 people flee as wildfires spread in south-west France and Spain
‘Unpredictable’ blaze forces evacuation of French holiday spot Cap Ferret and Spain declares emergency as fires merge near Madrid
theguardian.com
The modal person killed in a crash in Montgomery County MD is a car driver. The modal non-motorist killed in a crash is an older person (often an immigrant) on foot, crossing a state road, in the evening, on their way to or from a bus stop.
Action Committee for Transit@actfortransit.bsky.social · 2w agoHeading out the door on foot or to the car. Neighbor: Have a great day! Heading out the door on a bicycle. Neighbor: Stay safe out there!
Threshold alert: renewables are about to pass coal as the No. 1 global source of electricity.
IEA: Global power demand is surging – and renewables are passing coal
Global electricity demand is rising, but booming solar will help renewables overtake coal as the top power source this year, says the IEA.
electrek.co
A theme here is that if a person inside city government intervenes on behalf of a restaurant losing parking spots or a random driver getting a parking ticket, that's seen as constituent services. If another government insider works on behalf of keeping people alive, that's seen as advocacy.
StreetsblogMASS@mass.streetsblog.org · 2w agoA public records request reveals how @mayorwu.boston.gov's election-year "review" of transportation projects created a duplicate layer of authority inside City Hall that fomented confusion and stalled urgent safety initiatives: mass.streetsblog.org/2026/07/22/f...
Even if you drive 95% of the time, this administration is making it more likely that some speeding driver in a gigantic car will hit you and kill you
There is a whole community of people who find out about these 2 basic principles of the US transportation system after a loved one is killed in a car crash: 1. Motor vehicle throughput is more important than safety. 2. There are few legal consequences for homicide by car.
Mindy Badin: "The vast majority of deaths & injuries on our roadways are due to...people who habitually speed....Even drivers who have had their licenses revoked or suspended...get right behind the wheel & continue driving [&] speeding...We're...glad this preventive [speed limiter law] has passed."
Montgomery Community Media@mymcmedia.bsky.social · 2w agoICYMI: In Maryland, a law to stop “super speeders” through technology goes into effect Oct. 1. A similar law is already in effect in Virginia, where MCM spoke with Montgomery County Police Lt. Patrick Kepp and Olney resident Mindy Badin. https://bit.ly/4pvGGuX
Keisha, the bonus #TransitDog of the day, is helping strengthen the community. @sarahfrumento.ca tells the story.💜 sarahfrumento.ca/posts/the-ki...
the kindness of strangers - Sarah Frumento
I took Keisha on a trip to Cobble Hill on Thursday by cargo bike. I stopped in Mill Bay to grab a coffee. I asked a gentleman seated alone outside...
sarahfrumento.ca
"The infrastructure for people who need to ride the bus looks like it does because of who has power and resources." - @nondriver.bsky.social
Action Committee for Transit@actfortransit.bsky.social · 2w agoFrom the police supplementary report: Yaovi Magloire Guedoh, 52, was coming home from work at Pizza Hut, had just gotten off the M44 bus, & was running to catch another bus, in the crosswalk across Columbia Pike/29 at Tech Rd on DON'T WALK, when a driver hit & killed him on Fri 7/28/25 10:34 pm.
Buses, famously for the richer classes and upper orders.
Read the alt text in the quoted photo, and then go read this magnificent article. ggwash.org/view/104207/...
Think outside the circle, DC OP
If it were the 1970s, this proposal from the DC Office of Planning would be cutting edge. Instead, it stands to seriously hold back housing in the District.
ggwash.org
Payton Chung 🏳️🌈@westnorth.com · 2w ago"By suppressing less-costly “middle housing,” the grand bargain of TOD restricts middle-class families to either sprawling suburbs or older, less safe homes, and burdens lower-income residents with high rents and overcrowding — or pushes them out of the region entirely."
I really believe that having a massive oversupply of housing would be a game changer in so many abusive relationships
Matthew Downhour @matthewdownhour.bsky.social · 2w agoImagine your town - now imagine there’s a place in can go that is always leasing, where a 1 bedroom apartment is always available. Imagine the leverage you gain over your landlord, or parents, or abusive partner in that scenario
“Transit does more than just move people from place to place. [This TOD at Bowie MARC station is] creating access to jobs, to education, to healthcare, recreation, cultural spaces, this amazing university,” @mdotmtaholly.bsky.social said.💜
Maryland Matters@marylandmatters.org · 2w agoState and local officials touted a transit-oriented development project for the MARC station at Bowie State University that would bring hundreds of affordable housing units to Prince George’s County, but could take several years to come to fruition. marylandmatters.org/2026/07/22/t...
Maryland, Utah, Maine, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire - go get your plug in balcony solar! #urbanism #energy #affordability #greenenergy electrek.co/2026/07/20/u...
The US’s first UL 3700 balcony solar microinverter is here
Hoymiles launches the first US microinverter to meet UL 3700 compliance as plug-in balcony solar gains legal ground across more US states.
electrek.co
"I support safety, but [actually I don't]." "I'm all for bike lanes, but [actually I'm not]." "I want more housing, but [actually I don't]." "I approve of more transit, but [actually I don't]." "We all want to protect the environment, but [actually I don't]."
Becky Hammer@beckyhammer.bsky.social · 2w agoEvery time I read an email that says "I support safety, but not removing parking spaces" I feel like I'm going insane