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Blair Lorenzo / The Fox and the City

@thefoxandthecity.com

The world-famous urban theorist who…wait, this has to be honest‽ Independent Professional Urbanist and Writer, creating in-depth critiques of urban spaces, places, & systems. My work: thefoxandthecity.com Also ED @etany.org She/her

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Blair Lorenzo / The Fox and the City@thefoxandthecity.com · 4h ago

One core fact of megaproject management (that equally applies to any largish endeavor) is that planning is comparatively cheap, but lack of planning leads to expensive missteps and redesign. One reason for exploding American transit costs is the lack of funding and state capacity for planning.

dereksagehorn.bsky.social@dereksagehorn.bsky.social · 6h ago

Policymakers need to be internalizing the costs of inaction/delay via escalation much earlier in the life cycle of infrastructure development, imo.

Blair Lorenzo / The Fox and the City@thefoxandthecity.com · 2d ago

My unasked-for opinion: The only winning move for transit right now is putting off an extension of the surface transportation bill until the next Congress. What's being floated now is disastrous for transit, and shouldn't be accepted just to "pass something."

Yonah Freemark@yonahfreemark.com · 2d ago

US Senate leaders want to pass a “clean extension” of transport funding through Dec 11. Unclear what happens after that; likely: 1–“Bipartisan” legislation meeting GOP priorities (~ House bill), or 2–Dems win congress & seek to hold off with another extension to Jan, at which point they lead bill.

Blair Lorenzo / The Fox and the City@thefoxandthecity.com · 2d ago

This is exactly correct. If you want a real hot take, you could easily argue that the whole idea of the "streetcar conspiracy" only makes sense in the American mindset where the bus is clearly second-class transit, not a viable mode all on its own.

Marco Chitti@chittimarco.bsky.social · 2d ago

When you look globally, there are many more countries that consistently abandoned street-running railways in the postwar years than ones that retained them. The simpler answer is that technology, decaying infras and the zeitgeist killed streetcars everywhere but in a bunch of countries.

Blair Lorenzo / The Fox and the City@thefoxandthecity.com · 4d ago

We are talking about trash bins in parking spaces instead of cars. I don't know how you can read this as anything other than, "It's change and I don't like it." Because it's otherwise devoid of content Piles of trash on the sidewalk are not a "neighborhood character" worthy of protection.

The bins will contribute to the sense of New York becoming more "sanitized" each day, where it is gentrified and perhaps physically cleaner but losing its character and history.
Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️@jgbollard.bsky.social · 4d ago

This is it boys, the platonic "New York can never get better" piece www.archpaper.com/2026/07/litt...

The parking is an issue that will be hotly contested, but the real problem is the aesthetics. These dumpsters —it is important to use this word, because that is what they will be in practice—will drastically alter the visual streetscape of the city. The main problem is that these dumpsters will be on the street 24/7. Currently, trash bags are typically on the street two mornings each week, with only a handful of weekend routes. Yes, these bags smell and attract rats, but there is no guarantee that the dumpsters will fully alleviate either problem. Instead, they will introduce worse problems. The bins will contribute to the sense of New York becoming more "sanitized" each day, where it is gentrified and perhaps physically cleaner but losing its character and history. The West Harlem pilot was launched with 1,100 dumpsters in an area with no historic district designation, a set of protocols designed to protect the visual character of the streetscape. While they reduced reports of rats, they are limited as a case study. Once enacted, the Empire Bins will destroy the character of neighborhoods. We will have fewer cars and more dumpsters.
Blair Lorenzo / The Fox and the City@thefoxandthecity.com · last wk.

"The composition shows lived experience rather than another detached urban vista." *shakes in community meeting trauma* I know this is probably not the intent of the description, but my brain can't help but read, "Transplants can't paint authentic urban vistas." That said, Hopper is always ace.

Edward Hopper @edwardhopper.bsky.social · last wk.

November, Washington Square (1932) looks out from Hopper's own neighborhood at seasonal light. Here, New York is seen from the inside—through the eyes of someone who lived there. The composition shows lived experience rather than another detached urban vista.

Blair Lorenzo / The Fox and the City@thefoxandthecity.com · last wk.

This is really good. Of all the transit modes that need a "Fair Fares" program the most, commuter rail has to top the list. It's deliberately exclusionary pricing often drives people to take alternate, slower modes.

Tri-State Transportation Campaign@tstc.bsky.social · last wk.

New Jersey riders shouldn’t have to choose between paying for transit and basic needs. That’s why today we’re launching the Fair Fares NJ Campaign to demand real transit affordability! ➡️ Take Action Now and tell Trenton it’s time to invest in riders: www.fairfaresnj.org/individual-a...