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Reposted by Alex Horowitz

Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 3d

I can't stop thinking about this. We're pursuing zero fire risk in multifam, while tolerating much more in single-fam. People respond by building and living in single-fam, where they're exposed to not only one of the highest fire death risks in the developed world, but also TONS more car crash risk

Emily Hamilton @ebwhamilton.bsky.social · 3d

Love this new report on buildings' relative fire safety from @alexhrwtz.bsky.social and Pew colleagues.

www.pew.org/en/research-...

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Reposted by Alex Horowitz

Emily Hamilton @ebwhamilton.bsky.social · 3d

Love this new report on buildings' relative fire safety from @alexhrwtz.bsky.social and Pew colleagues.

www.pew.org/en/research-...

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · 3d

Thanks! The fire-fatality disparities were wild. Fire-death rate 18x higher in pre-1970 single family than post-2010 apartment. But only new apartments (and occasionally townhouses) are getting stopped by fire-safety concerns.

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Reposted by Alex Horowitz

Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 9d

Pew finds something that everybody in codes and standards knows but few will say out loud: we apply far stricter fire safety standards to apartments than to houses. www.pew.org/en/research-...

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Reposted by Alex Horowitz

Shane Phillips @shanedphillips.bsky.social · 16d

In part 2 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy, the UCLA Housing Voice Podcast speaks with @stephenjacobsmith.com about the high cost of elevators in North America, and the negative consequences for affordability and accessibility. www.lewis.ucla.edu/2025/09/24/9...

Episode 98: Elevators with Stephen Smith (Incentives Series pt. 2)

Elevators in the U.S. and Canada cost 3–5x as much as in other high-income countries. Stephen Smith explains how our well-intentioned standards make cities less safe and accessible.

www.lewis.ucla.edu

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Aug 19

Well said. And this research shows why reforms like Colorado's are crucial. Regional housing supply drives local rents 4x more than supply within a municipality, so statewide reforms are necessary--there's just no way to get to widespread affordability solely through local action.

Governor Jared Polis @colorado.gov · Aug 18

A new @pewtrusts.org analysis shows restrictive zoning drives up rent and worsens hardships. The U.S. is short 4–7M homes. Breaking down barriers—like parking mandates and outdated zoning—can lower costs and help more Coloradans achieve homeownership.
www.pew.org/en/research-...

Article clipping from the Pew Charitable Trust with text next to it reading, “findings from an analysis done by the Pew Charitable Trust found that not allowing for more homes to be built pushes up rent prices across the board and increases hardships on low-income residents and neighborhoods.”

White text on black background reads: “Colorado is lowering housing costs and removing government barriers. Governor Polis signed landmark laws to allow more housing near transit, cut red tape, and expand options like ADUs, transit-oriented communities, starter condos, and smart-stair apartments, while ending discriminatory occupancy limits and costly parking requirements.

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Jul 31

And one more... regional housing supply drives local rents 4x more powerfully than supply within localities on average, so state laws to allow more homes are absolutely necessary to improve housing affordability, even when some localities act.

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Jul 31

And the converse is also true. Rents have been falling fastest for older, naturally affordable (Class C) apartments in metro areas that have added the most housing.

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Jul 31

Turns out there's no tradeoff between housing abundance and affordability for low-income renters- the opposite in fact. Rents have risen 10 pts more during the shortage in low-income neighborhoods than high-incomes ones. www.pew.org/en/research-...

New Housing Slows Rent Growth Most for Older, More Affordable Units

The nationwide housing shortage has driven rents up more in low-income neighborhoods than in the U.S. overall, but in areas that have recently added large amounts of housing, rents have fallen the mos...

www.pew.org

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Jun 23

The bills are:
Apartments in all commercial areas in cities
Small-lot starter homes in cities
Office to residential conversions in cities
Strong limits on protest petitions
Single-stair
Expanding where factory-built housing can be used
Curbing college-town limits on roommates

Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Jun 23

Texas has raised the bar, putting up probably the single most impactful legislative session for housing this year with 7 bipartisan bills. Pew's statement outlining them here: www.pew.org/en/about/new...

Pew Applauds Texas Lawmakers for Passage of Much-Needed Housing Legislation

WASHINGTON—The Pew Charitable Trusts today commended the Texas Legislature and Governor Greg Abbott (R) for enacting a suite of seven bills passed with bipartisan support and designed to improve housi...

www.pew.org

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Reposted by Alex Horowitz

Senator Nathan Johnson @nathanfortexas.bsky.social · May 28

THREAD: A Win for Housing in Texas!

SB 2835 — Single-Stairway Bill — is headed to the governor’s desk!

Working with Rep. @jamestalarico.bsky.social, we passed SB 2835 to clear out outdated codes and unlock more housing opportunities for small-scale, multi-family developments across Texas. (1/5)

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · May 27

Big win for Texans looking for housing. Single-stair reform #SB2835 is a major step forward for legalizing modern apartments that can fit on small lots and above stores.

AURA: An Austin for Everyone @aura-atx.org · May 27

AURA was proud to advocate for this bill every step of the way!

Special thanks to @jamestalarico.bsky.social & @nathanfortexas.bsky.social for all of their work on statewide single-stair!

Thanks also to Texas 2036 & @texansforhousing.bsky.social for their tireless work on this common sense reform!

YIMBYLAND @yimbyland.com · May 27

TEXAS PASSES 6-STORY SINGLE-STAIR BILL! 🤠

- Legalizes 6-stories, 4-units/floor, in TX state building code
- Cities that adopt standard amendments to state building code would by-default legalize 6-story single-stair apartments
- Paves way for streamlined adoption by cities

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Reposted by Alex Horowitz

Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · May 12

Policy changes often take years to show results.

And then there is congestion pricing in New York.

Here are all of the ways we could find it having an immediate effect: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Just About Everything That’s Changed Since Congestion Pricing Took Effect (Gift Article)

Fewer cars. Faster travel. Less honking. And some questions we still can’t answer.

www.nytimes.com

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · May 8

It's easy to lose sight of the big picture, but Rachel provides thorough context on the 2-stair mandate: "Since fires are more common in single-family homes than in new apartments, they say current rules may actually steer people toward less safe housing."

Rachel Cohen Booth @rcobooth.bsky.social · May 8

One of the buzziest ideas in housing reform lately is allowing apartment buildings with just one staircase, instead of two. Though a standard design around the world, American fire safety officials are strongly opposed

I wrote about the debate and research for @vox.com

www.vox.com/housing/4101...

A fight about stairs could reshape American cities

Reformers say tweaking construction rules can unleash affordable housing.

www.vox.com

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Apr 18

Quite the session. Well done.

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Apr 1

Good one. So many single-stair bills moving in state legislatures right now.

Emily Hamilton @ebwhamilton.bsky.social · Mar 31

The posting-to-policy is moving fast with single-stair reform. @elikahn.bsky.social has a run down on the policy landscape: marketurbanism.com/2025/03/28/r...

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Mar 12

New Pew brief: Pennsylvania's housing shortage has pushed up costs. Highlights:
1) 60% drop in inventory helped push up prices 55%
2) PA ranks 44th of 50 states in housing permits granted
3) Counties that have issued few permits have seen rents soar
www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-...

Pennsylvania's Lack of Building Has Contributed to Housing Shortage, Hurt Affordability

Housing costs rise when there are not enough homes to meet demand. Pennsylvania, in part because of restrictive zoning regulations, ranked 43rd among the 50 states on rate of housing built from 2017 t...

www.pewtrusts.org

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Mar 7

More single-stair momentum…

Muhammad Alameldin @muhammadspeaks.bsky.social · Mar 7

Los Angeles introduces single stair reform: laist.com/news/housing...

Fewer staircases in new LA buildings? Why experts say it could unlock more housing

A new Los Angeles City Council proposal aims to allow single-staircase buildings, a change advocates say would make room for more apartments, including bigger units for young families.

laist.com

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Mar 5

www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-...

Small Single-Stairway Apartment Buildings Have Strong Safety Record

Policymakers could increase the supply of multifamily housing in their states and localities by revising outdated building codes that require more than one stairway in small apartment buildings. If en...

www.pewtrusts.org

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Mar 3

Thanks for highlighting this research from @stephenjacobsmith.com and Pew. Lots of reason to think we could improve fire safety by legalizing single-stair because it would bring more of the safest housing type online: sprinklered, modern, multi-family, with self-closing doors & fire-rated walls.

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Feb 28

Allowing one stair instead of mandating two makes it more likely an elevator would be included because there's more budget and more physical room for it. But we need elevator regulatory reform too so we can get more of them: www.centerforbuilding.org/reports

Center for Building in North America

The Center for Building is a non-profit that conducts research on building codes and advocates for reform in North America.

www.centerforbuilding.org

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Feb 28

This is one of the most-discussed housing reforms in state legislatures right now, and here is empirical proof that it’s safe, definitively refuting the only argument being made against single-stair building code reform.

Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · Feb 27

A few findings from this report that I coauthored:
- A stairway in a 4-story bldg costs about $200,000 (corridor not included)
- Zero deaths in 4+-story single-stair buildings in NYC or Seattle attributable to the lack of a second stair
- FDNY has mostly stopped reporting fire deaths to NFIRS

Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · Feb 27

the study on safety of single stair buildings by pew charitable trusts and the center for building in north america (@stephenjacobsmith.com) is now live

www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-...

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Reposted by Alex Horowitz

Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · Feb 28

A profile of my organization in Slate, by @henrygrabar.bsky.social: slate.com/business/202...

A New Way to Fix the Housing Crisis

One man’s quest to fix the way we build.

slate.com

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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · Feb 17

Just ordered