Brian Highsmith
@bhighsmith.bsky.social
institutions, inequality, geography, democracy | asst law prof at UCLA
Pinned
Brian Highsmith
@bhighsmith.bsky.social
· Nov 24
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Some of the stories in here are absolutely chilling. One US citizen of Somali descent was just riding an elevator with ICE agents and then they detained him for almost half an hour in the freezing cold despite him showing agents his passport card. They only let him go once protestors showed up.
January 16, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Some of the stories in here are absolutely chilling. One US citizen of Somali descent was just riding an elevator with ICE agents and then they detained him for almost half an hour in the freezing cold despite him showing agents his passport card. They only let him go once protestors showed up.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
A short thread on letting go of Zombie, pre-Trump 2025-2026 understanding of politics......
We are in a new era. Strategists must stay close to the events of today, to the data in front of us, and not bring old understandings to cloud or hamper with what must be done now. 1/
We are in a new era. Strategists must stay close to the events of today, to the data in front of us, and not bring old understandings to cloud or hamper with what must be done now. 1/
I think Dem strategists and comms/data folks need to recognize that we are in a period of discontinuity. What's happening now is not like what's come before. It's all new. And we need to stay close to the data that's in front of us, not bring old fights into the ones we now find ourselves in.
From Hopium:
- Democrats must work hard now to restore rule of law in America, rein in ICE
- Vance and Rubio are bringing great shame to the US today
- We must do more to support the opposition in Iran
- Imagining "a new birth of freedom" in the world
👇
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/restoring-...
- Democrats must work hard now to restore rule of law in America, rein in ICE
- Vance and Rubio are bringing great shame to the US today
- We must do more to support the opposition in Iran
- Imagining "a new birth of freedom" in the world
👇
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/restoring-...
January 15, 2026 at 3:22 PM
A short thread on letting go of Zombie, pre-Trump 2025-2026 understanding of politics......
We are in a new era. Strategists must stay close to the events of today, to the data in front of us, and not bring old understandings to cloud or hamper with what must be done now. 1/
We are in a new era. Strategists must stay close to the events of today, to the data in front of us, and not bring old understandings to cloud or hamper with what must be done now. 1/
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
The MN Leg could start its own version of these hearings tomorrow. The IL leg too. Months and months and months and months of them. Don't stop.
over the course of 1871, congress held seven months of hearings on ku klux klan and other white vigilante violence in the south, they took detailed testimony from hundreds of black men and women attesting to klan terror. (1/?)
January 14, 2026 at 4:31 PM
The MN Leg could start its own version of these hearings tomorrow. The IL leg too. Months and months and months and months of them. Don't stop.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
We must stress: The only violence is coming from CBP/ICE. They are rioting in the face of sustained nonviolent protests by thousands of Americans across the country.
They are today’s Alabama State Troopers at the Selma bridge. They are Bull Connor’s police with firehoses in Birmingham.
They are today’s Alabama State Troopers at the Selma bridge. They are Bull Connor’s police with firehoses in Birmingham.
Protester blinded, skull fractured by DHS agent during Santa Ana demonstration, family says
Protester blinded, skull fractured by DHS agent during Santa Ana demonstration, family says
A young protester narrowly avoided being killed but was left permanently blind after a Department of Homeland Security agent fired a nonlethal round at close range during a Santa Ana protest last week, according to family of the victim.
www.latimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:27 PM
We must stress: The only violence is coming from CBP/ICE. They are rioting in the face of sustained nonviolent protests by thousands of Americans across the country.
They are today’s Alabama State Troopers at the Selma bridge. They are Bull Connor’s police with firehoses in Birmingham.
They are today’s Alabama State Troopers at the Selma bridge. They are Bull Connor’s police with firehoses in Birmingham.
Enjoyed reading these reflections. “AI systems are trained on human judgments, after all. But they still learn a kind of averaged, derivative taste. As a result they can recognize what has been valued but I suspect will struggle to anticipate what should be valued.”
January 13, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Enjoyed reading these reflections. “AI systems are trained on human judgments, after all. But they still learn a kind of averaged, derivative taste. As a result they can recognize what has been valued but I suspect will struggle to anticipate what should be valued.”
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Very strong new brief by House Dems seeking unannounced oversight access to ICE detention facilities. Here’s the intro:
![Case 1:25-cv-02463-JMC Document 40
Filed 01/12/26
Page 1 of 17
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
JOE NEGUSE, in his official capacity as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
V.
U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS
ENFORCEMENT et al.,
Defendants.
Case No. 25-cv-2463-JMC
PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE AND REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY HEARING
Once again, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has blocked members of
Congress from conducting oversight at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
This time, DHS blocked three members of Congress from conducing oversight at a facility near
Minneapolis, Minnesota, pursuant to a newly imposed seven-day-notice policy for congressional
oversight visits. Defendants blocked these members despite this Court's order of December 17,
2025, which stayed, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 705, DHS's unlawful policy of restricting oversight by
members of Congress because it violates section 527 in DHS's appropriations act. The Court was
clear in its December 17 order that "the result of Section 527's provisions is that, upon request by a
visiting Member of Congress to conduct an oversight visit, a facility operated with or staffed using Section
527 funds must admit that Member." Op. at 21-22, ECF No. 36 (emphasis added). The Court stayed Defendants' oversight visit policy, including the seven-day-notice requirement, " [u]nless and until
Defendants show that no Section 527 funds are being used for these purposes." Op. at 72 (emphasis added).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wufsdxzvzx36d7wppganbvpw/bafkreihhzsido5h6tnnhcaygmkymglhgwpbpjvofzddv2u7vczbigamq7y@jpeg)
January 12, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Very strong new brief by House Dems seeking unannounced oversight access to ICE detention facilities. Here’s the intro:
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
This is exactly right.
The people who control the levers of state power are lawless and cruel. But that doesn’t make them omnipotent. Obscuring that distinction is an act of defeatism that only serves the regime.
The people who control the levers of state power are lawless and cruel. But that doesn’t make them omnipotent. Obscuring that distinction is an act of defeatism that only serves the regime.
What ICE/BP is doing to Minneapolis is awful.
And it's taking everything they have. By population, Minneapolis is America's 45th largest city.
Keep both in mind at once: the regime's desire for authoritarian domination is bottomless, and they'll act on it, but their capacity to do so is limited.
And it's taking everything they have. By population, Minneapolis is America's 45th largest city.
Keep both in mind at once: the regime's desire for authoritarian domination is bottomless, and they'll act on it, but their capacity to do so is limited.
January 12, 2026 at 5:12 PM
This is exactly right.
The people who control the levers of state power are lawless and cruel. But that doesn’t make them omnipotent. Obscuring that distinction is an act of defeatism that only serves the regime.
The people who control the levers of state power are lawless and cruel. But that doesn’t make them omnipotent. Obscuring that distinction is an act of defeatism that only serves the regime.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
This is the sort of statement that was expected from every university president and law firm partner over the last year. That those statements weren’t made played a huge part in where we are now and people will remember.
Jerome Powell: "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation."
January 12, 2026 at 1:45 AM
This is the sort of statement that was expected from every university president and law firm partner over the last year. That those statements weren’t made played a huge part in where we are now and people will remember.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
When democracies replace authoritarian regimes, they typically disband the secret police.
Portugal (1974): PIDE disbanded within days.
Greece (1974): ESA disbanded. Leaders imprisoned.
East Germany (1990): Stasi dissolved.
Chile (1990): CNI dissolved.
Brazil (1990): SNI dissolved.
Portugal (1974): PIDE disbanded within days.
Greece (1974): ESA disbanded. Leaders imprisoned.
East Germany (1990): Stasi dissolved.
Chile (1990): CNI dissolved.
Brazil (1990): SNI dissolved.
January 9, 2026 at 2:24 AM
When democracies replace authoritarian regimes, they typically disband the secret police.
Portugal (1974): PIDE disbanded within days.
Greece (1974): ESA disbanded. Leaders imprisoned.
East Germany (1990): Stasi dissolved.
Chile (1990): CNI dissolved.
Brazil (1990): SNI dissolved.
Portugal (1974): PIDE disbanded within days.
Greece (1974): ESA disbanded. Leaders imprisoned.
East Germany (1990): Stasi dissolved.
Chile (1990): CNI dissolved.
Brazil (1990): SNI dissolved.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
This beautifully written piece by my pal @adambonica.bsky.social is worth your time today.
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
The Wall Looks Permanent Until It Falls
On the optimism of preparation in a time of democratic decay.
open.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:02 PM
This beautifully written piece by my pal @adambonica.bsky.social is worth your time today.
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Can you accept - even w/o agreeing with all our positions - that Black people know profound truths about this country that are not on Schoolhouse Rock?
Now that the tactics they’ve used in our communities are becoming national policy, are you ready to concede that you need our “expertise” as well?
Now that the tactics they’ve used in our communities are becoming national policy, are you ready to concede that you need our “expertise” as well?
I’m glad to see Bill say this. But when after a century of just the type of abuse we saw today - relentless and cruel, ensnaring our children and intimidating our communities - young Black people said in frustration, anger, and demand for change “defund the police” - so many of you denounced them.
January 8, 2026 at 3:03 AM
Can you accept - even w/o agreeing with all our positions - that Black people know profound truths about this country that are not on Schoolhouse Rock?
Now that the tactics they’ve used in our communities are becoming national policy, are you ready to concede that you need our “expertise” as well?
Now that the tactics they’ve used in our communities are becoming national policy, are you ready to concede that you need our “expertise” as well?
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
really wish the “opposition” party had not spent years upon years trying to outdo the GOP in lavishing money arms and deference on state security forces
January 7, 2026 at 8:49 PM
really wish the “opposition” party had not spent years upon years trying to outdo the GOP in lavishing money arms and deference on state security forces
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
This is the kind of thing that the Founders explicitly designed our constitution to prevent; a president who has seized wealth for his own benefit without any intervention from Congress, which in our system is supposed to be the holder of the power of the purse.
January 7, 2026 at 12:21 AM
This is the kind of thing that the Founders explicitly designed our constitution to prevent; a president who has seized wealth for his own benefit without any intervention from Congress, which in our system is supposed to be the holder of the power of the purse.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Incredibly, not one of these milestones scores as a “win” using the traffic engineering metrics that quietly dictate city planning.
Urban planning prof Jonathan Levine and I have one paper detailing why and another explaining why it has to change for any vision of abundance to succeed. Links below.
Urban planning prof Jonathan Levine and I have one paper detailing why and another explaining why it has to change for any vision of abundance to succeed. Links below.
Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan…
* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M
So YES this has been a huge success.
* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M
So YES this has been a huge success.
December 30, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Incredibly, not one of these milestones scores as a “win” using the traffic engineering metrics that quietly dictate city planning.
Urban planning prof Jonathan Levine and I have one paper detailing why and another explaining why it has to change for any vision of abundance to succeed. Links below.
Urban planning prof Jonathan Levine and I have one paper detailing why and another explaining why it has to change for any vision of abundance to succeed. Links below.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Good thread. A reminder how heartening and significant it is that the American people are resounding rejecting the Trump/Miller worldview and agenda:
Trump's attempting to transform the US from a country that welcomes immigrants into a radically xenophobic nation that demonizes immigrants of color, and even their US born children. But Trump didn't campaign on this destructive/reactionary remaking of America and most Americans don't support it. 1/
December 30, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Good thread. A reminder how heartening and significant it is that the American people are resounding rejecting the Trump/Miller worldview and agenda:
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
This is not breaking news to most of us, but I appreciated this opinion piece from current Harvard undergrad @alexbronzini.bsky.social making concrete some of what the new regime of campus speech restriction looks like.
We need more of this, especially students describing their direct experience.
We need more of this, especially students describing their direct experience.
Opinion | Harvard’s New Campus Orthodoxy Is Even More Stifling Than the Old
www.nytimes.com
December 29, 2025 at 12:53 PM
This is not breaking news to most of us, but I appreciated this opinion piece from current Harvard undergrad @alexbronzini.bsky.social making concrete some of what the new regime of campus speech restriction looks like.
We need more of this, especially students describing their direct experience.
We need more of this, especially students describing their direct experience.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
I know people hate Will Stancil, but this is simply objectively true.
The democratic socialist future is not piecemeal private mutual aid, it's sufficient taxation and spending to sustain the state capacity to bureaucratically ensure that no American goes hungry, homeless, or without health care.
The democratic socialist future is not piecemeal private mutual aid, it's sufficient taxation and spending to sustain the state capacity to bureaucratically ensure that no American goes hungry, homeless, or without health care.
Guys I know you’re all going to yell at me here but mutual aid is not meaningfully distinct from the kind of privatized community charity system where poor people go to the church and hope someone has donated a hot meal. It’s not progressive, it’s not effective, it’s not good service provision.
"poor enough to need mutual aid"
Everyone needs mutual aid.
Everyone needs mutual aid.
December 27, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I know people hate Will Stancil, but this is simply objectively true.
The democratic socialist future is not piecemeal private mutual aid, it's sufficient taxation and spending to sustain the state capacity to bureaucratically ensure that no American goes hungry, homeless, or without health care.
The democratic socialist future is not piecemeal private mutual aid, it's sufficient taxation and spending to sustain the state capacity to bureaucratically ensure that no American goes hungry, homeless, or without health care.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
The Wisconsin component of the analysis here is revealing. Evidence is consistent with DOGE strategically delaying contract terminations in WI until after the 2025 state Supreme Court elections to mitigate electoral risk.
December 26, 2025 at 1:25 PM
The Wisconsin component of the analysis here is revealing. Evidence is consistent with DOGE strategically delaying contract terminations in WI until after the 2025 state Supreme Court elections to mitigate electoral risk.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
“The proposed exchange, which has not previously been reported, has alarmed some conservationists and archaeologists. They worry that SpaceX could degrade tracts that are home to numerous endangered species as well as artifacts from a Civil War-era battlefield.”
Trump May Give 775 Acres of a Federal Wildlife Refuge to SpaceX
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:01 PM
“The proposed exchange, which has not previously been reported, has alarmed some conservationists and archaeologists. They worry that SpaceX could degrade tracts that are home to numerous endangered species as well as artifacts from a Civil War-era battlefield.”
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan…
* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M
So YES this has been a huge success.
* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M
So YES this has been a huge success.
December 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan…
* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M
So YES this has been a huge success.
* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M
So YES this has been a huge success.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Fantastic paper here. And of course I’m going to go for a local angle. The sheer dominance of Charlotte within Mecklenburg County has prevented local tax havens and I think that is one of our greatest strengths. Here compared to few other metros.
December 16, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Fantastic paper here. And of course I’m going to go for a local angle. The sheer dominance of Charlotte within Mecklenburg County has prevented local tax havens and I think that is one of our greatest strengths. Here compared to few other metros.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
I'm really late to this paper, but wow, what an enormous data + methods + theory lift
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
December 16, 2025 at 2:34 AM
I'm really late to this paper, but wow, what an enormous data + methods + theory lift
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
I'm catching up on some older, bookmarked pieces. This one, from right before the incorporation of Starbase, TX, is a fascinating time capsule.
‘He’s Trying to Colonize This Community’: Inside Elon Musk’s Plan to Take Over This Texas Town
Elon Musk gave it a shot in Washington. Now he’s aiming to be the de-facto mayor of a small Texas town.
www.politico.com
December 14, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I'm catching up on some older, bookmarked pieces. This one, from right before the incorporation of Starbase, TX, is a fascinating time capsule.
Yes, and: the work of politics is to make public case that this (popular) policy agenda is connected to institutional reform. In early 19c, socialists+unions devoted extensive efforts to profile judges blocking labor legislation, arguing for court reform not in abstract but as part of worker agenda.
If we want to actually be a representative democracy, then the platform needs to be institutional reform. All the Popularism and all the policies follow from that, not the other way around.
- DC/PR/USVI statehood
- Enlarging the House
- MMDs
- New VRA
- Totally revamping SCOTUS: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
- Automatic universal voter registration
- Rewriting the "national emergency" laws: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
- Subordinating the Senate: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Etc.
- Enlarging the House
- MMDs
- New VRA
- Totally revamping SCOTUS: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
- Automatic universal voter registration
- Rewriting
- Subordinating the Senate: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Etc.
December 14, 2025 at 5:55 AM
Yes, and: the work of politics is to make public case that this (popular) policy agenda is connected to institutional reform. In early 19c, socialists+unions devoted extensive efforts to profile judges blocking labor legislation, arguing for court reform not in abstract but as part of worker agenda.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
If we want to actually be a representative democracy, then the platform needs to be institutional reform. All the Popularism and all the policies follow from that, not the other way around.
- DC/PR/USVI statehood
- Enlarging the House
- MMDs
- New VRA
- Totally revamping SCOTUS: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
- Automatic universal voter registration
- Rewriting the "national emergency" laws: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
- Subordinating the Senate: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Etc.
- Enlarging the House
- MMDs
- New VRA
- Totally revamping SCOTUS: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
- Automatic universal voter registration
- Rewriting
- Subordinating the Senate: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Etc.
👇🎯💯
Again, the needs to be & all the committees & commissions that want to Do A Popularism & focus on Kitchen Table Issues are engaged in a category mistake about What Democrats Must Do the next time they ever have power.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Again, the
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
November 8, 2025 at 11:01 PM
If we want to actually be a representative democracy, then the platform needs to be institutional reform. All the Popularism and all the policies follow from that, not the other way around.