Ben Ross
@benrosstransit.bsky.social
Transit advocate. Social Democrat. Author of Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism.
Is this true? Or is it the WH trying to shift the blame for the debacle off of Trump and onto Pirro?
January 13, 2026 at 2:35 AM
Is this true? Or is it the WH trying to shift the blame for the debacle off of Trump and onto Pirro?
A career in 5 rivers:
Amargosa River
Toms River
Neva
Mississippi River
Hackensack River
Amargosa River
Toms River
Neva
Mississippi River
Hackensack River
January 13, 2026 at 1:59 AM
A career in 5 rivers:
Amargosa River
Toms River
Neva
Mississippi River
Hackensack River
Amargosa River
Toms River
Neva
Mississippi River
Hackensack River
A paved path meets the legal definition of highway. This is an intersection.
January 13, 2026 at 1:54 AM
A paved path meets the legal definition of highway. This is an intersection.
Who @jamellebouie.net is arguing with here, are people who insist Democrats must ignore broad swathes of people in their states.
January 12, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Who @jamellebouie.net is arguing with here, are people who insist Democrats must ignore broad swathes of people in their states.
Funded or unfunded, it's a giant burden on the small project. As Mike said, MoCo exempts anything under 20 units. It was originally 50 units, but the number was reduced after builders built 49-units on big lots to keep less expensive units out of their high-price single-family developments.
January 12, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Funded or unfunded, it's a giant burden on the small project. As Mike said, MoCo exempts anything under 20 units. It was originally 50 units, but the number was reduced after builders built 49-units on big lots to keep less expensive units out of their high-price single-family developments.
Aim of MoCo IZ at start was to house teacher & firefighter.
Requirement higher in wealthier areas, based on economic study.
All >25 unit projects covered. Density bonus only for higher %.
Builders often sell condos to HOC (social housing) to avoid paperwork, but no subsidy for IZ itself.
Requirement higher in wealthier areas, based on economic study.
All >25 unit projects covered. Density bonus only for higher %.
Builders often sell condos to HOC (social housing) to avoid paperwork, but no subsidy for IZ itself.
January 12, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Aim of MoCo IZ at start was to house teacher & firefighter.
Requirement higher in wealthier areas, based on economic study.
All >25 unit projects covered. Density bonus only for higher %.
Builders often sell condos to HOC (social housing) to avoid paperwork, but no subsidy for IZ itself.
Requirement higher in wealthier areas, based on economic study.
All >25 unit projects covered. Density bonus only for higher %.
Builders often sell condos to HOC (social housing) to avoid paperwork, but no subsidy for IZ itself.
MoCo has successfully implemented social integration IZ for ~40 years.
IZ that cross-subsidizes cost of land does not disincentivize building at all.
IZ has direct benefits & also enlarges base of support for new building. Yimbys should insist on doing it right, not oppose it.
IZ that cross-subsidizes cost of land does not disincentivize building at all.
IZ has direct benefits & also enlarges base of support for new building. Yimbys should insist on doing it right, not oppose it.
January 12, 2026 at 7:06 PM
MoCo has successfully implemented social integration IZ for ~40 years.
IZ that cross-subsidizes cost of land does not disincentivize building at all.
IZ has direct benefits & also enlarges base of support for new building. Yimbys should insist on doing it right, not oppose it.
IZ that cross-subsidizes cost of land does not disincentivize building at all.
IZ has direct benefits & also enlarges base of support for new building. Yimbys should insist on doing it right, not oppose it.
The situation is like historic preservation, although less dire.
Genuinely historic buildings should be saved. But mostly these days, preservation is just nimbyism.
Yimbys should advocate for pro-urbanism IZ that mixes income levels sustainably. (Cross-subsidize construction but not upkeep.) 2/2
Genuinely historic buildings should be saved. But mostly these days, preservation is just nimbyism.
Yimbys should advocate for pro-urbanism IZ that mixes income levels sustainably. (Cross-subsidize construction but not upkeep.) 2/2
January 12, 2026 at 6:57 PM
The situation is like historic preservation, although less dire.
Genuinely historic buildings should be saved. But mostly these days, preservation is just nimbyism.
Yimbys should advocate for pro-urbanism IZ that mixes income levels sustainably. (Cross-subsidize construction but not upkeep.) 2/2
Genuinely historic buildings should be saved. But mostly these days, preservation is just nimbyism.
Yimbys should advocate for pro-urbanism IZ that mixes income levels sustainably. (Cross-subsidize construction but not upkeep.) 2/2
Let me expose myself in the middle on this.
I support IZ, properly done.
The purpose of IZ is social integration, not affordable housing supply, although the two can work together.
Like all housing rules (fire, ventilation), IZ can be exploited by nimbys.
Lately, I see this more often than not. 1/2
I support IZ, properly done.
The purpose of IZ is social integration, not affordable housing supply, although the two can work together.
Like all housing rules (fire, ventilation), IZ can be exploited by nimbys.
Lately, I see this more often than not. 1/2
January 12, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Let me expose myself in the middle on this.
I support IZ, properly done.
The purpose of IZ is social integration, not affordable housing supply, although the two can work together.
Like all housing rules (fire, ventilation), IZ can be exploited by nimbys.
Lately, I see this more often than not. 1/2
I support IZ, properly done.
The purpose of IZ is social integration, not affordable housing supply, although the two can work together.
Like all housing rules (fire, ventilation), IZ can be exploited by nimbys.
Lately, I see this more often than not. 1/2
These are specifically teardowns replaced with detached single-family houses.
January 12, 2026 at 5:08 PM
These are specifically teardowns replaced with detached single-family houses.
I haven't been there in 4 or 5 years, and the article says it has gone downhill in that period, but the restaurant row neighborhood in Harrisburg is way beyond anything in Trenton.
January 12, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I haven't been there in 4 or 5 years, and the article says it has gone downhill in that period, but the restaurant row neighborhood in Harrisburg is way beyond anything in Trenton.
On top of that, 7% of single-family detached starts are teardowns, which don't add to the housing supply. In New England it's 15% and on the West Coast 13% Some interesting stats here: eyeonhousing.org/2025/12/abou...
About 7% of New Homes Are Teardowns – Eye On Housing
In 2024, 6.9% of new single-family detached homes were teardowns (structures torn down and rebuilt in older neighborhoods), and another 20.1% were built on infill lots in older neighborhoods, accordin...
eyeonhousing.org
January 12, 2026 at 4:57 PM
On top of that, 7% of single-family detached starts are teardowns, which don't add to the housing supply. In New England it's 15% and on the West Coast 13% Some interesting stats here: eyeonhousing.org/2025/12/abou...
If these were put up by a non-governmental group or local business, who would you file an ADA complaint against? The government for faiilure to remove?
You could also, or instead, file a complaint with FHWA against the government for its failure to remove an MUTCD violation.
You could also, or instead, file a complaint with FHWA against the government for its failure to remove an MUTCD violation.
January 12, 2026 at 2:14 PM
If these were put up by a non-governmental group or local business, who would you file an ADA complaint against? The government for faiilure to remove?
You could also, or instead, file a complaint with FHWA against the government for its failure to remove an MUTCD violation.
You could also, or instead, file a complaint with FHWA against the government for its failure to remove an MUTCD violation.
Unintended (for sure!) consequence of Trump's deportations is a wave of recruitment into the National Guard of children of undocumented immigrants seeking to protect their parents. The most anti-Trump recruits imaginable. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/u...
U.S. Citizens Are Joining the Military to Protect Undocumented Parents
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Unintended (for sure!) consequence of Trump's deportations is a wave of recruitment into the National Guard of children of undocumented immigrants seeking to protect their parents. The most anti-Trump recruits imaginable. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/u...
They are also a violation of the MUTCD. Clearly fit the definition of traffic control devices & not authorized.
But notice how FHWA & DOTs don't crack down on them the way they crack down on guerilla crosswalks. They're fine with pedestrian-blaming MUTCD violations.
But notice how FHWA & DOTs don't crack down on them the way they crack down on guerilla crosswalks. They're fine with pedestrian-blaming MUTCD violations.
January 12, 2026 at 1:56 PM
They are also a violation of the MUTCD. Clearly fit the definition of traffic control devices & not authorized.
But notice how FHWA & DOTs don't crack down on them the way they crack down on guerilla crosswalks. They're fine with pedestrian-blaming MUTCD violations.
But notice how FHWA & DOTs don't crack down on them the way they crack down on guerilla crosswalks. They're fine with pedestrian-blaming MUTCD violations.
They should be 4-6 story single-stair apartments. That's why they have blank brick walls on two sides.
A coffee shop (not a diner, which is a standalone 1-story building otherwise indistinguishable from a coffee shop) on the bottom.
A coffee shop (not a diner, which is a standalone 1-story building otherwise indistinguishable from a coffee shop) on the bottom.
January 12, 2026 at 1:15 AM
They should be 4-6 story single-stair apartments. That's why they have blank brick walls on two sides.
A coffee shop (not a diner, which is a standalone 1-story building otherwise indistinguishable from a coffee shop) on the bottom.
A coffee shop (not a diner, which is a standalone 1-story building otherwise indistinguishable from a coffee shop) on the bottom.
The bus hub is always at the far end of the parking lot. In Montgomery County MD two mall owners have forced bus stops to move from the entrance to the edge of the property or off the property.
And there is the 2013 attempt of Pittsburgh merchants to push all bus stops out of the Golden Triangle
And there is the 2013 attempt of Pittsburgh merchants to push all bus stops out of the Golden Triangle
January 11, 2026 at 8:15 PM
The bus hub is always at the far end of the parking lot. In Montgomery County MD two mall owners have forced bus stops to move from the entrance to the edge of the property or off the property.
And there is the 2013 attempt of Pittsburgh merchants to push all bus stops out of the Golden Triangle
And there is the 2013 attempt of Pittsburgh merchants to push all bus stops out of the Golden Triangle
I believe the main motivation for transit hubs in the US was and is the desire of merchants to move bus passengers out of the sight of their customers.
January 11, 2026 at 7:33 PM
I believe the main motivation for transit hubs in the US was and is the desire of merchants to move bus passengers out of the sight of their customers.
Or else it's just Trump's growing senility causing belligerence under the pressure of the job.
January 11, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Or else it's just Trump's growing senility causing belligerence under the pressure of the job.
In my (limited) experience, it's not rare that utiilities are not where their owners think they are.
January 11, 2026 at 2:54 PM
In my (limited) experience, it's not rare that utiilities are not where their owners think they are.
How much of this is the sheer density of underground utillities? I've been told that builders of the 2nd Ave subway stations found a solid mass of pipes & wires, with no dirt, beneath the streets.
To be sure, the need to deal with each utility separately massively inflates the cost of dealing this.
To be sure, the need to deal with each utility separately massively inflates the cost of dealing this.
January 11, 2026 at 1:57 PM
How much of this is the sheer density of underground utillities? I've been told that builders of the 2nd Ave subway stations found a solid mass of pipes & wires, with no dirt, beneath the streets.
To be sure, the need to deal with each utility separately massively inflates the cost of dealing this.
To be sure, the need to deal with each utility separately massively inflates the cost of dealing this.
Not always "previously." Sometimes simultaneously. Case in point.
January 11, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Not always "previously." Sometimes simultaneously. Case in point.