Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 9h

My current strategy is to heavily curate it all: only follow a small, focused group of people, never look at the algorithmic feeds. Mostly search for stuff on Reddit. But that’s all bandaids.

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 9h

Or maybe we spend more time with offline communities once the internet is enshittified beyond usefulness? You ask a really good question. I don’t have a good answer.

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 12h

Public via ferrata and a whale-shaped soccer pitch with Eiffel Tower views!

There are so many little moments like this in Paris where you can tell the city is focused on a great resident experience. Also a huge upgrade from the highway it used to be (last pic).

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 21h

The trailers with integrated battery + brake systems really open up some interesting possibilities.

Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 22h

The U.S. is such a crazy country. Constantly fighting reality in our policies and behaviors. It's a losing battle in the long term, and totally unnecessary.

Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 1d

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 · 1d

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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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, those + the commercial e-cargo bikes are a totally different paradigm. Love it.

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Reposted by Kyle Williams

Edouard Stenger, MSc, MBA @edouardstenger.bsky.social · 5d

To the naysayers, fossil fool and other nuclear useful idiots who say #renewables and the #energytransition are wasteful, expensive and woke unnecessary crap.

Pat Simons @patsimons.bsky.social · 5d

Spain's wholesale electricity prices were 32% lower than the European average in the first half of 2025 -- thanks to wind and solar reducing the influence of costly fossil fuels on prices. ember-energy.org/latest-insig...

Decoupled: how Spain cut the link between gas and power prices using renewables | Ember

Spain has some of the lowest wholesale electricity prices in Europe, largely owing to the country’s strong solar and wind growth which reduced the influence of expensive coal and gas power on the elec...

ember-energy.org

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 8d

Our apartment here in the center of the largest city in France might be the quietest place I've ever lived (including rural Michigan). Except for the cars that rattle over the cobbled street 1-2 times an hour.

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 8d

Can confirm this based on the last month in Paris: there can be hundred of people biking, walking, chatting on a fairly narrow old street and you can easily have a conversation with your companion. And then 1 car drives through and you have to hold your thought until it passes.

Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 8d

if you read my book you'd already know this

cities aren't loud - cars are loud. SUVs are louder. and yes that includes EVs.

want quieter cities?

replace diesel trucks w/ EVs
replace delivery vans w/ e-cargo bikes
low traffic neighborhoods and modal filters everywhere

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Reposted by Kyle Williams

Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 8d

if you read my book you'd already know this

cities aren't loud - cars are loud. SUVs are louder. and yes that includes EVs.

want quieter cities?

replace diesel trucks w/ EVs
replace delivery vans w/ e-cargo bikes
low traffic neighborhoods and modal filters everywhere

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 8d

Lots of good stuff here. Sorry to miss out!

Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 8d

Holds right up to the top. Fully utilizing that vertical space!

Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 9d

Church -> climbing gym + café is an adaptive reuse strategy I hadn't considered before, but seems to work really well. This is in Paris' 15th, near the Eiffel tower. Cool option for the church at Trent and Alabama in Durham. That parking lot would be a great outdoor patio.

buff.ly/I0g06Kf

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 11d

Awesome! Great job on the productive mini-prairie

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 11d

I’d be curious what the demand is the 2br with a ”junior” 2nd bedroom vs a full size 2nd bedroom is in the US. Seems lik e a great option for couples (BR + office/guest room) or couples + 1 Kid. Maybe could do 2 kids w bunks but that starts to feel pretty tight w/ 21st century kid paraphernalia.

Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 12d

Not explicitly teaching, but good resources from both these orgs:
www.buildwithnature.us
www.croft.haus/resources

Build With Nature

www.buildwithnature.us

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 13d

My semester-abroad-in-college French has come back enough that I fortunately haven’t had to rely on google much but this is a great tip!

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 16d

Amazing. Thank you!

Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 16d

Whoa, is this overlay (and data you posted above) publicly available? Very cool.

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 16d

26 homes + 2 businesses on less than 3k sf. So cool!

Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 16d

you thought i was kidding

but i'm not

>80% of housing in paris is in single stair buildings

this one is like 30' wide.

26 homes on a 2,730 sf lot.

building the micro retail juice bar is located in

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 16d

That's right!

Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 16d

More micro retail in France: ~150 square feet and a dream is all you need for an organic juice bar with both table and bar seating. Would love to see more opportunities (spaces!) like this for small-scale entrepreneurs back home.

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 16d

Yep, just some quick "photoshopping" in Affinity. Trying to make myself draw here and there to get better with the tools.

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Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 18d

What’s the rough formula here? 3 parts garden earth to 1 part water? Or is it more of a final texture/consistency you are going for?

Kyle Williams @kylewwilliams.bsky.social · 18d

Yes!!! Riding through in person is such a revelation. You really don't "get" it until you're on the ground here. Perfect timing as well. The weather yesterday was beautiful!

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