Andrew Talbot
talboito.bsky.social
Andrew Talbot
@talboito.bsky.social
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Wow! Wealthy homeowner groups in San Francisco suing under the California Environmental Quality Act to try to stop a major citywide rezoning to create new multifamily housing? Who could have seen this coming?!
December 6, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
I was 19 when I asked that my BART parking lot be turned into housing. It was a pipedream. @alfredtwu.com made a drawing of apartments here that caused a neighborhood freakout. I met @libbington.bsky.social and she organized the area pro-housers. At 29, it finally begins.
sfyimby.com/2025/12/perm...
Permits Filed for Transit Oriented Project at North Berkely BART
Permits have been filed for the construction of new housing located at 1700 Sacramento Street in Berkeley. The site is currently part of...
sfyimby.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Listen, I know the housing shortage is killing a great American city, but that really is one of our most historically significant Safeways www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s...
Marina’s reaction to Safeway tower plans: ‘Along comes this behemoth right on the waterfront’
Plans to put a 25-story apartment complex on San Francisco’s Marina district sparked concerts about a future where the city’s waterfront is ringed by tall housing structures.
www.sfchronicle.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
It's now a done deal: Tosh Lupoi will be Cal's next football coach, @brucefeldmancfb.bsky.social @chrisvannini.com and I have learned. @theathletic.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
🏘️🏗️"Middle Housing" zoning changes encourage construction of new housing units in large parts of Berkeley.

See if Middle Housing changes apply to your neighborhood and how it can save time and money if applying for new housing construction.
New zoning changes allow faster, cheaper process to build homes | City of Berkeley
Starting November 1, “Middle Housing” zoning changes encourage building more housing units in Berkeley. Berkeley homeowners seeking to build a new backyard unit or bedroom can now apply for permits that cost less, have clearer standards, and can get reviewed faster.Applicants also have a faster process with more certain outcomes to build small apartments in areas previously limited to single-family dwellings by following a checklist of set guidelines.
berkeleyca.gov
December 4, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
The thing is, I don't want to be notified about an actual 5.9 earthquake in Reno
December 4, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
A website showing the impact of building highways through the middle of US cities, measuring things such as air pollution, property taxes lost, and more.

Many of these mid-20th century mistakes can, and should be reversed.
The C's and D's are up now on the Atlas of Inner City Highway Impacts: www.thehumanecosystem.city/portfolio-1/...

Find Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Chicago, Des Moines, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Durham, Cedar Rapids, Charlotte, etc etc.
The Atlas of Inner-City Highway Impacts — The Human Ecosystem: a Planning and Urban Design Practice in Conjunction with AmericanDream.City
www.thehumanecosystem.city
December 4, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) have introduced legislation in Congress that directs HUD to write "model code language, best practices, and technical guidelines" for single-stair buildings up to five stories docs.house.gov/meetings/BA/...
docs.house.gov
December 3, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Over the past couple of decades, San Francisco has added about 6 jobs for every 1 new home built, a jobs-housing imbalance second only to Silicon Valley. The result has been huge rent increases spilling over to the East Bay.

The Family Zoning Plan is a big deal for our whole region.
December 3, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Check out Westbrae Makers Pop-Up and Block Party! 🚲 🧰 🧆 👝 🔪 🪴 ⛺ 📰 📖 💎 🗺️

Sunday, December 7 | 11 am - 4 pm
@gilmandistrict.bsky.social
1306 Gilman Street

Featuring: Blue Heron Bikes; Hida Tool & Hardware Company; Middle East Market and Cafe; North & East Leather; Golden State Sharpening;...
December 3, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Family Zoning passes the first reading 7-4 at the Board of Supervisors. I've legit been working on this for 3 years. LET'S FUCKING GO.

If you showed up at a hearing, sent a letter, told your friends, or organized to make this happen, THANK YOU
December 3, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
San Francisco just upzoned the Sunset, the Richmond, North Point, and a bunch of the Marina. I truly never thought I'd see the day. Huge congratulations to the local activists at @sfyimby.bsky.social who worked so hard to make this happen.
S.F. Mayor Lurie’s ‘Family Zoning’ plan approved in major legislative victory
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie won his biggest legislative victory Tuesday with approval of his “Family Zoning” plan, which will allow taller and denser housing in city neighborhoods.
www.sfchronicle.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
In 1978, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors downzoned the city, banning multifamily homes in many areas and sparking a decades-long affordability crisis.

47 years later, on a 7–4 vote, they passed the Family Zoning Plan to finally begin to undo that mistake.

The times, they are a-changin’!
December 3, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
It's with heavy hearts that we share that Claude, our beloved albino alligator, has passed away at the age of 30. Claude brought joy to millions of people at the Academy and across the world during his 17 year tenure. We will miss him dearly. 🤍
December 2, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
The plumbing installation in the lower left would be illegal in most eastern US cities but is permitted on the entire West Coast. Here's why. 🧵
December 2, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
I wrote about the private, intimate, often ridiculous agonies of working for a man who think you’re a monster nymag.com/intelligence...
Doughnuts and Bullets: The Absurdity of Working for RFK Jr.
What happens when your new boss thinks you’re a child killer?
nymag.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
DDOT continues to publish before/after analyses of safety projects. The numbers for the 9th street NW bike lanes suggest that we should be doing these projects everywhere we can. Crashes plummeted, pedestrian and bike traffic skyrocketed, and vehicle travel times dropped.
December 2, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Speeding drivers will receive fines of $50 to $500 depending on how fast they're driving. Data on the city’s most dangerous roadways guided their placement.
Oakland will get 18 speed cameras over the next six weeks
Speeding drivers will receive fines of $50 to $500 depending on how fast they're driving. Data on the city’s most dangerous roadways guided their placement.
oaklandside.org
December 2, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Downzoning was used by cities around the world to preserve neighborhood aesthetics & protect property values.

New evidence from Chicago in @findingspress.org ⏬ shows downzoning's effects over several decades:
—Massive drop in housing construction
—Higher home prices
—Increased racial segregation
Downzoning Chicago: How Local Land Use Policy Has Reduced Housing Construction and Reinforced Segregation | Published in Findings
By Yonah Freemark, George Kisiel. Downzonings were used by US cities in the postwar period to preserve neighborhood character. These land-use policies were associated with lower housing supply, higher...
findingspress.org
December 1, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
“Between 2010 and 2022, structural fires in Berkeley injured an average of 2 people per year, while between just 2017 and 2022, traffic accidents injured or killed an average of 694 people annually.”
New post: a week of hectic back and forth with fire officials and city council over Berkeley street festivals brings out into the open a conflict in city halls across USA. Fire depts opposition to traffic calming and safety measures. Is there a solution?

darrellowens.substack.com/p/the-fire-d...
The Fire Department vs. Traffic Safety Advocates
Street safety advocates are butting heads with fire officials. Swift fire response does not have to come at the cost of lives on the roadway.
darrellowens.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Best fire risk map is FAIR plan concentration. Where insurers don’t want to write is where the risk is greatest.
November 30, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
New post: a week of hectic back and forth with fire officials and city council over Berkeley street festivals brings out into the open a conflict in city halls across USA. Fire depts opposition to traffic calming and safety measures. Is there a solution?

darrellowens.substack.com/p/the-fire-d...
The Fire Department vs. Traffic Safety Advocates
Street safety advocates are butting heads with fire officials. Swift fire response does not have to come at the cost of lives on the roadway.
darrellowens.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
I found out that something doesn't work very well. In the interest of not burying it so that someone else goes down this rabbit hole again, maybe I will try to write a paper.
November 27, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
I believe this marks the first Middle Housing proposal since Berkeley upzoned citywide om Nov 1st. A duplex and ADU in formerly single family zoned West Berkeley. The duplex consist of three bedrooms with a master bedroom ie family oriented housing.
sfyimby.com/2025/11/prel...
Preliminary Permits Filed For Middle Housing at 2808 Ninth Street, West Berkeley - San Francisco YIMBY
Preliminary permits have been filed for a duplex infill at 2808 Ninth Street in West Berkeley, Alameda County. The proposal will replace a vacant...
sfyimby.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Reposted by Andrew Talbot
Interesting new working paper that studies chains of movers after the construction of a new apartment building in Honolulu.

Paper finds that the project resulted in the opening up other, lower cost, housing on the island, benefiting the housing market overall.
uhero.hawaii.edu
November 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM