In @thehill.com with @rohanaras.bsky.social today where we argue that surface transportation policy is not complete without considering housing. thehill.com/opinion/cong...

How to evaluate state pro-housing policies: Mind the empirical pitfalls - Niskanen Center As more state legislatures become laboratories of housing policy experimentation, social science researchers have once-in-a-generation opportunities to evaluate how pro-housing policies are working in...

30+ states have now adopted policies to boost housing production. Which means exciting opportunities for researchers to study these policies' effectiveness. Some guidance from me, via @niskanencenter.bsky.social, on how to design good state policy evaluations:
www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-evalu...

Really good thread from Addison Del Mastro on the intersection of housing policy and natalism

Is YIMBYism About Sex? Sexual mores and housing demand, and the meaning of "pro-family housing"

Long thoughts in today's piece on housing, sex, privacy, and the meaning of "family-friendly housing"

“Man, every time I go 40 thru this school zone I get a photo ticket that I am powerless to avoid.”

Who are these drivers who can’t help but fall for the speed trap that’s always in the same place?

This proves that drivers have agency. Every time they turn the car on, they decide what to do with it. Imposing even light but predictable consequences on misusing vehicles improves safety outcomes.

Some interesting data on DC resident age and gender trends post covid, with millennial-age women leading the exodus and return consistent with their larger share of the District's population.

ora-cfo.dc.gov/blog/populat...

With preapproved building plans local, state, and federal policymakers take aim at soft costs While Tahra’s off today, we’re handing the mic to Andrew Justus—a housing policy analyst at the Niskanen Center who works on housing, transportation, and infrastructure.

And here: www.therebuild.pub/p/with-preap...

With preapproved building plans local, state, and federal policymakers take aim at soft costs - Niskanen Center In 2022, South Bend developed one of the country’s first comprehensive preapproved plan catalogs for infill housing. The idea is catching on in other states, and even the federal government.

You can read the whole piece here: www.niskanencenter.org/with-preappr...

In addition to the cost/benefit of buildable space, locally led preapproved plans allow constructive local input around architecture and other aesthetic concerns, a boost for political buy-in supported by recent research. 7/

For plans developed by nonprofits or higher levels of government, a degree of genericness is baked in to make the plans buildable on a variety of sites and local regulatory environments. This unbuilt sq ft erodes the benefit of preapproved plans that aren’t locally led. 6/

Preapproved plan catalogs offer time and money savings for infill projects. These projects are often the most sensitive to soft costs, particularly outside superstar cities. But these savings come at a cost of unbuilt square feet compared to the maximum under local rules. 5/

Federal policy makers have funded some plan catalog work through the CDBG-PRO grant program, and current legislation would create a competitive grant program to support localities’ preapproved plan catalogs. 4/

California’s AB 1332 requires localities to develop their own preapproved ADU catalogs 3/

Nonprofits like the Michigan Municipal League and Greater Ohio are offering baseline plans and technical assistance to localities who hope to adopt their own preapproved plan catalogs. 2/

Preapproved building plans represent a novel way to lower building costs and speed delivery of infill housing. After recent local leadership, nonprofits, states, and federal policy makers are taking notice. 1/

A tax on land is the most conservative tax | Opinion An old but conservative idea to think about amid property tax debates: People ought not to be taxed on how they improve property, but a tax on the underlying land is, in the words of Milton Friedma…

I'm in the Sun Sentinel, making the case that DeSantis's tax cuts are insufficiently conservative.

www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/12/09/a...

20th Century housing reformers largely banned single room rentals to make their externalities go away. But did so without fully accounting for the unintended consequences.

As a result, it’s now harder to move to a new city and easier to go homeless.

www.richmondfed.org/publications...

Interesting case, I was not familiar with the Peleus incident.

www.usni.org/magazines/na...

Hi Sally, happy to chat about this. Electoral systems are definitely an underappreciated dimension in housing production. Feel free to DM me.

How a 1940 electoral system reform in Cambridge made its 2025 housing breakthrough possible   - CommonWealth Beacon This is more than just a housing “win.” It’s a triumph for Cambridge’s unique brand of representative democracy—one that balances citywide priorities with fair representation for diverse communities.

How your city council is elected can suppress housing production by up to 21%.

Cambridge, MA, shows how an at-large city council combined with ranked choice voting can elevate citywide YIMBY coalitions proportionate to their growing support.

commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/how-...

- Lincoln Mark VII ($500, first car)
- Lincoln Mark VII (5-sp manual swap)
- Mercedes-Benz 240d (4-sp, diesel)
- Chevy Cruze (diesel)
- Mazda Miata (5-sp, 1.6L)

Proud to be a fan of Ann Arbor’s Big Ten Team™️

Thus always to tyrants

The City that Really Did Abolish the Police And rebuilt the department from the ground up. The strange, hopeful, politically complicated story of Camden, N.J.

People will say this is unserious but we could do a Camden NJ PD to ICE. Disband the agency, shift its mission somewhere else, then hire new agents including carefully screened ones from the old department.

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

🚨🚨The Senate has passed the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act as part of the NDAA!

This is a historic level of bipartisan cooperation to expand Americans' access to housing.

@aarmlovi.bsky.social, @awjustus.bsky.social, and @rohanaras.bsky.social unpack what's in the 310-page bill. ⬇️

3/ With lower weight materials, acoustic insulation needs to be added to mitigate noise transfer between spaces. This involves a fiber or rubber barrier with a gypsum or Portland cement leveling compound on top before the finished floor.

2/ Mass timber construction can be 1/3 the weight of concrete and steel, allowing lower cost foundation and site prep. This is especially valuable for already disturbed brownfield sites.

1/ Learning lots about mass timber and prefab construction in a mass timber building in SE DC. The pavilion’s open design provides nice views of the air traffic out of joint base Andrews (c-5 galaxy transport aircraft pictured).