Recent content by ball_square

if I wanted a bunch of weak Israel-Palestine takes I would look literally anywhere else on the internet, would both of you pleeeeaaassseee shuuuutttt upppppp

I mean, they're right. It's a tragedy that all new builds and renovations seem to be grey or beige because that's the "safe" thing for a house going on the market.

In your experience is there any real base of advocacy for this? It makes so much sense and they got it done in CT... but I can imagine that there'd be a bunch of opposition from local politicians and groups who'd be poised to lose power.

I live near here. This is great news.

Not disagreeing but I'll note that the street grid in Manhattan is so much more predictable than Boston's radial spiderweb. Almost every intersection looks the same and works the same. So I'd bet that predictablilty is part of what makes it easier for drivers to know how to safely turn left and...

It's really enouraging to see cross-partisan embracement of YIMBYism as environmentalism. Really hope it spreads, (even if it means dunking on California in the process).

Look, I'd much rather go back to someone's ADU than to their parents' house.

I don't think WFH is taking over more than it already has. I'm not sure more AI usage would drive WFH. If anything, I can see the remote-friendly stuff like simple coding and PDF-slinging getting automated away, leading to a greater need for workers to be together in-person doing planning...

To echo everything that's already been said, the existence of property tax means that real estate is a not a pure market, so non-market adjustments (e.g. adjusting that same tax code) are going to sometimes be necessary to align incentives.

Thanks. I enjoy what Streetsblog does but sometimes I wish they'd cool it with the sensationalism. Like, I'm already mad about bike lanes and transit, the facts are strong enough on their own.

It's not all gone, I've worked in Kendall for a decade and it's livelier now than ever IMO. But the gravity has definitely moved away from One Kendall and towards the Red Line stop. I do hope that One Kendall can get some of its old life back soon.

I liked your unhinged rants more before you started using AI to write them.

I just don't agree. I think this attitude is the enemy of progress. Yeah, I think it would kinda suck for the new residents, and the rental asking price would be appropriately lowered. But it's better than not having somewhere to live, and it's better than leaving this corridor as-is.

How do you think people without cars live? Usually, they walk 10+ minutes to transit.. mostly bus stops which are less frequent and "harder to find" than this. The renter's market is so brutal right now that, yes, people will readily accept these conditions for an apartment they can afford...

Develop it all with 0 new parking spots. Ditch the median, add cycletracks, improve ped crossings. It's all a 10 minute walk from the Green Line. There's a grocery store and restaurants already--develop everything with ground floor retail and there'd be even more to do within walking distance...