iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

From a talking-to-normal people perspective, the value proposition is wildly better understood in my experience. The randomly placed speed bumps are gonna cause a backlash because they come across as pure obstruction, whereas these more clearly trade off driving speed in exchange for walkability.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

These are 1000 times better than the speed bumps @nashvilledot.bsky.social. We need them everywhere.

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Sean Parker @seanforfive.com · 12/01/2026

Most Nashvillians avoid driving downtown unless absolutely necessary. Most cyclists must ride through downtown each day to get anywhere. There is no 440/Briley for cyclists.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Guess it's too much to hope oracle will lose interest and sell it to someone that actually wants an urban campus...

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

So much hand wringing as if this is some massive test of our capacity. Meanwhile there are simple, inexpensive ways to immediately start changing the way this street is perceived and used. If our institutions and leaders really give an Amy Grant...

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Lol good eye! Ran it with my 12yo, while my 10yo ran ahead and finished in 25.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

I'm Wesssley fan club. JWesss for mayor.

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Wesley Smith @johnwesssley.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

If the mayor endorses a four-lane design for East Bank Boulevard, it will be a home run. We have the data. The public overwhelmingly opposes the six-lane concept being proposed. Of the 881 responses to Metro's survey, 69% wrote a comment explicitly concerned with the number of lanes or width 1/

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

What a mealy mouthed quote from @freddieoconnell.bsky.social spokesperson: "Freddie will take in a series of information and advice from advisers and give input on his interpretation of the facts knowing he is one piece of the pie. But at the same time, knowing that his opinion holds great weight.”

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

The East Bank design @nashvilledot.bsky.social would be building if they actually wanted a walkable/transit-friendly neighborhood instead of an interstate traffic sink:

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Has anyone seen anything on whether @nashvilledot.bsky.social has any plan at all (other than paint) to keep cars out of the bus lanes? If there isn't a specific concrete-based plan for this, then we're 100% going to end up with 6 lanes of car traffic. This idea would definitely be better than that.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

It just seems like sidewalk extension is a better mental framework for what the actual goal should be here, which is to take excess space back from cars for people. And sidewalks have the benefit of being a more widely understood, popular commodity. Maybe there's something I'm missing.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

I guess nothing would be different in terms of painted lines and posts (preferably w/some curbs). But right now they call it a bike lane, paint bicycles on it, and put it on the bike map. 99% of the normie population that encounters any of that concludes something like "bike lanes are wasted space".

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

But why a bike lane rather than a sidewalk extension? When they sign it as a bike lane, a whole lot of people see the highly visible, unused space and write off bike lanes in general. And the theoretical "next steps" seem to be running decades (at least) on these highway-style roads.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

We keep painting off so much space for this kind of "bike lane"; it makes the whole idea of bike lanes look ridiculous. Almost no one will (or should) bike on this. Really wish @nashvilledot.bsky.social would reframe all of them as multipurpose sidewalk extensions. It's a mitigation of overpavement.

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Neil Kornutick @neilkornutick.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

Everyone needs to memorize our Complete Streets Implementation guide:

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

I would genuinely like to know, even if (or maybe especially if) it's the second one. Why am I wasting my and my family's time trying to participate in @nashvilledot.bsky.social and @metronashplan.bsky.social public feedback processes that doesn't actually carry any weight?

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Where is @freddieoconnell.bsky.social on any of this? Like, are we losing these two battles but we're going to try to make up for it elsewhere? Or was all the talk and engagement he did on these topics before he was elected complete BS?

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

What if it's more like synthetic diamonds though? As the content becomes more freely available, the consumer values it less. Drunk on power, they inevitably sew the seeds of their own demise...

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Nashville Cycling City @cycling.city · 09/05/2025

The East Bank Boulevard is being proposed to have a 110-foot ROW, with SIX travel lanes. This will be an incredibly dangerous, high-injury network that the city is choosing to build from scratch. This is ridiculously absurd, foolish, and inexcusable on so many levels.

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nicole has a collaborative spirit @startleseasily.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Here is the full text of @ginnywelsch.bsky.social's epic takedown of business as usual in Nashville's planning apparatus.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. I will be indefinitely deferring my bills. But I would be remiss if I did not point out that the process of getting here has clearly shown that the priorities of the planning department are at odds with the broader community as embodied in the community plan, NashvilleNext. How those priorities are chosen is anyone’s guess. The community plan clearly outlined what Nashvillians want, like walkability and affordability - yet planning continues to focus on things like the East Bank, where we have a blank canvas and can create whatever we can imagine, yet have a design that includes a 6-lane road through the middle of it. It’s mind boggling.

My district has not grown in the over 20 years since being down zoned in 2003, and without adequate housing, we are losing the people and places that make our district unique. And our zoning is at fault. Three studies have come out recently that show that what I'm trying to do in my district with this legislation and how I am trying to do it is what needs to be done in Nashville, if we are to comprehensively address the housing crisis we face. It will allow new types of housing and create more housing opportunities that are sorely needed for the residents of Nashville.

And yet, Planning continually asked me to slow down, to wait, to stop until they could present their own housing proposals in June. My intent was always to defer third reading on my bills, until after Planning’s housing & infrastructure study recommendations were put forth, and adjust accordingly. But I was very clear with Planning that I would not wait to start this process until June because Planning has a history of not meeting timelines, and slow walking real reform, and I wasn’t going to let my district’s housing situation continue to be unaddressed.

And nowhere was this more obvious than at the planning commission. The outcome of my planning commission hearing was quite obviously preordained. Rehearsed was the word most people used. Commissioners did not talk about the substance of my legislation, or land use policy, which is the basis on which they are supposed to be making recommendations. They didn't even ask me a single question. Instead, they recommended disapproval because they didn't like the process.

They looked me straight in the eye and said that planning should be leading rezonings like I am proposing, not me, and told me not to bring my legislation to council. But zoning is the exclusive purview of the legislative body, this council, and neither I nor my colleagues need to ask permission from or get the blessing of planning to move zoning in our districts.

As the council, we should expect our departments to serve the people of Nashville. I know other council members have also had trouble working with the planning department, and regardless of what your issue has been with the Planning Department, I think we’re all wondering what guides Planning, and what determines their priorities? Because it’s not Nashville Next’s action plan. So, really, what guidance are they following? The planning department needs to have an accountable work agenda, and update council on a regular basis about what they are doing now and what they expect to do in future, as well as providing a comprehensive analysis of past efforts and their real life results. We as a council need to know if what is being done is actually addressing our needs.

As was always my plan, community engagement and education about my legislation is continuing in my district. And my legislation will be back in some form because we need to tackle the housing crisis in my district. And we will do it, with or without planning. Because we cannot afford not to.

With that, I renew my motion to indefinitely defer.

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Angie E. Henderson @angienashville.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

Actually, no, you can’t. Engineers & elected officials hoping/pretending they’ll make everyone happy (or mostly ppl driving not mad) undermines a city’s purported health & safety goals. Pushing against, rather than acquiescing to, car dominance is exhausting. www.nashville.gov/featured-ini...

nashville.gov

East Bank Boulevard

We want your feedback on the East Bank Boulevard Project, a key piece of infrastructure through the reimagined East Bank! Please help us by May 15 at East...

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Walk Bike Nashville @walkbikenashville.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Then, take the survey and say NO to six-lane highways in the East Bank! Questions #4 and #5 ask if we support the proposed designs. We do not. They'd be dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, and drivers and a huge missed opportunity for Nashville. www.surveymonkey.com/r/EastBankBo...

surveymonkey.com

East Bank Boulevard Project

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Hey @freddieoconnell.bsky.social & @nashvilledot.bsky.social, you're better than this. Why are you wasting my and my family's time with fake feedback meetings? Why are you of all people failing this hard when we have a blank page opportunity to come up with a walkable street design?

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jeremiah @jerewoo.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

if you look closely, you’ll see three new icons at the bottom of the quickticket validator that’s because WeGo buses now support contactless payments using most credit and debit cards, as well as mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. www.quicktickettn.com/contactless/...

picture of a quickticket validator showing icons for visa, mastercard, and discover

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 17/04/2025

Our new research on Nashville @urbaninstitute.bsky.social examines how the city can adapt its land-use policies to accommodate growth around future transit lines. There is a big opportunity for the city to take advantage of its new bus rapid transit routes for housing: www.urban.org/research/pub...

Transit options in Nashville center on downtown, where the region's employment is concentrated. This map shows the location of the city's planned all-access corridors, which were funded by a 2024 transit referendum, and which will provide considerably improved bus service.

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Sean Parker @seanforfive.com · 04/04/2025

Multifamily housing support/opposition in Nashville by income

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 05/03/2025

Fascinating new article that shows that "urban highways are associated with decreased social connectivity," especially over short distances. Gives strong evidence for the importance of the Reconnecting Communities program, designed to connect neighborhoods divided by highways.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

MHZC is a zombie organization that is actively making our neighborhoods worse. The developers of 10th & Fatherland were going to build a nice neighborhood addition with corner shops and townhomes, but thanks to MHZC we got a pod of airbnb party houses instead. Please fix this @claycapp.bsky.social!

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Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Investing in school HVAC systems is very good —>

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Not saying I agree, but isn't his point that AGI will invent tech to make arbitrary amounts of pinto beans & petroleum, but no amount of intelligence/technology could create new surface area on the earth. Not like, residential space, which can be vertically stacked, but sunlit pastures & forests.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Yes! And not just bad things, good ones too. 9 out of 10 biographies drive me crazy with this instinct to walk you right into the pre-chewed conclusion that the individual or accomplishment was super-impressive, or diabolical, or virtuous. Maybe that's just what you have to do to sell pop history...

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Nashville Fatal Crash Tracker @nashfatalcrash.com · 03/02/2025

Fatal Crash Summary for January 2025: 4 total fatalities - 1 pedestrian fatality - 2 single vehicle fatalities - 1 vehicle-to-vehicle fatality - 2 on state routes - 1 on interstate - 1 on local road 2 additional life threatening crashes Jan '24 fatal crashes: 4 Jan '23 fatal crashes: 9

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

Yeah, if this happens it'll be more like Trump getting 20% of the Black vote instead of 10%. Still unclear if that's anything more than a dead cat bounce, but nothing in politics is forever.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Legacy maybe, but I'm just imagining them up there, holding the (considerable!) power of the state government, but having nothing really to show for it, because their whole schtick is that government is bad. But if they actually followed through and went full Sam Brownback it would be a disaster.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

I have zero intuition with these guys, but I have this theory that they're basically casting around for something substantial to actually do. Like, they have a massive, long-term majority, but all they've done is bicker and tinker with nickel and dime culture war stuff like guns in bars or whatever.

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 30/01/2025

112 people died daily in vehicle crashes throughout the US on average in 2023—almost 41,000 people over the course of the year.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

This would be a huge improvement. Thanks Emily.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

If anyone needs an example, just check out their recent masterpiece at Fatherland and 10th. Watching them ruin a promising neighborhood-scale development was a case study in what happens when an unaccountable organization is empowered to codify and enforce rules with no common sense or oversight.

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

This would be a huge improvement @freddieoconnell.bsky.social. MHZC as currently structured is a zombie organization with no accountability. Their interpretation of "historic" has had a relentless, negative effect on neighborhood development, repeatedly blocking walkable patterns.

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M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

"Before [racial zoning] was overturned by a court, Atlanta had an explicitly racist zoning code ... To comply with the court ruling, 'R-1 White Districts' became 'Dwelling House Districts' ... and 'R-2 Colored Districts' became Apartment House districts." www.atlcitydesign.com/blog/2021/1/...

atlcitydesign.com

Exclusionary policies of the past and present: How single-family zoning structures inequality — Atlanta Department of City Planning

By Kendra Taylor, Project Manager, Office of Housing and Community Development Racial and economic segregation are so prevalent today that it is easy to assume that segregation arises naturally thro...

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Joel Wertheimer @wertwhile.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

This chart from the Financial Times was really striking to me. Democrats take power in eras where unemployment is more salient and Republicans take over when inflation is more salient is a pretty good heuristic.

A chart of CPI and unemployment when presidents took over in the US showing Democrats get elected in eras of high unemployment

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

I'd only get interested in this if it could fold the laundry *and put it away*. It's that second step that I procrastinate the most. If washing, drying, folding, and putting away were fully automated though, I would do dangerous amounts of laundry. It would be problematic.

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East Nashville Urban Design @urbaneastnash.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

@metronashplan.bsky.social Nashville Planning Department on bluesky! Everyone is doing it! Where's NDOT?!?! 🦞

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Ben Passino (MURP) @benpassino.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Curb bulb outs.

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East Nashville Urban Design @urbaneastnash.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

This is where you tell Tennessee to spend $ on transit instead of widening highways. They probably won't listen 🎧, but stacking up comments matters. Make it obvious they're going against what the majority wants.

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Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

I'm *pretty* sure more families would live in apartments if downtowns were like this

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Aaron Gower @aaronen.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

I've seen successful ones, and less successful ones. Curious if NDOT is serious about it or if they're just going to let it turn into defacto six lanes of car traffic.

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