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awjustus.bsky.social

@awjustus.bsky.social
313 followers 459 following 251 posts
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
One small step for a YIMBY, one giant leap for YIMBYkind. First post from the second floor of a HUD Code manufactured home.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Factory building can help unlock higher construction labor productivity, better working conditions for residential builders, and savings for home buyers. The recent 21st Century ROAD to Housing law will help unlock even more savings by modernizing the old chassis requirement for HUD Code homes.
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The tax code rewards some retirees for staying in houses that they might want to move on from. Sell, and you could owe taxes on the gains above $250K–$500K. www.niskanencenter.org/to-help-grow...
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Housing lock-in may feel like a post-covid development, but tax law and inheritance rules have discouraged long-tenured homeowners from selling for over a generation.
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Matt Darling @besttrousers.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
I have a new piece out for @searchlightinst.bsky.social! Want to make housing cheaper? Stop taxing construction so heavily for being a volatile industry Our unemployment insurance system quietly makes it more expensive to build. Here’s how: (1/12) www.searchlightinstitute.org/research/the...
searchlightinstitute.org
The Hidden Tax on Blue-Collar Workers and Building in America
The unemployment insurance system has a design flaw that penalizes the construction industry, leading to fewer workers and lower productivity. Over time, that means less – and more expensive – housing...
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
This type of unequal property tax treatment based on length of tenure is a crime against youth and vitality. taxfoundation.org/research/all...
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
F/A-18s last weekend, firefighting seaplanes this weekend. Human achievement is incredible.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Auto detailing is pretty lucrative for the time, skill, and materials involved. Plus unlike selling knives and cosmetics, friends and family are usually happy to have their car cleaned.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Excellent report out from Pew today on preapproved residential building plans. Preapproved plan catalogs allow entrepreneurial localities to cut development costs by a few percentage points and provide developers with significant time savings in delivering new housing. 1/
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rohan aras @rohanaras.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
The original housing packages in the Senate and House were substantive answers to the housing crisis. As Congress writes a final version, it must take the best bills from both chambers—not just settle for the overlap. See our joint Niskanen Center and Institute for Progress explainer for more:
niskanencenter.org
A pro-supply to-do list for Congress’s housing bill - Niskanen Center
America is facing its worst housing crisis since the end of World War II. In a rare moment of bipartisan consensus, Congress has stepped up.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Housing is one of the clearest places where our policies subsidize older people and disadvantage young workers and families. Property tax laws like Prop 13 (CA) arbitrarily shift public service costs onto new homeowners and discourage interstate migration. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/o...
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
SROs are often the first rung on the housing ladder in any area. But they are too often missing from local housing markets. A model state bill, the ROOM Act, from @ij.org and @legelawyer.bsky.social would give states a tool to overcome local restrictions.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Usability is important, and one thing I see on my local zoning appeals board with ADUs. Most ADU applicants will only ever go through this process once or twice in their lives. If we want them to build more housing, making the process straightforward is the least we can do.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
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...
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Jenny Schuetz @jennyschuetz.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
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...
niskanencenter.org
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...
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Really good thread from Addison Del Mastro on the intersection of housing policy and natalism
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Addison Del Mastro @ad-mastro.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Long thoughts in today's piece on housing, sex, privacy, and the meaning of "family-friendly housing"
thedeletedscenes.com
Is YIMBYism About Sex?
Sexual mores and housing demand, and the meaning of "pro-family housing"
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
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...
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
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/
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Reed Schwartz @reed-schwartz.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
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...
sun-sentinel.com
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…
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
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...
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
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-...
commonwealthbeacon.org
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.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
- 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)
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
🚨🚨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. ⬇️
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
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).
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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 08/10/2025
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
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Jenny Schuetz @jennyschuetz.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
ND Gov. Kelly Armstrong at @yimbytown.bsky.social : on any policy change, 20% of people will be cranky & loud against, 80% are supportive but busy living their lives & don’t speak up. Ignore the 20%. Turn off your social media. Find a compelling emotional hook to engage the silent 80%.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
“For every five people leaving the trades we only have 1-2 entering,” we need more career and technical education, we need more legal immigration. - ND Gov Armstrong at #yimbytown
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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
America lost 7k construction jobs in August, and overall job growth in the sector is now at its worst pace since the pandemic Over the last year, the US has lost 31k jobs in residential construction and only gained 78k jobs in nonresidential & civil construction
a graph of year-on-year change in US construction employment
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
The Senate Banking Committee has advanced the ROAD to Housing Act—a rare, unanimous, bipartisan package tackling America’s housing shortage. 🏘️ @aarmlovi.bsky.social, @awjustus.bsky.social, and @rohanaras.bsky.social break down what’s in this 310-page bill ⬇️
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
1/ The latest from Factory Seconds, @lucagattonicelli.bsky.social drives multiple minivans and discovers that all new cars are not, in fact, good. Most motorists only have chance encounters with unfamiliar vehicles, so many operate with imperfect information when comparing different ones.
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rohan aras @rohanaras.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
I have a new piece up (first with @niskanencenter.bsky.social!) The federal government spends billions of dollars on transit each year. What can the feds do to get more on the dollar? Two things: - Create an Army Corp for transit projects - Incentivize legalizing housing near transit
niskanencenter.org
Making federal transit dollars work: Two reforms for better value - Niskanen Center
American transit investments regularly underdeliver compared to the potential of the infrastructure built and the amount of money invested.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
1/ Last week I explored current car headlight rules, tech, and how they perform. This week we look at how headlights developed alongside the automobile to bring us where we are today.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
1/ Car headlights are brighter than ever, but are they helping us see or blinding us with glare? @gluesenkampperez.house.gov is asking the right questions so let's look into the answers and ask a lighting expert along the way.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
1/ Car headlights are brighter than ever, but are they helping us see or blinding us with glare? @gluesenkampperez.house.gov is asking the right questions so let's look into the answers and ask a lighting expert along the way.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Yeesh. The Prospective Home Buyer index from NAHB. New cycle low. (via Kev Gordon) $XHB
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
After the Great Recession, we focused a lot on creating jobs and strengthening the economy. But now places with ample jobs are victims of their own success because housing can't keep up with the job growth! Fortunately, many places are already working on this problem but we have room to grow.
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Paul Williams @pewilliams.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Last week, California passed a landmark law exempting many infill housing developments from CEQA. Here’s how we can do the same thing on a national level, exempting urban infill housing from NEPA. New report from Aaron Shroyer for @publicenterprise.bsky.social:
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Does anyone at Transit Cost Proj. want to take this job? Seems like a great opportunity to put policy into practice. @alonlevy.bsky.social, @ndhapple.bsky.social, @egoldwyn.bsky.social careers.amtrak.com/job/Washingt...
careers.amtrak.com
Dir Financial Planning & Analysis - 90000521 - Washington
Dir Financial Planning & Analysis - 90000521 - Washington
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Detroit files biggest nuisance abatement action in city's history against crypto platform Real Token and their 400+ residential nuisance properties. 1/ www.detroitnews.com/story/news/l...
detroitnews.com
Detroit sues cryptocurrency-based real estate firm to correct hundreds of property violations
Detroit officials said they filed a nuisance abatement lawsuit against two Florida brothers linked to over 400 properties with blight violations.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Me, earlier this year: "Abundance offers a useful lens to confront obstacles standing in the way of affordable housing, quality health care and clean energy. But applying its insights to transportation requires considering the kind of infrastructure that gets built, not just the quantity."
bloomberg.com
What Would ‘Transportation Abundance’ Look Like?
Fans of the abundance movement say that adding supply solves big problems in housing and health care. But when it comes to getting around, things get complicated.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Good essay on the pickle that is public order discourse and how important it is for public figures to lead by example.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Trying out a substack with a focus on cross-silo policy analysis covering the places we live, how we move around, and other topics. To explain this idea, I outline the roles of specialists and generalists as depicted in Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry murals. open.substack.com/pub/awjustus...
open.substack.com
Factory Seconds
Breaking dwellings, movement, and machines out of their policy silos
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Brandi @brandita.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
This is why this bill is even more horrible, it won’t even lead to more housing just fake ranches for the rich.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 18/06/2025
Good thread on the federal land sell-off provisions of the GOP's reconciliation bill:
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
The ENR bill gets a lot of heat for exactly what federal lands will be sold for housing. But it remains under-scrutinized on its possible housing production elements. Let’s look 1/
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
1/“Once the land is sold, we will never get it back," @repryanzinke.bsky.social is right. If we sell fed lands we should have a good reason because we can only pull this lever once. If a place like SLC is all out of ideas for housing with 1/2 the density of Atlanta it is short of that bar.
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Happy Father’s Day, may you overcome life’s broken bolts with a combination of the proper tools and good temperament. www.motortrend.com/how-to/1808-...
motortrend.com
Removing broken bolts, studs, and screws
Few things seem more hopeless than when you’re in the process of removing a bolt, screw, or stud and it breaks. At that point, you know it’s all over but the cr
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Me, a housing advocate: endlessly pouring over the driest reports to make an argument for more homes based on facts. Trucking lobbyist: have you considered our job is a bit stressful?
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VoteVets @votevets.org · 10/06/2025
“When I joined the Marine Corps I took an oath to the Constitution, not to a person, not to a party.” — Janessa Goldbeck “The last thing the U.S. military wants is the image of a young man or woman with a rifle imposing the will of executive power.” — MG (Ret.) Paul Eaton
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