iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Reposted by Ben Preis

I am looking for a research assistant to work with me on the development of U.S. housing markets. Experience with ArcGIS, Stata useful. We build datasets that allow us to understand housing affordability, the impacts of transit and zoning, and more: rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FRS/jo...

rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com

Research Assistant/Sr. Research Assistant

Company Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Job Description Summary Research assistants (RAs) at the Philadelphia Fed play a key role in the Economic Research Department. Whether they are helping eco...

32618

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 26/06/2025

After a tremendous year of work, I'm pleased to announce that the National Housing Crisis Task Force has released its State & Local Housing Action Plan. With 15 bold ideas to address the housing shortage, we hope this plan can help local leaders act now. nationalhousingcrisis.org/app/uploads/...

020

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 29/04/2025

Californians... talk to me about SB750. Any analysis of the proposal and its potential impacts? @resnikoff.bsky.social @mnolangray.bsky.social

Hartog or Schragger, you mean? I'll admit that I read Hartog excerpts in Frug's class before reading the book on its own, so I see them as interrelated even if in conversation with each other.

100

One more thought — though if you're not into legal history, maybe not — but it pairs well with City Power by Rich Schragger and with City Making by Gerald Frug.

But in my recollection in the book, it's a lot about "what is a city"? What sort of powers can and should it have? What sort of powers should be off limits? Though we tend to view federal/state/local govs as all "the government" there was a time when local govs were treated very differently.

120

I think there are also some lessons to be learned vis-a-vis local/state relations. A lot of the state preemption, state constitutional language around "general legislation" all come from cities like NYC and Philadelphia engaging in intense lobbying in the 19th century.

120

For me, the legal history shows how the distinction between "public corporations" and "private corporations" is relatively new, and how much power NYC used to have to compel private citizens towards public improvements.

130

This is, hands down, one of my favorite academic books of all time. Revelatory for me in so many ways.

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 13/03/2025

I'm excited for it! I just want it... Every weekend. All year.

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 13/03/2025

I know I'm not the first one to make the critique, but it is a sad state of affairs to celebrate a not-quite-monthly, nbhood-specific street closure when major cities all around the world close arterial roads every weekend. Just wish DC could get there.

120

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 11/02/2025

Feels like Terner Labs Housing Supply Simulator is trying to be the thing that can do that, though I don't think they've expanded east yet.

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 29/01/2025

That's a... fair point and my bad.

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 29/01/2025

Where are you getting the "homes in poor shape" number? (I wouldn't disagree, just curious where you're pulling that number from.)

200

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 28/01/2025

I imagine CDBG will definitely fall under the memo. I'm less certain (but pessimistic) about HCVs and PHA operating subsidies.

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 28/01/2025

If you're referring to the list that's gone semi-viral on here, it's... A ChatGPT guess of what might be affected. bsky.app/profile/grav...

210

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 17/12/2024

Really excited to read this paper by a great group of scholars studying a critical issue as different forms of rental property ownership continues to be an issue vexing local communities.

040

Reposted by Ben Preis

Prentiss Dantzler @docdantzler.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Housing Policy Debate has opened a call for papers exploring the question "How does housing policy impact the racial wealth gap?" (1/2)

11211

Reposted by Ben Preis

Daniel Kay Hertz @danielkayhertz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Is there a recent-ish digest paper of state-level housing affordability/production interventions?

231

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 05/12/2024

Maybe billionaires buying newspapers wasn't the best solution to the local news crisis.

040

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 28/11/2024

I *think* that Atlanta's UDC technically has all of those powers. The bond authority might be contingent on the Housing Authority. And it's conceivable that the city may not use the zoning or eminent domain powers, but I'm pretty sure AUDC has them if it wants them!

020

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 27/11/2024

Does anyone know of a database of which states/localities offer tax abatements/exemptions for affordable housing - and what those abatement requirements are? @yfreemark.bsky.social @cbgoodman.co maybe you know of something?

100

As its written, I think you're right. But given that we treat "capital A affordable" housing differently than market-rate housing — and "Affordable Housing" is defined elsewhere in the bill, it just seems like a strange approach to me?

I'm also confused by the bill language. It doesn't define "Affordable Housing" for the purpose of the building code. Would it just apply to deed restricted/subsidized units? Would it imply to stakeholders that affordable housing is of lower quality than market-rate construction? Or something else?

300

Thus, it's not clear to me whether a "National Building Code for Affordable Housing" is meant to be a building code that would apply to affordable housing, or whether the building code is meant to make housing more affordable — regardless of whether it is subsidized/deed restricted/etc.

000

Reading the bill, "Affordable Housing" also isn't defined under Title III (the Title that would establish the building code).

100

Katie Kramer @katiebkramer.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

I appreciate the spirit of a national model building code (it's in the report that the National Housing Crisis Task Force just released earlier this month), but I'm skeptical of an *Affordable Housing building code* as that could imply that affordable housing is held to a lower standard.

100

Reposted by Ben Preis

I created a Starter Pack to help our economic development friends find each other. Join the conversation and help spread tbr word!

4101

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 23/11/2024

Amtrak certainly claims that they have 80% market share. www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...

A screenshot of an Amtrak fact sheet on the Northeast Corridor.

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 21/11/2024

Excited to have Pittsburgh data-provider and holder of the historical knowledge Chris Briem over here.

000

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 21/11/2024

Looking at the raw data, it's remote work effects. There's been a reduction in total number of car commuters (-15%), public transit commuters (-33%), walking commuters (-16%), and bike commuters (-14%). WFH has increased... 268%. I would also echo another reply that shows how CaBi ridership is up.

0110

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 21/11/2024

As someone working on creating some state and local housing policy explainers, I'm pretty interested in this question myself!

141

Reposted by Ben Preis

Tony Damiano @tonydamiano.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

New Research Thread🧵: We examine the spatial patterns and eviction rates of single-family landlords in the Twin Cities. We find Private Equity firms and REITs each have their own distinct geographies and evict tenants at higher rates than smaller landlords. 1/

511645

Reposted by Ben Preis

Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 20/11/2024

Want to contribute to Transit Explorer (www.thetransportpolitic.com/transitexplo...) & Atlas of Sustainable Transport (itdp.org/publication/...)? @itdp-hq.bsky.social has a $2,500 RFP out for folks who know how to map. If you're interested, check out the link: oneitdp.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/Sustai...

192

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 15/11/2024

Hard to say without diving into the data (which, I admit, I haven't done) as to whether the % increase is based on increased assessment value - which you be what you're saying - or increased millage rates.

000

Ben Preis @benjaminpreis.com · 15/11/2024

This is largely a function of the fact that TX and FL don't have income taxes, right? Plus Prop 13/Prop 2.5 and other tax revolt limits in historically blue states?

320

If you don't have access to the journal, find the pre-print online at my website: benjaminpreis.com/publication/...

1) They represent an actual sample of rentals, depending on their enforcement. 2) They often ask for owner name & address, manager name & address, and differentiate between those two. 3) They provide a bunch of other information to make data cleaning easier, like phone numbers.

A note on the data: I use rental registries to identify landlords here, rather than tax assessment data. I have another paper in review as to why I dislike tax assessment data, but here are some benefits of rental registries:

Here's what it looks like locally. While commuting backbones (below) are mostly constrained by the MSA boundaries, landlord market areas extend nationally.

100

I calculate the landlord market area by taking the network backbone from the landlord-property network I create. Hotspots include California, Florida, Texas, and Georgia. These are sights of large landlords, but also significant personal wealth, retirees, and more.

Conversely, it's a way to think about where capital is located that searches for real estate investment. While (pre-pandemic, at least) most workers were local, capital is global — it searches for returns and is enabled by new technologies.

100