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David Binnig

@binnig.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.6K following 1.7K posts

Portlander. Transportation & housing hobbyist.

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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 9h
To expand—if you want more progressives on city council you can: • Pump up turnout among latent progressive voters • Sell more people on progressive ideas • Flip previous mod voters through charisma and/or triangulation. You can’t just truncate your preferences harder.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 20h
My kid told me today that she loves me more than libraries and it was both a nice thing to hear and nice that that was her reference point for well-loved things.
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Portland Pizza Enthusiast @whynotzoidberg.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I think the follow-up posts had more detail to this effect, but... If you have limited rankings, DNR only works tactically for the worst viable candidate, or if there are enough viable good ones. With 4 viables: 2 good, 1 bad, 1 very bad, it's still better to rank the less bad one (last).
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I guess it’s the season again to start pointing out that “don’t rank” campaigns didn’t work in 2024 and basically can’t work in Portland’s election system.
Graffito: “Don’t Rank Torres.” NE 28th.
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
bluesky does not seem to really be talking about this but today Stevie Wonder unleased 4 songs that didn't make "Songs in the Key of Life." music.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
music.youtube.com
Songs In The Key Of Life - The EP
EP • Stevie Wonder
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I had AI make a site showing what percentage of drivers are speeding at any (measured) location in Portland: pdxspeedmapper.com
pdxspeedmapper.com
PDX Speed Mapper · Portland traffic speeds in context
A public map of observed Portland traffic speeds compared with posted limits.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Perennial question.
Oregon Journal, July 7, 1953: “Portland: Big League City or Sad Sack Town?”
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I don’t have any strong feelings on this but I don’t think I really understand the objections, either . www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...
oregonlive.com
Portland data center planned inside five stories of high-rise, records show
Plans to convert part of a Portland office tower into data center space come as gubernatorial candidates call for a moratorium.
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we have elizabeth at home @spindlypete.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
please come here! it's nice here!
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Great to see Councilor Morillo highlight zoning reforms (“Inner Eastside for All”) and single-stair building code reform as things she’s worked on to address the housing crisis.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Could use help—what are the big federal laws the Supreme Court has blocked/reversed/limited this century? McCain-Feingold (partially) in 2010 is the obvious one. FTC commissioner removal protections in Trump v. Slaughter, more recently.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I would add to this only that I think the tendency to treat everything as primarily a factional fight (rather than a policy disagreement) is unhealthy & unhelpful for Portland.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Rereading “The Female Man” (1975) and this is still true but for better reasons.
“There are more whooping cranes in the United States of America than there are women in Congress.” Joanna Russ, The Female Man (1975)
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Existence of “Mamdani is Italian” voters seems good for Talarico’s chances in Texas.
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J.C. Bradbury @jcbradbury.com · 11/08/2026
I made a video about Cleveland's experience with stadium subsidies. youtu.be/r5d34fNbjjg?...
youtu.be
Lessons from Cleveland: The Birthplace of Stadium Subsidies #economics #stadiums #subsidies #TOWBD
YouTube video by J.C. Bradbury
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Engine Summer is one of my favorite science fiction novels, beautiful book.
Paperback edition of Engine Summer, John Crowley (1979). A young woman with an orb sits behind a watchful cat.
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Councilor Candace Avalos @counciloravalos.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Housing affordability remains one of Portland's most pressing challenges, and if we're serious about increasing housing production, we need to be willing to examine every part of the development process—from land use and permitting to building codes.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I don’t really understand how planning at PDX failed to consider the difficulty of growing trees indoors.
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GOLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 25/07/2026
speaking of, the portland puppet museum is one of the most delightful small boutique museums i have ever been to. should you venture that way, definitely opt for the tour
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
It might be helpful for current councilors who support this to identify the ~$17 million in low-priority spending that would be easy to cut from the current budget. www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
oregonlive.com
Portland initiative on community budgeting qualifies for November ballot
"Community Budgeting for All" would let Portlanders pick how to spend at least 2% of the city’s general fund budget.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Finally made it to the ground zero of Euclidean zoning.
Me, gesturing at the Euclid v. Ambler Realty historical marker sign, Euclid, Ohio.
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Fischer 🛠️🚇 @fischer.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
new (sort of) from me! in sightline! thanks to michael for making this happen 😃
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
This too is Glonzo.
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Portland: Neighbors Welcome @portlandneighborswelcome.org · 13/07/2026
Hey, you should come to our 4th Annual Inner Eastside for All Ride on July 26th! We are hosting it with our amazing friends at @strongtownspdx.bsky.social and @bikeloudpdx.bsky.social, and we're excited to envision an even more welcoming and wonderful Inner Eastside with you!
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
My taxonomy of this is that there are kind of three meta-schools of urbanism: There’s (1) the style of high-theoretic utopian planning that Jacobs opposed—le Corbusier, Ebenezer Howard, probably you can ultimately blame Plato.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
A lot going on in the April 28, 1922 Oregonian.
Morning Oregonian, April 28, 1922: 
LONDON TODDLING TO AMERICAN JAZZ
Pep of United States Intoxicates Dull City. 
WOMEN TAKING TO LINGERIE
Feminine England No Longer Wants Muslin Underthings
MEN WEARING SILK SOCKS
"My Word, I Feel Like a Silly Ass," Says Briton in Attempt to Be Like New Yorker.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
This kind of smart, mixed-use urbanism is illegal in most American cities.
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Mitch Green @councilorgreen.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Councilor Kanal just said: the old world is dying. The new world is struggling to be born. Now is the time of land use.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Beautiful vignette of Portland here
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iain @maccoinnich.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The only question in front of City Council today is “was the Design Commission correct that the Lloyd Center master plan meets the applicable design guidelines?” I’ll be disappointed if the council doesn’t vote 11-0 that it was. Every other talking point is distraction.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
I’m fascinated by the gap between things my kid draws from conceptual knowledge (head, tail, n legs) and things she draws by actually looking at the shapes.
6-yr-old kid’s drawings on a card: unicorn (symbolic body shapes, looks nothing like a unicorn); ornate moth (Utetheisa ornatrix), accurate markings, looks pretty good Ornate moth (Utetheisa ornatrix) in a kids’ animal encyclopedia
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
One of the things I find off-putting about the participatory budgeting campaign is the implicit contempt for representative democracy.
“Your 2 Cents” FAQ: 

9. Can we afford to do this?

Can we afford not to? Some public officials may claim that the City can't afford to give residents more voice and vote over (our two cents) of our
city budget, while they control the entire budget (all 100 cents). But this isn't about the amount of available
money, it's about how we spend it and who gets a say. Portlanders agree that they want a say in how public funds are spent on their behalf. We want Our Two Cents PDX!
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
When your beach read matches the blanket.
“Anarchy, State, and Utopia” on a striped blanket, Willamette Park
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
“Capital” is funny because after ~2,000 pages Marx says “now I will finally explain what defines classes” and then … dies.
Capital vol. 3: “(At this point the manuscript
breaks off. - F.E.)”
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Fischer 🛠️🚇 @fischer.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
portland metro industrial land use planning seems to be not going that well. the inner eastside industrial sanctuary has a ton of retail and even just straight up empty buildings, we’re going all in on a fossil fuel terminal during the climate crisis, and new industry in washco is all datacenters
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Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
If you haven't thrown a $5 Brandon's way, now's your chance
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Can we use Parks SDC funds to build a municipal ice rink?
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Signature gatherer for the PCEF-police funding petition today told me he didn’t have a copy of the initiative text, which I’m pretty sure is against state law?
Oregon initiative manual: 
“Each circulator must have a complete copy of the text available for signers to review unless printed on the cover sheet.”
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Jeremiah @gamayun.io · 23/06/2026
Success for a bike network is seeing people in their regular clothing riding helmet free.
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Jeremiah @gamayun.io · 23/06/2026
A lot of Paris bike infrastructure is pretty basic but it’s enough because they have an entire network that lets you travel around the whole city. Every major road in the city, at least that I encountered, has bike infrastructure. It’s the anti-greenway approach.
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Jennifer @jenwith1n.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Nearly 2 months ago I got hit by a car while I was riding my bike. I won’t rehash the whole story here, I have posted about it enough already, but I have not stopped being furious about the way I was treated afterwards by the PPB. www.portlandmercury.com/news/road-ru...
portlandmercury.com
Road Rules - Portland Mercury
In early April, Portlander Jennifer Shuch was biking across Northeast Halsey Street near the Hollywood Transit Center when she was struck by a driver running a red light. The impact, which was caught ...
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Not sure what the competition is but “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” has to be one of the best novels about a residential upzoning fight.
Cover, “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit”by Sloan Wilson (1955)
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
You can still ride your patriotically-decorated bike and know your neighbors, even (especially?) in Portland, Oregon.
Kids  bikes, & American flags, Portland Oregon, July 4, 2024.
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Xavier Salazar @xsalazar.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Everyone mark your calendars! Today is the very first day in four months that both Bob Stacey Overcrossing elevators are working again
The south Bob Stacey Overcrossing elevator, absolutely covered in bird shitThe north Bob Stacey Overcrossing elevator
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
The supply-side solution here is creating more natural wonders in high-demand areas (draining the Hetch Hetchy reservoir).
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
This is a grown-up version of the way they tell kids to save the planet by turning soda bottles into bird feeders.
Pitch regarding Portland’s Lloyd Center mall: “Demolishing the full mall … releases the embodied carbon locked in 66 years of concrete and steel.”
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Moda Center politics are fun because prominent voices on Portland’s left are making (correct!) arguments that I think would read as Bastiat-coded if they were from different messengers.
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Great stuff in the early-20th C. Oregonian.
Saturday Oregonian, May 29 1909: 
WOMAN WHIPS MAN WHO ANNOYS GIRLS
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David Binnig @binnig.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Stayed up too late looking at old ads for lots in (Portland’s) Laurelhurst neighborhood. I think this is the first one they ran:
1909 Oregonian real estate ad for Laurelhurst
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