iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 33m

Bring back the Appalachian League!

Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 2h

Why not Maryland? Our peer states (e.g Mass, CT, RI, Ill) have enacted “Anti-snob Zoning” (aka Builders Remedy) mandates & processes. New NYU report shows these laws increase housing stock & result in the development of more mixed income housing than other approaches. share.google/UHBtcWZaajx0...

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 4h

Not just SF: “Housing costs,” says one former longtime Planning official “are the compounding of at least three separate policy failures: Federal affordable-housing defunding since the 1980s, exclusionary zoning with racist roots, and a permitting process that legislated NIMBYism.”

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LiL'Silver @officiallilsilver.bsky.social · 10h

Fringe Extremism VS Common Sense Scott Perry caters to his billionaire donors. It's why he was the ONLY Pennsylvania Congressperson, Republican or Democrat, to side with Wall Street over affordable housing.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 4h

Ridiculous argument! Traditional Mass n-hood of detached houses on 5000 sq ft lots were not prone to burning down. That wont happen if Q 7 passes either.

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chocolatefire.bsky.social @chocolatefire.bsky.social · 5h

“Two hundred fifty years of slavery [439, if counting from 1441-1880] Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole.” Ta-Nehisi Coates (2014) ✊🏾

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 6h

“Unfunded repair needs also contribute to the homelessness crisis…Homelessness can and does often occur not just when enough new units don’t get built, but when existing ones “filter” out of the market through disrepair.” www.strongtowns.org/journal/2026...

strongtowns.org

The Other Housing Crisis | Strong Towns

A looming backlog of housing repairs threatens the “housing abundance” agenda just as much as NIMBYs, a new book argues.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 21h

Fair housing investigations show racial fears still strong on LI. With white population growth stalled, new housing in minds of white homeowners in predominately white suburbs means Blacks, Latinos and/or “foreigners” coming to “their” n-hood. Values argument quieted a bit w/ the spike in prices.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 22h

He didnt create $250,000 in home value! The spike in home prices since the pandemic produced a windfall that was unearned by homeowners & unprompted by local government.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 23h

“One unexpected finding…results suggest that efforts to build more housing may not, on its own, be sufficient to curb homelessness. Instead, policies should specifically target the availability of housing affordable to those with the lowest incomes.”

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

As member of Dem leadership, hope you all have plans to greatly expand funding for Affordable Housing and vouchers. Universal vouchers, as in 2020 platform, for a start. Evidence shows would go long way to end childhood poverty.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Great to see states stepping up to fund housing vouchers! Just one question: If it’s state funded why are recpients limited to looking for housing in one jurisdiction, Minneapolis?

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

“Local policymakers are more likely to blame their jurisdiction's lack of manufactured housing on land costs than on any regulatory barrier…but if these jurisdictions allowed smaller yards…it could be feasible to build small, basic starter homes, including the siting of manufactured housing.”

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macsmom.bsky.social @macsmom.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

We’ve got trouble. Right here in beautiful Howard County. Again. “Click Here to Share Your Views” villagegreentownsquared.blogspot.com/2026/10/clic... Village Green/Town² blog - - How nice white people perpetuate harm in our community.

villagegreentownsquared.blogspot.com

Click Here to Share Your Views!

Well, I took one day off and my page views have gone up dramatically. Not just for the last post I wrote, but for every single one in the ...

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Cheryl Cort @cherylcort.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Support affordable mixed-income housing w/ new Chevy Chase DC library & community center. Send letters, testify 11/12. 90 affordable homes in 177 apts above new library, community ctr, 2x usable outdoor space. Public land is rare place for hsg, don't let opponents kill it like Tenleytown Library.

smartergrowth.net

Take Action: Tell DC Council to build affordable housing at Chevy Chase Civic Core at 11/12 hearing - Coalition For Smarter Growth

On November 12, 2026 Councilmember Matt Frumin will hold a hearing on the proposal to rebuild the Chevy Chase library, community center, public outdoor space, and add 177 mixed-income homes […]

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Lawrence Lanahan @llanahan.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

"Get an officer in here." I don't know about "incorrectly told." If Harris was straight up lying to get this reporter arrested, I wonder if she could report Harris to authorities under MD Criminal Law Code § 9-501 for a false statement to a law enforcement officer: law.justia.com/codes/maryla...

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

1/ These are complicated times for housing policy, and homelessness is no exception. What do federal shifts mean on the ground? What solutions are working? Who’s affected? Our new Under the Lens series, Shifting Ground, explores these questions and more. 🧵 Follow along: buff.ly/JiUZ0RF

shelterforce.org

Shifting Ground — Shelterforce

This series explores why it's a unique era for homelessness policy, and what solutions advocates and homeless people are finding to help.

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Lum @brokentoys.social · 14/10/2026

for the better part of a day now the leader of the united states of america has had literally nothing better to do than to post ai videos of tigers mauling people and trump mauling tigers

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Until the 1970’s, housing built on 5000 sq ft lots was normal. Then downzoning & one acre single family lots made traditional n-hoods illegal. No single step will make housing affordable. Ques 7 is a modest step to use land more efficiently, reduce costs & make climate friendly housing possible.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

NLIHC highlights Johns Hopkins 21st C report on housing remedies for school segregation. Housing Voucher Mobility programs & Inclusionary Zoning cited as ways to help families with low incomes access schools in high cost areas. nlihc.org/resource/res...

nlihc.org

Research from Johns Hopkins 21st Century Cities Initiative Identifies Housing and Transportation Policies Needed to Address School Segregation in Baltimore City Public Schools

By Julie Walker, NLIHC Project Manager, Opportunity Starts at Home

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

"The commonwealth’s housing goals, and the economic health of our main streets and downtowns, demand more than just permissive zoning. They demand a predictable, reliable permitting process that finds a path to yes, instead of every way possible to say no." @bankerandtradesman.bsky.social

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

For a low income person Legal Services (or state bar pro bono program) can probably help w/ some land use issues. I think these offices tend to rep mid-class homeowners (not renters)!

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Yes part of operating budget allocated to Planning & Zoning.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Councilmanic/Aldermanic courtesy as in suburban Baltimore Co distorts market & undermines larger public interest by driving up housing costs.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

State office just utility cases. County office is land use.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Retwit stayed w/ X. Not as interesting lately, but still some insights into perspectives of developers & CRE professionals you dont get on Bluesky.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Uh-oh. Suburban Baltimore Co, MD has a “Peoples Counsel” & it is basically a free mouthpiece for NIMBY neighbors in land use disputes, not the general public interest. (Not to be confused w/ state office w/ similar name, doing good job representing interest of all residential utility customers. )

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

QoL measures totally shortchange Baltimore. Maybe cuz they ignore things like educational attainment, access to culture, universities, pro sports, proximity to beach/mountains/other major cities, etc.

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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

The ROAD to Housing Act promises to help boost housing supply. But passing a law doesn't build homes. Congress still has to fund key programs. HUD has to implement them. And developers have to respond. Will the bill deliver? 📖: buff.ly/cshuc49 #Housing #AffordableHousing #HousingPolicy

buff.ly

Will the ROAD to Housing Act Deliver on Its Promise? — Shelterforce

The law was designed to boost housing supply. But that will depend on Congress funding it, HUD implementing it, and developers building.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

And not left or right. After all, most NIMBYs more right than left. But they arent called out as right-NIMBYs.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

In any event, at issue was building family oriented housing (including Affordable rental & starter for sale) in places w/ strong schools. With a few exceptions that isnt the cities. Zoning reform is most needed in suburbs to break stranglehold of low density, large lot SF zoning.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

You mean movement to START building row homes & larger condos. There isnt much of an inventory now & wont be for years because they weren’t being built. Even in Baltimore where we love iur rowhouses, few developers were building new ones & then fairly recent. (Still no large condos.)

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Maybe the problem was always just ordinary NIMBYism —& not “the left” so much as the peculiar factionalism of SF politics. Another reason not to generalize from SF experience to rest of US. And stop the name-calling.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

JD Vance & Stephen Miller on fishing expedition for for evidence of “immigration fraud”supposedly committed by her father when Rep Omar was a child? This vindictive political interference & misuse of law enforcement blantantly improper & would have been disqualifying in any other era of US history.

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

for as long as i've been alive, republicans have ran the same playbook: a few weeks before voting begins, they roll out completely fabricated smear campaigns. these things are always coordinated, so the talking points take over the news. the party is never electorally punished for their dishonesty.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Artificial scarcity:”We do not have a shortage of land in this country. We have a shortage of land that is allowed to become housing.” Lack of approvable sites in well-resourced areas acute for new Affordable Housing, more so than $$. One reason Affordable set asides in market housing so crucial.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Whats the problem? Families need houses & many not able to buy. But the market builds very few family sized apts or tental homes. Lennar’s subsidiary is buying only 700 homes across 50 counties & paying MORE than neighboring owner-occupants. So whete is impact on values?This is NIMBY fear mongering.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Its one thing in a “free market” for foreign investors to be allowed to buy homes. (Not all capitalist countries do). But it’s another level for developers to be allowed to market to them.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Good schools ARE a scarce resource by policy choice, especially in segregated places like KC, NYC, Dallas or Baltimore. We could choose to stop using school attendance zones to create very high & very low poverty schools & n-hoods. Wake Co (Raleigh) has no n-hoods w/ high poverty “bad” schools.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Nothing, including YIMBYism has all the answers. Most YIMBYism is very focused on building small apartments in cities, particularly the most prosperous ones & most prosperous pockets of others. Not on building housing in places w/ good school districts (i.e suburbs) for this KC family & others.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

People in poorer n-hoods opposing parks because they fear gentrification may or may not be warranted. But its hardly a cause of the housing shortage & unaffordability. So instead of this, please focus on the real NIMBY problem & make sure Affordable Housing is built in the more affluent n-hoods.

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Bob @definitelyjustbob.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The US would *save* money if they scaled up the programs and services we at the VA provide to homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families. Nationwide Housing First is an achievable goal, and it's damned sure the right thing to do.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Yes, and research by Matt Desmond & others, eviction which downstream of unaffordable housing also a major cause of poverty, not just a result. Eviction & unaffordable housing Impact women most severely, thus also children.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Rent burden measures hardship, not just affordability. Its highest at lowest incomes w/ smallest margin left to pay for other necessities. In addition to ways of coping discussed in study, poor in lower income cities live in unsafe areas & unhealthy, substandard housing outside mainstream market.

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Kim @kimoco.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

how many more families are we just going to sacrifice thanks to so many gun in the hands of so many unstable men in this country? What led to the shooting? USA's idiotic gun laws.

nbcphiladelphia.com

9 dead, including children, in mass shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania

A gunman killed eight people -- including children -- as well as himself in Erie, Pennsylvania, police said.

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Is this how to preserve productive agricultural use farms in the RC2 zone outside the the Baltimore Co URDL? By carving out big lots in the middle of a farm field to build big single family homes w/ big lawns? Or is it just how to prevent “incompatible urban” uses? redf.in/0qzUSL

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Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Yes, its a rambling rant, but its worth a read because its mostly correct, coherent & interesting.

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California YIMBY @cayimby.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

About 30% of low-income households have no car, Pew Research Center's Alex Horowitz says. Parking mandates can force builders to build fewer apartments to fit required spaces, and fewer homes mean higher rents. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/r...

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