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Dan Keshet

@dankeshet.bsky.social
2.4K followers 278 following 4K posts

Austin urbanist

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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I never stopped believing in a redistributive state. I have stopped believing that every policy area needs to center redistribution. Bus fares can be about bus service, zoning about housing, taxes about generating funds, and social supports about making sure people are safe and happy.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
In the dot com boom, there were 1,000 companies that were just "selling X on the web"(books, music, pet supplies, whatever. In the AI boom, there are three companies in every niche. AI for writing software? OpenAI, Claude, grok. For doing math? The same. For doing biology? The same.
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Sightline Institute @sightline.org · 23/09/2026
How did Portland's electoral changes affect voter behavior, candidate strategy, and electoral outcomes in 2024? Q+A with Lewis and Clark's Dr. Ellen Seljan:
sightline.org
In Portland’s Revised Elections, Endorsements Add Up | Sightline Institute
Research from Lewis and Clark professor Dr. Ellen Seljan reveals shifts in campaign and result patterns under the city’s ranked choice voting system.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I'm really fascinated by the arc of prediction markets from something I saw a few wonky econ-oriented people evangelize as a better way to predict to something most policy-oriented people see as a major threat.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I'm a little surprised how small a gap there is between Paxton and Abbott. Perhaps some R-leaning voters just don't care about Paxton's exceptionally shady record and those that do are abandoning Abbott too.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
With increasingly correlated elections, I expect some states will see strong Dem performance at the state legislatures. Those races are much less polled.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I remember a lot of tech backlash during the Dot Com boom of the late 90s but this seems way bigger, no?
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I'm very curious what the Texas Democratic think tanks are currently planning if Dems win the guv and lite guv races—and how many Dems would we expect in the Texas House and Senate.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The culture contrast is huge. I can't imagine the US military naming an operation after a classical composer, unless it was Wagner perhaps.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The 5' stop signs for the bike lane bring me so much joy
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Conor Sen @conorsen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Nate’s got Texas as lean D now:
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
When we talk about building state capacity, this is one thing we're talking about. Devising, drafting, and testing rules that deliver safe, affordable outcomes is real work! It requires real research! We can't rely on either volunteers or the private sector to do it for us.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
As much as y'all loved my daughter's career as housing developer, you're going to hate her career as traffic engineer.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"Opt out" legislation is seriously underrated. Action in cities is hard to do, even when there isn't opposition. When cities can do the right thing through inaction, it's much easier.
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Shane Phillips @shanedphillips.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
New analysis on my Substack showing that smaller lots are strongly associated with smaller, more affordable houses. The analysis centers on a place you've probably never heard talked about in the minimum lot size reform conversation: Dallas County, TX. domainexpansion.substack.com/p/smaller-lo...
domainexpansion.substack.com
Smaller lots lead to smaller, more affordable homes
An original analysis with new evidence from the Dallas County Appraisal District.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Austin's income-restricted Affordable Housing has a very high vacancy rate. Subsidized units are unaffordable for the very poor and unattractive compared to market rates for those who can afford them. h/t @christianb.bsky.social
nbcnews.com
The poorest in the U.S. can’t find housing even as low-income units sit empty
“I just keep trying to swim uphill,” says Mathew Davis, 49, of the few hundred dollars he earns a month.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
@alfredtwu.com My niece to my daughter, on seeing your painting on my wall: "Oh, this is pretty! Would you want to live here?!"
A painting of a dense, colorful urban environment.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
While most Americans feel zero enmity toward Canada, we have often treated them as a joke. A little brother who follows our lead. United States Lite. Non-threatening, comically polite. To move past this, we need to not only stop fighting them, but also give more respect to their independence.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
One reason I think we'll eventually move toward automated vehicles is that the driving environment is getting more and more distractions.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I highly recommend that any smaller city looking to keep that small city feel immediately work on allowing ADUs and small-plexes *before* prices shoot up high enough to see all your single family houses scraped and replaced with mansions.
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Welcoming Neighbors Network @welcomingneighbors.us · 03/09/2026
Idaho legalized ADUs statewide. Boise is making them easier to build with free pre-approved plans and streamlined permitting. Great case of state reform creating a floor and local leaders raising it. ⬆️
idahostatesman.com
With free plans, Boise has big hopes for tiny homes. It starts in your own backyard
Boise is offering free plans to homeowners who want to add an accessory-dwelling unit, and local residents are starting to take note.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
With all these giant corporations creating massive data centers, I'm worried about the fate of our Mom and Pop small data centers on main streets throughout small town America.
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Steven Lucy @slucy.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Well that's pretty convincing data.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Something I like about UK media is that whenever they get a new Prime Minister, something they've been doing quite a bit of lately, there's a series of "Can the new PM fix the housing crisis?" stories. The answer so far has always turned out to be no, but I appreciate them asking the question.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The whole "laboratory of democracy" thing is in full force right now in urban policy. Some states are rolling out speed cameras; some are banning them. Some are allowing density with strings attached, some banning cities from attaching strings. Transit varies super sharply.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
What the DFW suburbs are doing here is awful but I don't want it to overshadow that the biggest cities in Texas have enacted residential in commercial zones without much fuss, and lots of homes are getting built as a result.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Bike rack situation on the first day of school. Safe routes to schools give kids freedom!
A number of bike racks with bikes on them. One bike lying flat nearby
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Adrián @elenoam.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Haven't read El Salvador's national parking reform. The country eliminated parking requirements nationwide.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
My daughter's castle comes with an ADU (Accessory Dragon Unit)
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Removing the density bonus affordable housing funding mechanism feels like the final boss of Austin exclusionary housing policy. Affordable Housing developers are on YIMBYs' side when we upzone or simplify but support density bonuses.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Here's my performance plan for California housing: entitle 1500sf or FAR and one dwelling unit per every $100k in land value a residential parcel is assessed at. Stop relying on cities to decide density and start relying on markets.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I don't know Carlton so I'm not picking on him. There's a disconnect in the urbanist movement right now: building code reformers are frustrated we don't do cost-benefit analysis on how much each life saved costs while traffic safety people use the same "lives are immeasurably priceless" logic.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Thought experiment: if Austin allowed 7 FAR within 5mi of downtown, would that make downtown smaller because cheaper midrise buildings would soak up the demand for urban living, or larger because it would be so much more valuable with such a concentration of amenities nearby?
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Austin is the 25th largest MSA in the country so what's stopping your city from having a downtown like this? (Panoramic photo; click through.)
Panoramic photo of downtown Austin
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
AI is way better at generating computer code than human language. I think this leads people who never use it to generate code to underestimate how good it is and people who do use it for code to overestimate how good it will be at other tasks.
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California YIMBY @cayimby.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
California's first standalone ADU sold as its own home for $530,000 — in a city where median home prices top $2 million. A 2023 law made this legal. It shows how small changes to existing rules can open a cheaper path to ownership. www.sfgate.com/realestate/a...
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Austin going with Stadler. Train people: tell me what to think.
cbsaustin.com
Austin light rail chooses manufacturer, transportation expert weighs in
Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) announced that it has chosen Stadler to manufacture its CityLink rail vehicles for Austin's light rail.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
On the one hand, it's awful that a major company like Waymo would routinely drive around school buses with their stop sign up. On the other hand, the fact that it's a major company is exactly how we're able to target them.
techcrunch.com
Waymo probed by National Transportation Safety Board over illegal school bus behavior | TechCrunch
The NTSB joins the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in investigating Waymo vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses.
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
2 point plan to eradicate homelessness: 1. Lower housing costs for the lower middle class using code reform (zoning and building) to lower building costs. 2. Shift Affordable Housing funding away from the lower middle class toward the deeply poor—shelters, PSH, mental health beds, etc
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
By a vote of 10-1, Austin City Council just passed Item 86, directing staff to prepare code amendments that shift 3 & 4-unit buildings from the IBC to the IRC and create a simpler, alternative IBC pathway for 5 to 16-unit buildings 🥳🎉🏬 “Houseplex” amendments will come back to Council this December
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patrick.kennedy @thedotcity.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Has anybody discussed the state/TxDOT allowing state transit agencies to self-certify federal environmental review as TxDOT is allowed in order to expedite capital projects?
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
One of the tough parts of housing advocacy is that there are so many layers of the onion to peel. Electeds who support housing but don't focus on it can say "we gave you what you asked for last time. Wait for another turn."
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
The next target for cash-out after company parking: transportation to and from the airport. When I fly for business, I never have much luggage, but I also always get my Lyft paid for.
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California YIMBY @cayimby.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Upzoning two levels near Austin's planned light rail would cut affordable housing subsidy costs from $8B to $5.5B because more market-rate units in the same buildings would offset affordable-unit costs. cayimby.org/blog/taller-...
cayimby.org
System Failure: The Hidden Rot in America’s State and Local Governments
Allowing denser apartment buildings along Austin's planned light-rail lines could slash the city's affordable housing subsidies from $8 billion to $5.5 billion while meeting housing goals that…
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
the fourth of july is an important day in the american ethos because it's the one day in the year that we can see bad folks who have died and gone to a lake of fire and fried
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California YIMBY @cayimby.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Apartments built since 2000 have 1.2 fire deaths per million residents vs. 7.6 in single-family homes. Modern apartments are still dramatically safer, because building codes require sprinklers and compartmentation. cayimby.org/blog/new-apa...
cayimby.org
New Apartments Are Safer Than Detached Houses—And It's Not Even Close - California YIMBY
In 2023, four people died in apartment fires in buildings constructed since 2010, out of 8.3 million Americans in those buildings. That’s 0.5 deaths per million. Compare that to single-family homes:…
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
I've been disappointed in the pace of pro-housing policy change in Austin these last couple years. But it's good to see we're still producing new midrise housing in central, ritzy parts of the city.
kvue.com
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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
38 of America's 50-largest metro areas have now recovered to pre-COVID job levels Fastest: Austin (23.8%), Raleigh (19.3%), Dallas (13.5%), Nashville (12.9%), SLC (12.3%) Slowest: SF (-3.8%), Milwaukee (-2.6%), Portland (-2.6%), Boston (-2.2%), Cleveland (-1.6%)
a graph of the change in nonfarm payrolls since Jan 2020 in the 50 largest msas by population
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Dan Keshet @dankeshet.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Is increasing partisan identification downstream of decreasing religious identification?
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GRIDS Vancouver @grids.reillywood.com · 29/06/2026
Hotels allowed by-right near every hospital. Vancouver’s specialty care serves the entire province, but the out of towners can’t vote here so we throw them to the wolves
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