iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 17/10/2026

Here’s the scene right now at the Page in SF. There’s a couple guys playing jazz in the park let. No cover, it’s probably happy hour prices, and it’s early enough so even if you have to get up early for work, you can get a good night’s sleep.

AcrowdofyoungpeoplegatheroutsideabaratthecornerofPageStreetandvisited DeyoinSan Francisco .

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 11/10/2026

www.bdo.global/en-gb/insigh...

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 08/10/2026

To figure out how many vehicles Americans actually want, and what types of vehicles, we should abolish minimum parking mandate nationwide. Because we lack a free market for automobile storage, we cannot determine what Americans would freely choose.

A PowerPoint slide titled "minimum parking mandates increase automobile ownership, traffic and pollution." The slide reads: "University of California scholar surveyed residents of 2654 homes and 197 San Francisco project. Residents had been randomly assigned to homes with or without on-site parking. They concluded: "residences with more on-site parking induce more automobile ownership.
Buildings with at least one parking space per unit have more than twice the car ownership rate of buildings that have no parking."
Source: Millard-Ball, Adam, Jeremy West, Nazanin Rezaei, and Garima Desai. “What Do Residential Lotteries Show Us about Transportation Choices?” Urban Studies 59, no. 2 (February 2022): 434–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098021995139

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 05/10/2026

University of California researchers found that nationwide, bundling the cost of a garage space into rents “adds about 17% to a unit’s rent.” Minimum parking regulations force carless – generally low-income – people to pay higher rents for parking they don’t need and can’t use.

A powerpoint slide that reads:
Minimum parking mandates increase rents.
University of California researchers found that nationwide, bundling the cost of a garage space into rents “adds about 17% to a unit’s rent”
“Minimum parking requirements create a major equity problem for carless households”, they write.
The regulations force carless – generally low-income – people to pay higher rents for parking they don’t need and can’t use.
Source: Gabbe, C.J. and Pierce, Gregory. The Hidden Cost of Bundled Parking. 2017. https://www.accessmagazine.org/spring-2017/the-hidden-cost-of-bundled-parking/

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 05/10/2026

Multiple research studies have found that: 1️⃣Minimum parking mandates substantially increase rents & home prices. 2️⃣Removing them lets people save money by renting or buying fewer spaces.

A powerpoint slide that reads:
Minimum parking mandates make housing less affordable
San Francisco study of the effect of code-required parking on housing affordability:
Code-required parking increased home prices
24% more households could afford houses if they did not include parking
20% more households could qualify for loans on condominiums without parking
Source: Jia and Wachs. Parking Requirements and Housing Affordability: A Case Study of San Francisco, 1998.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 05/10/2026

If you are wondering what progressive policy reforms actually increase housing supply, here are three to get you started: 1️⃣ Charge the right prices for curb parking. 2️⃣ Return the parking revenue to the blocks where it is generated, to pay for public services. 3️⃣ Remove minimum parking regulations.

A PowerPoint slide that reads:
Three parking policy reforms
1. Charge the right prices for curb parking.
2. Return the parking revenue to the blocks where it is generated, to pay for public services.
3. Remove minimum parking regulations.

Source: Professor Donald Shoup, University of California Los Angeles

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 30/09/2026

Google doesn’t think so, but someone should really check their references behind this answer. It seems to me like a fruitful topic for a student who aspires to make housing more affordable, while studying colorful tales of bribery, scandal, and Byzantine bureaucracy.😊

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 21/09/2026

This six-story apartment building is being built in the flatlands, far from the fire-prone Oakland Hills. Does a dramatic increase in insurance costs for wood-frame construction in this location reflect a smart, rational estimate of the actual fire risk at this site, or is it off-base?

A Google map screenshot showing the location of the project at 3419 San Pablo Ave. in Oakland, showing that it is near downtown Oakland, and far from the Oakland Hills.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 19/09/2026

PS -- For Denmark, you can't go wrong with Tycho Brahe's look.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 18/09/2026

How are solar panels typically classified under the ISO EN 13501-1 standard for combustibility of building materials?

Building materials are classified as non-combustible and combustible. The classification takes into account the contribution to the development of a fire before the flashover and the contribution to the fire load of a room in a fully developed fire.

‘Non-combustible’ building materials are those which, under the prescribed test conditions, cannot burn or contribute to the development of a fire. These are, according to the EN 13501-1 qualification, class A1 and A2 materials.

Note that a material A2, even if not literally ‘not combustible ’, is classified in the same ‘macro-class ’ as A1 because the contribution to the fire development and to the heat release is extremely limited.

‘Combustible’ building materials are those which ignite under the prescribed test conditions. In consideration of their contribution to the development of a fire, combustible materials are divided into flammable (B and C), normally flammable (D and E) and highly flammable (F).

Class F - Material without specified fire performance or products that do not meet the criteria for Class E. In some countries the installation of these materials is not permitted unless they are fully covered with other building materials, so that the whole product is classified as at least Class E. Examples include expanded polystyrene and polyurethane, both without flame retardants.
Class E – Material that resists low flame ignition for a short period of time and does not produce a large flame spread. Examples include soft fiberboard as well as expanded polystyrene and polyurethane, both with flame retardants.
Class D – Material that meets the criteria for class E but resists low flame ignition for a long time and does not result in a significant flame spread. Even with the Single Burning Item (SBI) test, heat release is slowed and limited. Examples include different types of wood, and wood products.
Class C - The same as Class D, except that the material meets higher requirements and there is no flame spread in…

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 17/09/2026

I think agencies like WSDOT would be better off if they focused on big problems that have historically plagued their agencies, like the ones outlined in this research paper. (Or am I behind the times, and these problems have all been solved?) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 16/09/2026

Obviously, some (especially architects) are huge fans of modernist architecture and planning, like Corbusier's Plan Voisin for central Paris.

Rendering of a future version of central Paris envisioned by architect Le Corbusier. It features rows of rectilinear skyscrapers and multi-lane highways stretching to the horizon.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 10/09/2026

Apartments.com estimates average rents in SF are now 154% higher than in Austin. Suppose SF adopted all of the zoning & building code reforms that Austin has (legalizing taller single-stair apartment buildings, etc.) How much would rents fall? I don't know, but I think the answer is "a lot."

"Average Housing Cost
Cost of Renting
The average rent in San Francisco, CA is 154.5% higher than Austin, TX."
For the full text, see: https://www.apartments.com/cost-of-living/austin-tx-vs-san-francisco-ca/

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 10/09/2026

It's true that rents in Austin are significantly higher than they were in 2017. However, workers' wages are also much higher.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 10/09/2026

Pew Charitable Trusts found that since 2017, housing in Austin has become MORE affordable for the average worker, thanks to the construction of more than 120,000 new homes.

A bar chart titled, "Figure 2 With More Housing Supply, Austin’s Median Rent Became Affordable to Those Earning Lower Incomes Share of Austin’s median income needed to afford Austin’s median rent, 2017 and 2024." The chart shows that in 2017, the share of Austin's median income needed to afford Austin's median rent was 95%. By 2024, that figure had fallen to 84%.

The chart footnote reads:
"Notes: The above figures assume affordability based on a household spending 30% of its income on rent. Rental unit affordability is calculated as follows: Numerator is monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit (from Apartment List) x 12 months / 0.3 (the 30% of income going toward rent); denominator is Austin city area median income for a one-person household.

Sources: Rent data from Apartment List downloaded Dec. 23, 2025; AMI for a one-person household from U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2024 one-year estimates"

© 2026 The Pew Charitable Trusts

https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2026/03/18/austins-surge-of-new-housing-construction-drove-down-rents

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 10/09/2026

The steamroller industry isn't an ICC "founding strategic partner," so I doubt it!😁 Do they even have a seat at the table? If clean power industry trade groups had a committee seat, maybe the public could find out what's going on! Are there any public servants on the committee?

A screen clip of the Road Roller Association webpage, showing an old steamroller driving down a country road. Source:
https://www.roadrollers.org/

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 10/09/2026

Perhaps the most interesting finding of this Pew Charitable Trusts study is that since 2017, housing in Austin has become MORE affordable for the average worker. It's true that rents are higher than they were in 2017. However, workers' wages are also much higher (and so are Social Security benefits)

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 10/09/2026

Perhaps the most interesting finding of the Pew Charitable Trusts study is that since 2017, housing in Austin has become MORE affordable for the average worker. It's true that rents are higher than they were in 2017. However, workers' wages are also much higher (and so are Social Security benefits).

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 10/09/2026

If you care about reducing costs & pollution, it's not helpful to have the American Gas Association as one of just five "founding strategic partners" of the private corporation that writes America's model building codes. But how much power does that status confer? That's not yet clear to me.

An excerpt from an International Code Council document that reads,
"Strategic Partners
American Gas Association (AGA)
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC)
Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)"
Source: https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/CP02-05.pdf

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 09/09/2026

If housing advocates like me get our way, we are going to reverse the gentrification of San Francisco. We are going to build so many apartments that regular families can, once again, buy a home here. Austin upzoned, builders built a ton of housing, rents collapsed. SF can do the same.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 09/09/2026

America’s laws often seem based on two contradictory impulses: 1️⃣ Ample free parking is our highest value, so cities should require lots of it. 2️⃣ Automobiles are unsightly, so they must be stored out of sight. Reconciling these impulses is physically impossible.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 09/09/2026

”The first phase of Mandela Station, a 240-unit affordable apartment building, is set to break ground soon at West Oakland BART.”😀 I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, so my headlines focus on what we gain.

A rendering captioned “The first phase of Mandela Station, a 240-unit affordable apartment building, is set to break ground soon at West Oakland BART.” the image shows a six story apartment building with balconies, bright colors on its murals, and a Bart station in the background.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 09/09/2026

Last but not least, on September 1, the City of Champaign, IL, removed all minimum parking mandates, citywide.😊 The hard-working volunteers at @parkingreform.org have already added it to the map. See: parkingreform.org/mandates-map...

Champaign eliminated off-street vehicle parking requirements citywide with an update to the zoning code in 2026.

Status
Adopted
Adoption date
Sep 1, 2026
Scope
Citywide
Affected land uses
All uses
Requirements
By right
Reporter
Lucas Hennessey
Citation
Source
Champaign Council Bill No. 2026-133
Notes
Sec. 37-602. Page 129
URL
cityofchampaign.sharepoint.com
Attachments
champaign-illinois-united-states-remove-min2-attachment.pdf
Screenshot of Champaign Council Bill No. 2026-133

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 09/09/2026

Chicago parking r's eformers point out that keeping vestigial parking mandates in place “adds another layer of bureaucratic complexity to be administered by city departments that are already short-staffed and taking months to process most permits.”

A map entitled "where the people over parking act removes parking minimums in Chicago". The map shows that minimum parking mandates have been removed by the act in 84% of Chicago's land area and for 96.3% of the city's population.

Map by Streetsblog Chicago cofounder Steven Vance from his real estate data website Chicago Cityscape.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 06/09/2026

The district they are running for includes virtually all of San Francisco. The residents of our city voted overwhelmingly to create and keep Sunset Dunes Park. For anyone running to represent the district, killing the park is a deeply unpopular stance that does not represent what most of us want.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 05/09/2026

The ICC, the private corporation that writes America's most popular model building codes, is updating its codes for data centers. That COULD produce quieter, cleaner, safer places. But since the American Gas Association is one of the ICC's 5 "founding strategic partners," what are the odds of that?

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 05/09/2026

The 5 "founding strategic partners" of the International Code Council, the private corporation that writes America's most widely-used model building codes, include one organization that is not like the others. Is it a group with a vested interest in promoting clean power – or something different?!?

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 05/09/2026

Setting fossil fuels on fire inside our homes create nasty pollution that kills people. Many countries are rapidly replacing it with pollution-free power. Why aren't we? Is it because the fossil fuel industry has so much influence over the private corporation that writes America's building codes?

A photo of cooking pot on top of a fossil gas stove. Blue and yellow flames rise from the burner, and a person's hands and belly can be seen to the right of the stove.

An infographic on gas stove pollution. For a text version, see:
https://psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/gas-stove-pollution.pdf

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 04/09/2026

Which governments charge parking fees that vary by vehicle size (e.g. by length, or width, or weight)?

A red and black minicar parked on the street in San Francisco. Behind it, a pair of ornate, 3-story Edwardian residential buildings stand. The little car is a two-seat Renault electric vehicle. For more about it, see the source of this image:
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100894_is-an-electric-scoot-quad-nee-renault-twizy-car-sharings-urban-future

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 02/09/2026

By charging visitors for curb parking, Hoboken has taken an important first step. It's built the staff capacity required to charge for curb parking. It's raising lots of revenue to improve public services. A good next step would be to limit cheap permits to EXISTING residents only.

A PowerPoint slide that reads:
Residential Parking Benefit Districts
One approach
Charge non-residents & future residents the right prices for curb parking.
Return the revenue to the neighborhood to pay for public services
Let existing residents park free/cheaply
Limit # of curb permits issued to less than the # of curb spaces
Remove minimum parking regulations
Example: Laguna Beach, CA
Non-residents pay $1-$3/hour
Residents pay $40 per year

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 02/09/2026

Incrementally phasing in fees is unpopular with purists. Purists argue that if a city can't charge everyone, it should keep the status quo: free and overcrowded curbs, with motorists double-parked in bus, bike and fire lanes. Purists usually get nothing done because they can't assemble a majority.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 31/08/2026

When I was a ski bum, I slept in a windowless bedroom in the mid-mountain restaurant in Alta, Utah. It was glorious. Waking up and stepping outside into the fresh mountain air, skiing every day – I’d be glad to do it again. Should the way I lived then and the way I live now be banned? Why?

A person skiing deep powder on a steep slope in Alta, Utah, under sunny sky, with a range of mountain peaks in the background. Photo credit: see https://www.skimag.com/ski-resort-life/alta-utah/

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 30/08/2026

Modern multifamily buildings built to current codes (which allow windowless bedrooms) are already far safer than single-family homes, and far safer than older apartment buildings. If everyone in the US moved into multifamily buildings built to current code, fire deaths would plummet dramatically.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 28/08/2026

The vast majority of Palo Alto residents live in neighborhoods that are relatively flat and have wide streets that make timely response by fire suppression and emergency response vehicles quick and easy.

A topographical map of the City of Palo Alto, California, from Google maps. A dotted red line outlines the city's boundaries. The map shows that the northern part of the city, where the vast majority of residents live, is largely flat. Much of the southern portion of the city is hilly, but few people live here. Source:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Palo+Alto,+CA/@37.3640872,-122.1431401,12.77z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x808fb07b9dba1c39:0xe1ff55235f576cf!8m2!3d37.4418834!4d-122.1430195!16zL20vMGYwNGM!5m2!1e4!1e1?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgyNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 27/08/2026

New York City could fix this by adopting three reforms. Doing so would make curb parking readily available on every block, and raise millions of dollars to improve public services.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 26/08/2026

"Breed and Wiener were both vocal champions of keeping the road a promenade, a decision ratified by voters. But Chan unsuccessfully lobbied to bring cars back on part of the road..." sfrecpark.org/1538/JFK-Pro...

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 26/08/2026

If replacing our building codes is too radical, how about if we just recognize New Zealand’s performance-based building code as a legal alternative? www.building.govt.nz/building-cod...

Figure 1: Regulation framework showing some ways to comply with the Building Code New Zealand. There is text, explaining this graphic on the following webpage:
https://www.building.govt.nz/building-code-compliance/how-the-building-code-works

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 25/08/2026

Also, how does the San Francisco Housing Code relate to the San Francisco Building Code? Do the minimum room dimensions in SF Housing Code §503 just duplicate standards that exist in state code? Or, are they local amendments that differ from state code? codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_fr...

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 25/08/2026

Here's a screenshot of the San Francisco Building Code "Publisher's Note" I'm referring to: codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_fr...

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 25/08/2026

Tax-revenue-producing hotels, housing now stand on those parcels, instead of a freeway whose noise & fumes degrade nearby property values. To understand the issue of people-moving capacity, compare the capacity of the freeway to the capacity of the surface boulevard's rail, bus, and bike lanes.

A bar chart showing the people-moving capacity of a single 10 foot Lane or equivalent width, by mode, at peak conditions with normal operations. For text explaining the graphic, see:
https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/5/23/excerpt-from-nacto-transit-street-design-guide

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 25/08/2026

When the San Francisco replaced the earthquake-damaged Embarcadero Freeway with a surface boulevard with light rail running down the center, we regained many acres of extremely valuable waterfront property that had been sacrificed to off-ramps.

Construction of Embarcadero Freeway along Embarcadero, July 1958. (wnp14.3114; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 25/08/2026

It's about economics & people-moving capacity, not just aesthetics. To understand this, prepare a cost estimate for rebuilding an aging grade-separated highways that's at the end of its design life. Include the value of the land needed for the sloping offramps & gentle curves of a high-speed highway

Aerial of Embarcadero Freeway and downtown, 1960. (wnp27.7879; Moulin / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 22/08/2026

In 1978, San Francisco “joined the tide of cities restricting development. Facing complaints from homeowners about new apartments being built in their neighborhoods, officials set strict density limits on most of the city, effectively banning new multifamily construction on much of the west side.”

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 22/08/2026

”Experts say the massive surge in housing costs stemmed from a major slowdown in residential development around the 1970s. In coastal cities across the U.S., opposition to development had reached a boiling point…” True. When I was a kid, housing in the San Francisco Bay Area was cheap.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 21/08/2026

So, how much the US could reduce risks & losses by focusing more on building homes out of noncombustible materials, & less on separating homes? Consider: 1️⃣Fire risks (i.e., fatalities, injuries, property losses). 2️⃣Traffic risks (ditto). Separating homes increases these, because it ⬆️miles driven.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 21/08/2026

Some US officials have responded to the problem of wooden homes becoming fuel for fires that ignite nearby buildings by calling for more separation between homes. That's a recipe for higher housing & transportation costs. More land/home raises land costs, more separation increases travel distances.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 21/08/2026

After wildfire embers reached Le Porge, a village in France's Gironde, most homes didn't burn. When homes did ignite, noncombustible walls were often left standing. How much, if at all, do such building practices: 1️⃣Reduce property losses (rebuilding costs, etc.) 2️⃣Reduce fire spread to nearby homes?

A statue stands in front of the remains of a house after wildfires raged in the village of Le Porge, on the Bay of Biscay, France, Monday, July 27, 2026.

Baz Ratner/AP

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 19/08/2026

To avoid a big hit to your pocketbook, support strict Zone Zero rules for homes built in wildfire hazard zones. When tinderbox designs like this one burn, those of us in safer places get our premiums jacked up by billions to bail out the state‘s insurance plan for homes built in dangerous places.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 19/08/2026

Automobile level of service studies also discourage putting offices near transit because ITE trip generation rates are based on data obtained at suburban locations with little or no transit. They hugely overestimate the motor vehicle trips generated by projects in mixed-use districts near transit.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other state, federal, and local laws require
the identification, analysis, and mitigation of transportation-related impacts of proposed land
use projects. The first step in preparing a transportation impact analysis is to estimate the
number of trips by cars, trucks, and other modes of travel that may result from a proposed land
use project – a process commonly referred to as “trip-generation.” Currently, practitioners
typically use trip-generation rates published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), a
national professional organization.
For the most part, ITE’s trip-generation rates are based on data obtained at suburban locations
that lack good transit or bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Not surprisingly, studies indicate that
these rates often significantly over-estimate the number of trips from cars and trucks for land
use projects located in urban areas near transit and within easy walking distance of other land
uses (Tindale Oliver and Associates 1993; Steiner 1998; Muldoon and Bloomberg 2008;
Arrington and Cervero 2008; Kimley Horn Associates 2009; Bochner et al. 2011). In fact, ITE
guidelines state that their trip-generation rates data should not be used for such projects, here
labeled “smart growth” projects.
Source:
https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/smart_growth_trip_generation_rates_handy.pdf

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