Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 1hICC's BVD is at least updated regularly and is directionally correct, but understates the cost differences. fortmyers.gov/DocumentCent... It's also only hard costs; the soft cost differential is a thing unique to every project.fortmyers.gov 100
Reposted by Payton ChungPayton Chung @westnorth.com · 2hEvery square foot of high-rise is bespoke, and costs 50%+ more to build than low-rises that benefit more from mass production. "Tall or sprawl" zoning in metro Boston, like most coastal cities, has boxed residents into a false dichotomy that's squeezing out residents. ggwash.org/view/104984/...ggwash.orgA trip to Zoning WorldLet’s take the family to Zoning World, the most tedious place on earth! If only we had a (missing) middle (housing) ground. 342
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 2hEvery square foot of high-rise is bespoke, and costs 50%+ more to build than low-rises that benefit more from mass production. "Tall or sprawl" zoning in metro Boston, like most coastal cities, has boxed residents into a false dichotomy that's squeezing out residents. ggwash.org/view/104984/...ggwash.orgA trip to Zoning WorldLet’s take the family to Zoning World, the most tedious place on earth! If only we had a (missing) middle (housing) ground. 342
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 2h"Costs of developing high-rises in Boston are far more expensive than the average project, reaching up to $1M per unit.... when analyzing new projects... ones that are penciling now aren’t high-rise towers; they are either adaptive reuse or suburban low-rise projects" www.bisnow.com/news/boston/...bisnow.comBoston's High-Rise Multifamily Era Is OverDevelopers are shifting their focus to suburban low-rise projects due to rising construction costs, leaving high-rise plans behind. 220
Reposted by Payton ChungYonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 8hI've added a new feature to Transit Explorer—the database of the world's fixed-guideway transit systems: The ability to compare cities, side by side, at the same scale. Here, for example, is Washington vs. Chicago, and Singapore vs. London! Play around: www.thetransportpolitic.com/transitexplo... 315435
Reposted by Payton Chungfakesharrows @fakesharrows.bsky.social · 8hthere was a guy in my dorm freshman year who we nicknamed 'coffee and music' because whenever a club we were in was planning any kind of event he always enthusiastically piped in with 'and we could have, like, coffee. and music!' Anyway,asla.orgDowntown DC Seeks Landscape Architects to Reimagine Seven Underused Pocket ParksThe DowntownDC BID is seeking firms to develop concepts, with four firms to receive $15,000 honoraria. 271
Reposted by Payton ChungWelcoming Neighbors Network @welcomingneighbors.us · 8h✅ Pro-housing policy = anti-poverty strategy New Pew research makes it plain to see and names 10 states where fixing the housing shortage would significantly reduce poverty. 📉nytimes.comWhere High Rents Drive People Into PovertyA new study identified 10 locations where higher-than-average housing costs have impacted poverty the most. 1144
Reposted by Payton ChungThe Almighty Tallest @spooknine.bsky.social · 19hJCO just murders 85% of the blogger-pundit class in splash damage alone with a single tweet 0104
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 9hunsure whether that would be more or less uncanny than the handcrafted slop that fills Spotify Business en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controv...en.wikipedia.orgControversy over fake artists on Spotify - Wikipedia 010
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 23hSchool buses spend more of the day parked (=recharging) than transit buses. Critically, school buses are plugged in during electric grid peak times (~7PM), so utilities can subsidize their purchase in exchange for the battery capacity. No such luck for transit buses. 030
Reposted by Payton ChungTony Byrne @tonybyrne.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Zoning World is a crazy place with warped rules and pricing, but it's the only housing mart in most metro areas... ggwash.org/view/104984/... via @westnorth.com in @ggwash.orgggwash.orgA trip to Zoning WorldLet’s take the family to Zoning World, the most tedious place on earth! If only we had a (missing) middle (housing) ground. 021
Reposted by Payton ChungScott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Karl Rove warns that the Texas GOP is being taken over by Nazis. “In the last 48 hours, Ted Cruz has reached out to me and says, ‘We’re losing,’ Ken Paxton has sent me several emails saying, ‘I’m losing, I need your help. Even the Republicans are admitting that they’re behind.”sacurrent.comKarl Rove says Republican Party is being taken over by 'Nazis'The Bush-era GOP political operative also said Republicans would be winning the battle for Texas' U.S. Senate seat if John Cornyn was the nominee. 51325118
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 29/09/2026Hasn't had the requisite two generations to age into being cool and old. 010
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 29/09/2026I've heard many cavalierly say "hey, we loft-converted warehouses" but that was after decades of fiscal pain. No need to wait that long this time around, but it requires write-downs. 380
Reposted by Payton ChungGreater Greater Washington @ggwash.org · 28/09/2026Let’s take the family to Zoning World, the most tedious place on earth! If only we had a (missing) middle (housing) ground.ggwash.orgA trip to Zoning WorldView this post on ggwash.org 031
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 28/09/2026Middle housing's smaller lots and simpler construction both add up to houses that many more families can afford than either existing option. My latest in @ggwash.org ggwash.org/view/104984/...ggwash.orgA trip to Zoning WorldLet’s take the family to Zoning World, the most tedious place on earth! If only we had a (missing) middle (housing) ground. 000
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 28/09/2026It's extended metaphor time! Imagine if the only restaurants you could choose from were all you can eat buffets - or fancy tapas bars. That would be silly, but it's akin to the absurd housing choices that result from "tall or sprawl" zoning. My latest in @ggwash.org ggwash.org/view/104984/...ggwash.orgA trip to Zoning WorldLet’s take the family to Zoning World, the most tedious place on earth! If only we had a (missing) middle (housing) ground. 1113
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 27/09/2026"the only Sunday groceries are in the Bahnhof, what could possibly go wrong" TBF, it's not unusual in Japan to pay a station entry fare for a pedestrian shortcut, but there's also national NFC cards 020
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 26/09/2026...down to the cent. Also works for other online retailers, if Amazon's not your thing. 020
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 26/09/2026Spotted a "NATIVE" license plate on a Benz, behind a cover obscuring the plate from law enforcement. 1. Anyone who cares about where they live should welcome the consequences of your actions. 2. Plus my usual complaints about people who think their birthplace gives them mystical seniority rights 1140
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 25/09/2026My bit is celebrating Metro line extensions with pub crawls, and doing up old-timey flyers for them. 2413
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 25/09/2026New single-story houses just don't pencil in central locations where local amenities already exist. There's so much competition for things that really need ground level space: parking, stormwater, fire lanes, landscape buffers, open space dedications, etc. 010
Reposted by Payton ChungJordan Grimes @cafedujord.bsky.social · 25/09/2026You mean to tell me that building more sprawl doesn't actually do anything for urban affordability and is instead predominantly a wealth transfer from those areas to exurban ones? I'm shocked! Anyway, vote no on Prop 45. 0436
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 25/09/2026"each new suburban home leads to only .015 moves in low-income urban neighborhoods... new suburban housing supply has little effect on urban housing affordability or on the welfare of low-income urban households." www.jchs.harvard.edu/research-are...jchs.harvard.eduSuburban Housing and Urban Affordability: Evidence from Residential Vacancy ChainsThis paper shows how different housing submarkets are linked by residential vacancy chains – the series of moves across housing units initiated by the construction of new housing. Using administrative... 1223
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 25/09/2026Moving chains in housing are not "trickle down" because people moving into new houses *leave behind* existing houses, getting numerous people into homes within months. Even when those new houses are $1M high-rise condos behind a luxury mall: cayimby.org/blog/the-cas... 0130
Reposted by Payton ChungU.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission @cpsc.gov · 24/09/2026One time, CPSC hosted a carbon monoxide safety poster contest for students, and the kids came in with absolute bangers. 15534118
Reposted by Payton ChungGreater Greater Washington @ggwash.org · 23/09/2026Anyone who emails us an eligible photo by this Friday, September 25 at noon will be entered into a draw for a free ticket to GGWash's Fall Mixer. ggwash.org/view/104954/...ggwash.orgJoin GGWash on an autumn photo quest and win a Fall Mixer ticketAnyone who emails us an eligible photo by this Friday, September 25 at noon will be entered into a draw for a free ticket to GGWash’s Fall Mixer. 043
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 25/09/2026Let me guess: they also limit impervious surface coverage to 10% of lot area, and said parking spaces cannot be within 50' of any lot line... 020
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 25/09/2026My latest, and mostly an excuse to debut the Possible, Practical, Pleasant rating scheme 010
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 25/09/2026Alas, cancelled for tonight. Enjoy some Oktoberfest ale and see you on the 50 States Ride! 020
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 24/09/2026#mbtpubroll tonight @waba.org @cpsmartgrowth.bsky.social 1. show up for #bikedc, CT Ave bike lanes, (and housing!) at JLG's Ward 3 Listening Session www.mobilize.us/janeesefordc... 2. ~8:45, debrief at Breadsoda, 2233 Wisc Avemobilize.usWard 3 Mass Engagement · Janeese for DC MayorWard 3 residents! Join Janeese for a listening session to let her know what’s working, what isn’t, and how government can better serve you and your community. This event is for everyone who lives in... 150
Reposted by Payton ChungGreater Greater Washington @ggwash.org · 24/09/2026Multi-use trails around the Washington region come in many different shapes and sizes. Here are several types of trails graded on a scale from 1 to 3 stars.ggwash.orgWhat's your type... of trail?View this post on ggwash.org 122
Reposted by Payton ChungNeil Turkewitz @neilturkewitz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026“Novel technologies do not actually require novel political solutions, especially when those technologies either evoke, replicate or recapitulate age-old problems of political & economic life.” Important insights from @jamellebouie.net about what we can learn from the past.nytimes.comOpinion | The Railroads Were Once the Octopus That A.I. Is Now (Gift Article)New matrix, meet the old matrix. 12211
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 24/09/2026Seattle is an unusual metro where the largest airport isn't in or adjacent to the favored quarter. It's not like PAE is much closer to the eastside, but it certainly works better for Snohomish county. 010
Reposted by Payton ChungDr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 23/09/2026"let's stop pretending to be so clever and just produce used cars." 111612
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 23/09/2026Say you're at the end of a long check-out queue. Opening a new cash register isn't to be sneered at as "only a gift to the front of the line" -- it's good for everyone in the line! 1120
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 23/09/2026* The principal exception is new household formation, e.g., a child moves out from their parents' house. People buying second homes are also an exception, but this is much rarer than the popular imagination would have it. 110
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 23/09/2026"Trickle-down" is a bad-faith comparison to vacancy chains. Most households moving into new homes *move out of* existing homes. They give them up.* "Trickle-down" required no such sacrifice; those who had money got to keep their money, and have more. 2124
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 23/09/2026My dad's story about Santa Monica's 1979 rent control was that landlords prowled the beach for good-looking tenants. Banning rationing by price doesn't eliminate rationing of scarce goods. The discrimination just shifts to other means, with a different set of people harmed. 030
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 23/09/2026Does Toronto or Vancouver deserve the title of N Am's highest commitment to the TOD bit? Vancouver more thoroughly, but Toronto has been doing this forever 240
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 23/09/2026I was impressed with how quickly suburban development has coalesced around Montreal's REM, given its age - seems to have more high-rise construction along it than WMATA Silver Line, despite a 9-year head start to the latter. Mtl commuter rail long suffered from bad frequencies & attracted little TOD 170
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 23/09/2026C'mon, since when has 100% been a ceiling for how far Donald can bring down something? He'll demand 1,500%, just like drug prices! (An approval rating can shift by 200 points: from 100% approve to 100% disapprove. But net approval is limited to 100.) 000
Reposted by Payton Chungsurlyurbanist.bsky.social @surlyurbanist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026“L’code, c’est mois” 083
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 23/09/2026"one of [Waymo's] next targets is my home city, Washington DC, where impromptu diversions for passing VIPs are indeed “more common”. The company might want to consider fine-tuning its vehicles’ ability to navigate motorcades before they are deployed here" 070
Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 22/09/2026I just did this for a parent. It must have been hundreds of clicks! 010
![First ever silver line pub roll attempted by TRAIN.
Saturday, December 3, 2023.
Attention urban elitists, rail-fans, others!
The long awaited “Silver Route” RAIL-ROAD linking the NATION’S CAPITAL to the
Mountainous Province of LOUDOUN in the Distant West has at long last been completed!
[Line drawing of 1800s crowd celebrating departure of steam train]
Go WEST for SILVER!
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To celebrate this Most Momentous Occasion, a PUB roll mounted upon “velocipede” steeds shall commence upon the new “SILVER ROUTE” to the Most Esteemed Saloons along the “Old Dominion route”
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Gathering at 10 A.M. for a Bike Corral at Metro Center before Embarking on the New Rail-Road. Arriving at 11:15 A.M. at the esteemed Old Ox Brewery for a Taste of the West. Thence arriving at 1 P.M. at a Longtime Friend of the Saddle-Weary, Green Lizard Cycling in Olde Towne Herndon. Third, visiting the Bike Lane Brewing Watering Hole at 3 P.M. Concluding with a stop at Caboose Tavern at 4:30 P.M.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ec4gjbntroed6oairgpbvjc4/bafkreihtsrkfamcx2bs5g5udkn7vi75xa7kphrxagtykj2kfd4stocto64)
