iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

617 days into his 2nd term, Trump's Department of Transportation has *still* not approved a single new transit project for full funding. The problems I highlighted in March—how this lack of funding only makes projects cost more & delays completion—have only worsened www.urban.org/urban-wire/r...

There have been no approvals for new transit projects in the entire 2nd Trump Administration. This graph, produced in March 2026, remains accurate now, in September 2026.

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The Trump administration's policies have resulted in the average driver spending $65 more per month on gas than they did a year ago www.urban.org/urban-wire/r... The administration's changes to fuel efficiency policies will make this problem even worse, not more affordable.

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

Rising Gas Prices Are Punishing Household Finances. Policymakers Should Invest in Transit to Reduce Household Costs.

Gas prices have risen dramatically this year. For the typical driver, that's $65 more spent on gas monthly. If you're a typical F-150 driver in states like Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, or Missouri, you're spending >$350 a month on gas now. We've got to give people other options.

urban.org

Amid months of rising gas prices, a typical driver now spends $65 more on fuel each month today than they did a year ago.

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Rising Gas Prices Are Punishing Household Finances. Policymakers Should Invest in Transit to Reduce Household Costs.

urban.org

Amid months of rising gas prices, a typical driver now spends $65 more on fuel each month today than they did a year ago.

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 28/09/2026

You can demolish a rapid transit branch with just a day’s notice, but it takes 20 years to build a new one, if you’re lucky

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

“USDOT said the regulation will reduce manufacturers' average cost per vehicle to comply by $1,289 but increase fuel costs by more than $1,600 over the life of the vehicles.” 🤌🤌🤌 www.reuters.com/business/aut...

reuters.com

US finalizes new lower fuel economy standards in boost for gas-powered vehicles

The U.S. Transportation Department on Monday finalized sharply lower vehicle fuel economy standards, President Donald Trump's latest effort to encourage ‌sales of gasoline-powered vehicles and reverse...

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 28/09/2026

Jersey City reveals plans for the redevelopment of the Holland Gardens public housing, taking a moderate density, monofuctional, 192-unit complex and replacing it with a high-density, 753-unit project with commercial space, a community center, & a public library! newyorkyimby.com/2026/09/plan...

The new project, showing ground floor commercial

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵 @sylviachi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I'm old enough to remember the federal government prosecuting Aaron Swartz for downloading articles from JSTOR. Now the heads of prolific hacking and plagiarizing cartels are dining with dictators at the White House. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/t...

nytimes.com

OpenAI’s A.I. Went Rogue and Meddled With U.S. Government Websites (Gift Article)

The company did not learn until recently that its technology had meddled with websites for the Education and Commerce Departments and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 26/09/2026

Just want to give a Friday-night shoutout to NY Review of Architecture, which is, if insidery, nonetheless a consistently delightful, skeptical, witty, and playful read—truly the opposite of AD—that you should check out every month or so it comes out, and, of course, subscribe to

nyra.nyc

Home

New York Review of Architecture reviews architecture, in New York.

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I didn’t attend climate week but: 1—US is falling way behind on electrification 2—even if US electrified, electricity generation isn’t decarbonizing fast enough 3—public incentives & land use policy are still vastly weighted toward inefficient cars & trucks 4—transit ridership remains in crisis

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If you're in the DC region, join me and Coalition for Smarter Growth on October 21!

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The share of renters reporting problems paying rent is increasing, up from 15% in 2022 to 20% in 2025. These challenges are particularly concentrated among middle-income renters. www.urban.org/research/pub...

Share of renters reporting problems paying rent in the past year, by family income levels.

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Several of Paris Metro’s new lines (Grand Paris Express) will have openings delayed, after years of delays. New schedule: —Dec 2026: M18 part 1 —2027: M15 part 1, M18 part 2 —2028: M16/M17 part 1 —2029: M16/M17 part 2 —2030: M17 part 3/M18 part 3 —2031: M15 part 2 www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/...

The network of new lines, part of the Grand Paris Express program

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John Hanger @jrfhanger.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

London—which has contracted out service provision for buses to private companies* for decades—is moving back toward a public operator. * many of these are subsidiaries of publicly owned transit companies from other countries, like RATP or MTR

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

Good morning with good news: Full-electric vehicles were 51% of Uruguay's auto sales in August, with EV sales up 171%, compared to August 2025! Plug-in hybrids were 5% of sales, so EVs were 56% of auto sales. EVs surged from 5% to 50% in just 2.5 years! cleantechnica.com/2026/09/24/u... #energysky

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 24/09/2026

You should not, in fact, be spending $1 billion per mile to extend your metro line if you’re going to surround the last station on the line with a surface parking lot www.transitchicago.com/rle/renderin...

Plans for the area around 130th street station on Chicago’s red line extension

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

Joe Cohen @cohenhouse.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Another dumb American code requirement! basin.la/articles/nin...

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This merger between agencies seems like a big improvement for riders in the suburbs north of Seattle, both in terms of improving service but also increasing legibility. Right now, Everett Transit and Community Transit have multiple overlapping routes.

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Introducing transit rewards

Given past experience with Lyft/Uber, I'm skeptical, but Waymo is launching a program in the Bay Area where, if you take a transit trip within 2 hours of your Waymo trip (using the same Visa card), Waymo will give you $2.85 back for additional Waymo trips. So it's an incentive to be multimodal.

waymo.com

Today, Waymo is excited to announce our transit rewards program, which we will initially offer in the San Francisco Bay Area, with future cities to follow. This first-of-its-kind initiative rewards ri...

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This is the same railroad that is supposedly going to open the US's first high-speed line, between Las Vegas and Southern California in 2029....

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Jim Aloisi @jimaloisi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

4000 housing units—including 1000 that are permanently affordable—spearheaded by the NYC government on the site of an aging city owned building just adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge. www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

Stupid. Pandering. Self-destructive. The #mapoli governor who thinks disinvesting is the answer to the spike in gas prices. Suspend the gas tax, make it easier to drive more, is neither sustainable nor sensible. www.nbcboston.com/news/local/g...

nbcboston.com

‘We're in a crisis': Gov. Healey filing legislation to suspend Mass. gas tax

Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday she is filing legislation to suspend the Massachusetts gas tax for two months, cutting the price of gasoline by 24 cents a gallon.

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 22/09/2026

Nice transit ridership story in Chicago, where weekend levels are now back to pre-pandemic norms. But the region still has quite a hill to climb, notably because rail ridership remains far below what it was www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/us-...

Transit ridership in the Chicago urban area, 2002 to present.

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

In Maryland, just fifty miles from DC, a sheriff has targeted and attacked local immigrants for over twenty years. The harm to those communities is breathtaking. a NEW must-read, just weeks from his latest reelection race... (in a county that Harris won over Trump).

boltsmag.org

“We're Afraid on a Daily Basis”: How a Maryland Sheriff Targeted Immigrants Long Before ICE Raids Spiked - Bolts

Frederick County’s sheriff turned his office into a force multiplier for ICE before such collaboration became commonplace. As he again faces voters this year, the harm to immigrant communities is impo...

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 20/09/2026

Berlin could be controlled by a coalition of left parties after this election, replacing the current CDU-SPD coalition government elected in 2023.

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

patrick.kennedy @thedotcity.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Should the Kennedy Center be torn down? Obviously not. But you know what should?

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Thomas Silverstein @tsilverstein.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

With a $50,000 downpayment, a year ago it would have cost you $2,774 monthly to pay back principal and interest on the mortgage for a $500,000 house. Today, it would cost you $2,979 monthly. That's $200 dollars a month going down the drain because of rising mortgage rates.

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

To the PHAs out there, if you sign up for the "Work & Dignity Coalition" (all of the scare quotes), you are signing up to being used by the most banal, bad faith opponents of our social safety net as cover for draconian - and racist - policies like work requirements.

aei.org

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gas prices up more than 30% over last year, definitely a good time to kill your transit system

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Reposted by Yonah Freemark

Jacksonville’s transit ridership is already 3rd worst in the country among large metro areas. www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/us-... Will anyone ride transit in Jacksonville now?

Transit ridership per capita for metro areas with at least 1 million residents

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Jacksonville’s transit ridership is already 3rd worst in the country among large metro areas. www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/us-... Will anyone ride transit in Jacksonville now?

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