Reposted by Adrian PietrzakBen S @bensh3.bsky.social · 22/09/2026In addition, the Reimagining Regional Rail master plan has been released! We finally might get the S-Bahn Philadelphia deserves. Read now: wwww.septa.org/initiatives/... 2016929
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Many Americans have already driven in vehicles with built-in speed governors! That cars can go 100mph despite it being illegal to do so literally everywhere is what is actually crazy here. 020
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakGersh Kuntzman @realgershkuntzman.bsky.social · 14/09/2026More and more neighborhoods are asking @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social to reduce the speed limit in their area. Here's our interactive map: datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Evk0t/24/datawrapper.dwcdn.netSlow But SureMore and more community boards are asking the Mamdani administration to use Sammy's Law to reduce car speed limits to 20 miles per hour. 1323
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakYonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 28/08/2026In some big cities—like New York, Seattle, DC, Boston, SF & Portland—commuters are less & less likely to drive to work. The transformation was underway pre-Covid. The share of commuters driving in Seattle declined from 58.7% in 1990 to 36.6% now! www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/us-... 921743
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakJason Rabinowitz @airlineflyer.net · 28/08/2026“and a new fleet for commuters travelling between New York and Philadelphia. The Acela Corridor is now officially only between NYC and Philly. 2201
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026I'll also say this is not what I expected going into this! (you can see in the appendix we threw everything we could think of to see if the effect would go away) I was initially very skeptical of theories of a homelessness contact hypothesis, but this project changed my mind. 010
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Link to the working paper here: osf.io/preprints/so...osf.ioOSF 110
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Daily, visible reminders of both homelessness (increased casual exposure to homeless people) and homelessness policies (the new facilities) can activate these attitudes! And positive policy feedback doesn't require tangible, material improvements in local conditions to work. 110
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Increased salience instead appears to be activating prior, mostly pro-homeless attitudes. Most people report sympathy for the homeless and want something done about it. For ex., 2/3rds of Angelinos say they'd support supportive housing 5 blocks from them. 120
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026They *don't* say other issues are more salient (like housing or crime), nor do they perceive increases in crime in their neighborhood. Voters also don't appear to attribute the politicians responsible, nor do they have higher trust in the state. 110
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026What explains the effects? We argue the new facilities increased exposure to homelessness, increasing the salience of the problem. We find evidence for this in survey data. Voters in ZIPs w/ new facilities report seeing more homeless people and say the issue is more pressing. 131
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Or maybe new shelters or supportive housing replaced previously unwanted land-uses, like parking lots or industry? That doesn't explain our effects either - we find positive effects even among facilities which replaced previously residential uses. 110
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Why did support increase? One possibility is the new shelters and housing decreased nearby crime, encampments, or disorder. But that didn't happen. Effects were mostly null across the board (if anything, we find small increases nearby in tents/911 calls). 110
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026To find out we geocoded new homeless facilities opened between 2018 and 2024 and then compared support for two homelessness ballots (Prop 2 and Prop 1) using differences-in-differences. By increasing treatment cutoffs, we isolate hyper-local effects in political behavior. 110
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026New working paper from me, @alexandersahn.bsky.social, and Jacob Brown (offline): how do voters react to new homeless shelters and supportive housing built in their backyards? We find voters living nearby new facilities *increase* their support for more spending on homeless services. 195
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakKevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026I strongly recommend this report from over a decade ago on how measurement error in large sample surveys leads to this kind of the mistaken estimate in this new Census report. cces.gov.harvard.edu/news/perils-...cces.gov.harvard.edu 23415
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Totally not suspicious at all that they don't provide the threshold nor define "high-confidence" 030
Reposted by Adrian Pietrzak🎃Darin S Pumpkins🎃 @darinself.com · 19/08/2026Congrats to all the methods students who will get this on their final question set 17511
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakJarrett Walker @humantransit.bsky.social · 19/08/2026US high schools are routinely located as though they were prisons. -- Cut off from the community. -- No way for people to walk/bike in or out. -- Maximum congestion. -- No way for transit to get there efficiently. -- Nothing but barriers in all directions. Nashville, TN H/t @thetransitguy.com 2118226
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakBlair Lorenzo / The Fox and the City @thefoxandthecity.com · 18/08/2026I think it's time for the LIRR to bring back this logo. 1233
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakJake Blumgart @jblumgart.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Seems like half the development stories i've been writing recently are somehow connected to the Philadelphia Housing Authority www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...inquirer.comNew York developer proposes 129 affordable apartments near Temple UniversityThe majority of the units — 61 apartments — will be affordable to those making just over $44,000 for a one-person household. 162
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakSaad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 18/08/2026In tiny Rehoboth Beach, Del., planners didn't just ask older homeowners about zoning reform; they surveyed seasonal tourism workers. Standard hearings skew toward homeowners with free time, missing the renters most squeezed by housing shortages. www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hu...smartgrowthamerica.orgEnsuring community voices shape zoning reform efforts in Rehoboth Beach - Smart Growth AmericaAbout us 0309
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakStephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 01/08/2026A big reason for this is that buses stop way too often in North America, so each stop doesn’t have enough riders to justify the expense of a shelter (on top of that, the excessive stopping slows trips, which further depresses ridership generally) 51095
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/07/2026The only benefit of the NextGen Acela is since it's late so often, you have a good chance you'll get comped and get a free ride out of it 010
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 24/07/2026The last NextGen Acela I was on was 1.5 hours late (because doors wouldn't close in Boston - 2 Regionals passed) and I had to walk 4 cars back to find a bathroom that worked (and the sink still had no running water). Needless to say, I only book Regionals now. 120
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakNext door in Silicon Valley @nextdoorsv.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Speaking of property taxes, I feel compelled to show you this Silicon Valley house that has a market value of $4,313,755, and an annual property tax bill of $2,551 - an effective rate of 0.06% 96611
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakYonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 17/07/2026US homeownership rate is conventionally described as being ~ 65%. But that measure fails to take into account the large number of adults living in homes where *other* adults actually own the homes. People like young adults, elderly, friends. Once you account for that, the rate declines to… 53%.minneapolisfed.orgNew homeownership measure puts people first | Federal Reserve Bank of MinneapolisAn alternative way of calculating the homeownership rate tells us how many individuals own their homes—something the most commonly used metric fails to track 68930
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakMichael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Can you pay NIMBYs to say yes to housing? Rogé Karma covers my ongoing work with Glaeser, Gyourko & Davis in The Atlantic. Most people have a price — it rises with proximity, project scale, and suburbia. And cash beats parks funding, though local legislators prefer the reverse. Gift link below.theatlantic.comA Perfectly Crude Solution to America’s Housing ShortageIf you can’t beat the NIMBYs, pay ’em. 1124
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakAdam L @adam-lg.bsky.social · 16/07/2026Crazy to think the bad AQI day we're having today in NYC was just "normal" for summer in the 80s-90s. (Note that 2001-5 overlap across the two plots). Data via www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-... 28926
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakPhil Rocco @philiprocco.bsky.social · 10/07/2026I don’t think people really understand how bad the OMB proposed rule is going to be for state and local govt. We’re talking about putting a full third of state budgets under the explicit control of Russ Vought. (1/2) www.bondbuyer.com/news/cities-...bondbuyer.comCities, states warn of credit impact from proposed federal grant ruleDiscretionary termination of grants allowed under the rule would pose a particular risk, issuer advocates said. 551180583
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakBlvd Subway @blvdsubway.bsky.social · 10/07/2026The Washington Ave Connector is a beautiful thing to see done. Philadelphia be positive a better city is happening! 1141
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakDavid Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 06/07/2026Yet another societal benefit of congestion pricing: Better emergency care New paper credits NYC's congestion pricing program for a 5-6 percent reduction in emergency response travel time. www.nber.org/system/files... 314643
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 29/06/2026And maybe fixing the 370 hour runtime of train 354 110
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakStephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 29/06/2026I would reverse Bill de Blasio and the hotel union’s ban on new hotels in New York City 3783
Reposted by Adrian Pietrzakgamera obscura october edition @ohrobin.bsky.social · 27/06/2026This Danville, VA city council candidate made a very dramatic video about sidewalks and public safety, and I love it and him. Worrying about a possible milkshake duck situation, I looked at his FB page, but he seems ok. Juneteenth celebrations, community outreach, Methodists. A solid old gent. 21781451349
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakCalifornia YIMBY @cayimby.bsky.social · 16/06/20261633 Valencia cut SF affordable housing costs ~50% via four levers: (1) reused permitted plans from a prior project (2) design-build so construction started earlier (3) prefab components (4) flexible private capital upfront www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/a... 0211
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakStephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 16/06/2026Damn, those bulb-outs suck. I don’t understand why DOTs build them on streets with unprotected bike lanes. Isn’t it obvious that they’re going to be protected one day and the bulb-outs will just get in the way? 12807
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 16/06/2026Did Iran hire the same lawyers that tried to defend Obamacare's individual mandate in court 010
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 06/06/2026The problems of transit in the U.S. make a lot more sense when you consider that most politicians - even in the most transit rich state (!) - consider transit to be either (a) a jobs program or (b) a welfare program (or both) 070
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakJonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 06/06/2026A new @pewresearch.org study finds that infill housing near jobs, stores, and transit costs governments ~$21,000 less per home to serve, cuts long term infrastructure maintenance costs in half, and generates 13% more in annual property tax revenue per acre than sprawl. 332198
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakStephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 06/06/2026I appreciate @agounardes.bsky.social standing strong as the ONLY Dem in the entire New York State legislature to do the right thing and vote against enshrining operational inefficiency on the NYC Subway by banning OPTO expansion. If this bill becomes law, it’ll make IBX significantly less usefulamny.comSubway staffing: State Senate and Assembly pass transit union-backed bill to make two-person crews permanent | amNewYorkThe state Senate and Assembly this week passed a measure that would require the MTA to maintain two-person train crews on every subway line that currently has 1016826
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakJake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Gelman absolutely on fire on the blog statmodeling.substack.com/p/13-aspects... 69521
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Also 47% this is an overestimate of native new yorkers because it also includes people who like grew up in syracuse or westchester who moved to the city And on top of that, the midwest is the *least* common region people move from. They're not coming from ohio, they're coming from the south! 030
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 06/06/2026This discourse is crazy because a *majority* of New Yorkers are not from NYC! Nearly 40% are immigrants! Moving to NYC is kinda NYC's whole thing! 140
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 06/06/2026The city proposed pairing protected bike lanes with loading zones on every block to avoid traffic, but that didn't stop dissent and lawsuits because everything is about parking. Priority of society hill NIMBYs is: parking > loading zones > (big gap) if cyclists live or die 030
Reposted by Adrian PietrzakBen S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Sad to see CBS3 stoop down to both sidesism on bike lanes, but lack of loading spaces has nothing to do with the bike lane! Only in Philly do we let drivers get away with usurping travel lanes for as long as they like 2184
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 06/06/2026My guess is that if anything this hurts the GOP in the long run because voters can't have their cake (vote their nationalist, white identity) and eat it too (get the liberal economic polices they also want, like minimum wage) 030
Adrian Pietrzak @zoningwonk.bsky.social · 02/06/2026Was this bill specifically written for @aarmlovi.bsky.social? 041