Favorites October 22nd 2023
The specific proposed language is "exempts buildings from massing breaks if at least 5% of the facade has ornament". I think it's a great idea, we should bring it to more cities. But while we're discussing ornamentation, I liked this comment about how complex ornamentation can make subway stops way harder to maintain, so maybe stick with polished tile there.
The population density isn't living where the tall buildings are! It's wild! Our zoning is so strange, but as for land use problems:
He addresses some counterarguments in a reply, earthquakes aren't an issue for modern construction, neither are hills, (look at tokyo on both of these).
I’m used to the simpsons monkey’s paw, but this one is good too.
Longer Reads
• A very long thread describing a very useful building typology "Perforated perimeter block + rowhouse hybrid"
Flotsam and Jetsam
– As much as the US has a huge issue with pedestrian and cyclist deaths, there really has been improvement. (src)
– Further expansion on the point that you can stop inflation without purposefully causing a recession. (src)
– Using a Quest 3 to watch youtube in a floating window while washing dishes (src)
– Hamas also doesn't have any plan or vision, as if that's a surprise. (src)
– Solar + Storage facility built on site of a retired gas power plant. (src)
– Parking analyst recommendation doc for Pensacola, but the same ideas apply to most American cities. (src)
– Detailed vision on what Israel should be doing to defeat Hamas, given that it's pretty clear to everyone that their previous ideas didn't work and their apparent plan going forward is even worse. I haven't finished reading it, but Ezra Klein seems to be impressed. If you're interested in this genre of article, here's a similar one in the NYTimes that Yglesias endorsed (src)
– The bay area doesn't build much housing, even by US standards. (src)
– A ton of kids in poor countries have lead poisoning, and it would be possible to make a very big difference for relatively little money. (src)
– Very long thread of NIMBY tears over CA legislation (src)
– It's very strange how Americans tend to conceptualize conflicts in other countries as being about whiteness. Israelis are mostly middle eastern in origin, but nevertheless (src)
– "The actual horseshoe theory" (src)
– One man mock debate over Israel Palestine from a 6 year old Youtube video is still mostly accurate (src)
– At the moment, the second largest conflict going on, by loss of life (after Ukraine) is the Myanmar Civil War, which I admit I know almost nothing about. (src)
– Highlights from the updates to the H-1B program. (src)
– Schwarzenegger joke (src)
