A condo in a building where all my friends also live and that has one of those sweet central courtyards where everyone can hang out is not too much to ask in this life, is all I am saying!

Great thread, as usual, from @dieworkwear.bsky.social.

What Luxury Housing Does To Homelessness YouTube video by Justine Underhill

Fantastic explainer on why policies to legalize more housing of all types, in all neighborhoods, is vital to making housing, and life in general, more affordable. @justineunderhill.bsky.social does a great job explaining the theory, research, and responses to common critiques.

Brookline and other municipalities could plan for steady new growth that offsets Prop 2.5 via zoning reform but choose not to do so.

Ugh. That bike lane is blocked by trucks so often as is. This will be so much worse.

First pitch at sunset in Fenway Park. Red Sox vs Brewers. Bryan Bello vs Brice Turang.

First game of the season. Cold night, but I'm getting used to April at Fenway. Red Sox vs. Brewers.

Brick built, 3 story building with a couple of leaf-less trees in front. Great example of modest urban density.

Great Brookline Village multifamily building. This should be legal to build, at baseline, anywhere within a 10 min walk of a transit stop or high capacity bus stop. 12 homes on 6k sq ft, 84 homes per acre.

It's good climate policy, affordability policy, transit policy, public health policy, & more.

‘We’ve got it backwards.’ Cameras are everywhere in Mass. So why can’t they catch speeders? - The Boston Globe Advocates and lawmakers are pushing a collection of proposals that would allow cameras to catch speeding drivers in Massachusetts.

We have to address the rampant running of red lights in order to make our communities safer. Anywhere that has pedestrian walk signals needs red light cameras to protect pedestrians, bikers, and other cars. I easily see 10+ cars run lights every time I bike in to work. Many quite egregiously.

Just listened to an amazing, contemplative, unexpected story of curiosity, memory, wonder, and bugs. Lots of layers, lots to think about, and a rare break from *everything* that doesn't feel frivolous. Listen to the original on @signalhillfm.bsky.social, and thank you @annierosenthal.bsky.social.

Raising parking ticket fees is important to try to actually change behavior. Impeding snow removal should be a costly choice. Overstaying a parking meter undermines parking space mgmt. Overnight parking is rampant, but at $25 per violation w/spotty enforcement, it's cheaper than renting a spot.

Angine de Poitrine - Full Performance (Live on KEXP) YouTube video by KEXP

Wow. @anginedepoitrine.bsky.social

It's certainly a big problem. Process always "sounds" reasonable until you think about how many projects it has delayed to death or never got started cause it's too much of a slog. We need to set time limits and structure around public engagement so we both hear from folks and move quickly.

It's named after the "Coolidge & Brother" general store from the 1850s that opened at the intersection of what is today Beacon and Harvard Streets.

Sports are awesome. Great story. 🧵

it's fun to see that our neighbors in south brookline simultaneously oppose new construction AND paying for town and school services. nice!

I propose that you can pick at most one :) preferably neither!

[[from the 2023 override vote]]

As we in #Brookline begin the discussion over this override, this is the shape of the debate:

@drkath.bsky.social: "Brookline needs more housing, and the project at 26 Pleasant St. is a great way to accomplish this: It will add 103 apartments including 15 income-restricted affordable units"

"This actually makes the politics of getting people to accept more housing incredibly difficult because it is an awful political slogan to say, 'Let's build more housing so price increases aren't as high as they would've been if we hadn't built as much housing"

Can confirm, good god can I confirm

The MBTA Communities law was a good start. But it won’t deliver transit-oriented development – or solve our housing shortage. The MBTA Communities law is better understood as a leveling up exercise, or a fair-share zoning law.

Check out Luc Schuster's piece in @cwbeacon.bsky.social making the case that while the MBTA Communities law was a meaningful first step, Massachusetts will need stronger, more focused policies to truly align housing growth with transit and solve the housing crisis.

‘We’ve got it backwards.’ Cameras are everywhere in Mass. So why can’t they catch speeders? - The Boston Globe Advocates and lawmakers are pushing a collection of proposals that would allow cameras to catch speeding drivers in Massachusetts.

Glad to see automated traffic enforcement being taken seriously by the state. Seems like Sen Brownsberger has included some reasonable safeguards.

The reality is that I see at least 1, if not 2 or 3, cars run reds at nearly every intersection during my commutes. This needs to be enforced at scale.

The lingering snow in Boston has been a great opportunity to visually explain to my kids how bad cars are, particularly noting that when we bike home from school with them on the back, we're breathing in that black crap.

Yes, he'll be on the ballot in 2026.

Just listened to an amazing, contemplative, unexpected story of curiosity, memory, wonder, and bugs. Lots of layers, lots to think about, and a rare break from *everything* that doesn't feel frivolous. Listen to the original on @signalhillfm.bsky.social, and thank you @annierosenthal.bsky.social.

A Modest Zoning Reform That Works—and Should Be Scaled Tight zoning has been treated as a preservation strategy, but it fuels mansionization and exacerbates our housing shortage.

A story of promising, yet modest, zoning reform in Newton, MA. Examples at a small scale like this are great opportunities to expand the policy to other communities. People love neighborhood villages; we can seed more if we can build housing at this scale in new places. @amydain.bsky.social

Jazz Mandolin Project performing at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. Lights of blue shroud the stage where musicians play keys, mandolin, drums, and upright bass.

A really nice break from reality for a couple hours. #JazzMandolinProject

Jazz Mandolin Project performing at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. Lights of blue shroud the stage where musicians play keys, mandolin, drums, and upright bass.

A really nice break from reality for a couple hours. #JazzMandolinProject

Really excited the Olympics are happening. Find a way to watch an event or two. So many great stories, so much phenomenal talent. Watching people be amazing is fun.

Same for the Atlanta games in 1996. Soccer was played in Birmingham, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Miami, and Athens, Georgia. Makes a lot of sense.

Phenomenal performance.

Legalize Cafes Everywhere! Municipal codes should allow for the operation of cafes in most residential areas to free up space for businesses who actually need larger commercial buildings.

People want places to congregate & want walkable neighborhoods. We should absolutely make it easy to build cafe's in residential areas. It can add so much to a neighborhood, bring folks together, & boost tax revenue to the community. We need to get way more comfortable mixing uses in our places.