Resident Urbanist

Practical, applied urbanist ideas to make our cities work for everyone

[Addison Del Mastro @ad_mastro]

Thanks @StreetsblogUSA for republishing my piece at @ResidentUrban on how car-free/car-lite cities feel completely *normal.* https://t.co/pFT1NVQOK2

[Wyatt Gordon @yitgordon]

“Ask someone if they want congestion pricing, closed streets, or outdoor dining and they may tell you they don’t. Put them in a street where some or all of those policies have been implemented, and they will very likely like it.” @ad_mastro @ResidentUrban
https://t.co/1cQQOYsnse

[Resident Urbanist @ResidentUrban]

"Show, don’t tell. Show more. If protest and political action are your thing, enjoy the process. If it isn’t, wait for the restoration on the other side." Cities that have rolled back the primacy of the car feel...normal.

New from @ad_mastro: https://t.co/hkuuXaTLUf

[Addison Del Mastro @ad_mastro]

I'm in @ResidentUrban with an interesting sort of thought experiment: Why do the politics and activism of urbanism feel kind of "radical" - but the results feel utterly relatable, normal, and natural? https://t.co/emTXQgxji3

[Addison Del Mastro @ad_mastro]

So is this good, efficient, environmentally friendly land use, or the worst of both worlds? I wrote about "cluster zoning" for @ResidentUrban: https://t.co/tq85Z7McPh

[Addison Del Mastro @ad_mastro]

This is really interesting - a bad technocratic regulation basically gave rise to this whole idea that everything we build today is necessarily ugly. The answer seems more to be deregulation (of a sort) than mandating "beauty."

[Krista Jeffries @kinder_fiercer]

After a 16-hour day of managing little people with big feelings, no patience, and rodent-like attention spans, navigating hard questions from people who want simple answers will be a walk in the park.

My latest for @ResidentUrban

https://t.co/oLzfTOrLTP

[Wyatt Gordon @yitgordon]

“Planners have no power at all and are well-trained and underpaid punching bags. When planners were respected as scientists, we destroyed this country with overbuilt roads, no sidewalks & just so much racism soaked in arrogance.” @samsklar @ResidentUrban
https://t.co/3X8xRvroPf

[Wyatt Gordon @yitgordon]

“Why don’t we open up our streets to people and businesses instead of for through-traffic more often? Why do Americans mob these events but simultaneously feel like there would be something unworkable about making this normal?” 🚸 @ad_mastro @ResidentUrban
https://t.co/Sz9GJ3MSKq

[Arlington (TX) YIMBY @ArlingtonYimby]

Relatedly, I recently went to Fredericksburg, TX, and I have thoughts if anyone from there wants to hear them.

(Spoiler: I love the growth of ADUs there, but your streets are WAY too wide and walk/bike needs way more consideration).

[Dennis Lennox @dennislennox]

Interesting read.

[Wyatt Gordon @yitgordon]

“When the city isn’t allowed to fully urbanize, development has to radiate outwards. Every unit of urban housing unbuilt is a unit of exurban housing going up in a place that arguably should remain quiet, quaint, & ‘left alone.’” @ad_mastro @ResidentUrban
https://t.co/Rjnw6ofEM0

[Addison Del Mastro @ad_mastro]

America doesn’t actually lack cities or good urbanism. What we lack is an urban *mindset*: a canny understanding of how to best use cities: how to tailor commerce and mobility to an urban environment. We need to relearn how to inhabit cities. https://t.co/M2Kxnc6wgQ

[Resident Urbanist @ResidentUrban]

"The United States doesn’t lack cities or good urbanism, contra what some folks say. What we lack is an urban mindset: a canny understanding of how to best use cities: how to tailor commerce and mobility to an urban environment." https://t.co/leaSsD8zdv

[big_pedestrian @big_pedestrian]

One of the most enduring myths is that “American cities were built for cars.” No.

Our cities were *destroyed* for the car. We had dense, walkable cities as beautiful as Europe. DOTs razed entire neighborhoods to make way for freeways and demolished downtowns for parking lots.

[Addison Del Mastro @ad_mastro]

"Why do Americans mob these events but simultaneously feel like there would be something indulgent or unserious or simply unworkable about making this *normal*?"

Some illustrated thoughts from me on small towns and street festivals at @ResidentUrban: https://t.co/M2Kxnc5Yri

[Resident Urbanist @ResidentUrban]

"What if the regular use of streets for people and commerce wasn’t a special event, but just a regular part of town and city life?"

@ad_mastro on opening streets for people, and relearning how to make the best use of classic urban spaces: https://t.co/leaSsD8zdv

[Resident Urbanist @ResidentUrban]

"Knowing how to drive is not the same as full 'mobility literacy', and it’s the latter that I have always considered the more important one to teach my children."

New from Anaiah Matthew: https://t.co/UxG9Aj2Gxz

[Krista Jeffries @kinder_fiercer]

Protip: We can have suburbs that don’t suck!

[Resident Urbanist @ResidentUrban]

We don't want to "get rid of" or "abolish" the suburbs - we want to leaven and enliven them, and make them more pleasant and livable. Seven ways to do that from @kinder_fiercer: https://t.co/jFhRgn8ZIe