Ben Smith

Engineer VP - Brown Mitchell & Alexander. Believer-Husband to @sesmith2424 -Dad to 4-Working to make a more livable, resilient MS Coast #hailstate

[Drew Snyder @SnyGuy]

Never been sad when driving near Scenic Drive in Pass Christian, Mississippi.

A beautiful, tree-lined slice of The Magnolia State.

[Safe Systems Civil Engineer @_Murphy_Dan]

Safe Routes To Grocery stores (SRTG) needs to become a thing. All grocery stores need safe secure bike parking and SUP/Pathway a kid )and her parentsj feel safe with them using alone to get there.

[Jonathan Haidt @JonHaidt]

Phone free schools cause
--increased laughter in hallways
--very loud lunchrooms
--increases in books checked out of school library

[Julie Chang @JulieChangRE]

4. Real estate is like communism in some respects, focused on churning out the most minimally accepted standards for function in what is built.

Where is the differentiation and tiers of real estate?

Where is the user specific real estate? Retail and hotels get it, but everyone else is in the communism can't do mentality.

Yes I understand government is a massive impediment but if everyone has to jump through those hoops, figure out how to differentiate.

In the US, industries making BILLIONS

Dining: QSR & Casual $301.0B
Dining: Luxury/Fine $78.4B
Luxury Travel $428.5B
Luxury Hotels $83.2B
Consumer Task Outsourcing $268.3B
Home Furnishings $180.6B
Grocery Delivery $327.7B
Organic Food $76.6B
Dietary Supplements $68.7B
Bottled Water $53.3B
Alternative Health $52.8B
Fitness (Gyms/Clubs) $45.8B
Pet care outsourcing $35.1B
Sleep $35.0B

Me when I talk about how the Real Estate industry is missing out on building RE that focuses on health, experiential, high design, better function, flow, lifestyle, buyer psychology

Responses: BUT people don't want to spend money

Huh?

The Real Estate Industry instead talks about: which shade of vinyl plank should I install? Is it white granite or marble looking white granite? Swiss coffee or Ultra White?

Do I build my retail or office in this location only people can drive to and fight for parking, or do I pick location B that is slightly less inconvenient to how people want to live?

There is so much room to innovate and build experiential spaces in Real Estate

What large developers and builders want to build for the future and talk about this? THIS is an area I want to solve for

[Ben Smith @benjsmith]

@JTweetsTennis What happened to him? Didnt see any news but he has been out for a while

[Hannah Cox @HannahDCox]

When I’m wrong I say I’m wrong, and I was very wrong about online gambling.

The effects of legalizing this option have been catastrophic and in no short order.

Since the 2018 SCOTUS decision, 48% of men now participate.

Almost a third of participants say they have debt because of gambling.

15% have taken out personal loans to fund their addiction.

45% lack savings on top of that.

Bankruptcy in states that allow it rose 28%.

This is pillaging young men who are already falling drastically behind women in the country - meaning women have few partners to pick from when they seek a healthy husband and father.

Apparently Rep Matt Reeves has sponsored legislation that would allow Georgia, one of the few holdouts, to implement this cancer here. He’s a good guy but severely mistaken and needs to reconsider.

Young men are destroying their futures before they even begin due to gambling and how accessible it has become. No one should support this, there is no upside for society-just the billionaires who win every round.

[Ben Smith @benjsmith]

@frankcorder @Lane_Kiffin @LSUfootball Frank, sorry man. It’s time for the ultimate re-build!

[Jared Hardin @JaredDHardin]

I recently spoke with a health insurance broker to determine costs of providing health insurance for my family, through my business.

It blew my mind that the health of the individual isn't taken into consideration with pricing.

The only factors taken into consideration are age and sex.

So me, a 34 y/o male who is in pretty good shape, eats healthy, works out, and doesn't smoke pays the exact same as someone else who is 34 y/o, fat, smokes, and sits inside eating Cheetos and ice cream all day.

WTF!?

They're literally forcing the healthy individuals to pay for the unhealthy.

If you take care of your body, that should be reflected in your health insurance costs to incentivize people to be healthy.

[Ben Smith @benjsmith]

@MichaelWatsonMS @BunkiePerkins I’ll never forget the dollhouse of Christmas ‘13. Took 5 hours. That useless staircase 🤯

[Andy Boenau @Boenau]

This will blow engineering minds:

"roads with 10-12-foot lanes at 30-35 mph speed limits have a significantly higher number of crashes compared to those with 9-foot lanes" @AmericanHealth

AASHTO Green Book allows 9-foot lanes.

[Andy Boenau @Boenau]

Walking is super important for the elderly because it strengthens the mind and body.

Meanwhile, at the senior living community:

[Mark R. Brown, AICP, CNU @CompletedStreet]

If this were any other kind of fatality map, we'd just straight up copy whatever Europe was doing and apply it everywhere in the U.S.

[Geoff Graham @ggraham]

This has been the only argument I have ever found to penetrate Boomer NIMBYism:

“Where would you like to live when dealing with your house becomes too much for you? Would you prefer to stay in this neighborhood or be sequestered far from your friends and family?”

[Antonia @antonia_mdprjct]

People often ask me about when they should hire consultants for development projects.

In some ways, it's one of my favorite questions because the answer and following strategy can make the difference between an efficiently run process and a wasteful exercise.

I like to use the chart below as general guidance, with the caveat that every project has unique needs, which may mean this timeline varies slightly.

Hiring the wrong team is the costliest mistake I see people make in predevelopment, but hiring the team at the wrong time or in the wrong order is a close second.

[Dave Gordon @davegordon14]

@berkie1 @GovDougBurgum @NatlGovsAssoc One of the most important points he made that is largely overlooked:

“The cost of running a city is the linear feet of everything - sewers, roads […] and then when you get more of that, you need more fire stations.”

[Ben Smith @benjsmith]

Way to go ⁦@HailStateMT⁩

[Ben Smith @benjsmith]

@CPLA_info Strong candidate for the “People Named Ben fellowship”. Great opportunity!

[Ben Smith @benjsmith]

@RussLatino I imagine calculating a real ROI is impossible. For me, the problem with expansion is there is no proof of improvement in health outcomes. I would be fine with no return if there was a way to assist people with improving their health.

[Ben Smith @benjsmith]

Me making meals for my family.