Paul Joice

Housing researcher. Opinions are my own.

[Alan Cole @AlanMCole]

This isn't the only thing, but officeholding has become a worse job, and a worse job should expect to get worse workers.

I grew up in DC area with plenty of children and grandchildren of political figures of varying degrees of significance.

A lot of them--a LOT--say something like "I'm glad grandpa finished his term in 1998, because back then people couldn't find his address on social media. I can't imagine putting my family through what people deal with now."

[Chris Blattman @cblatts]

I have mixed feelings about the Obama Center. Haven't decided my opinion yet despite the fact that I walk or run or bike by it almost every day.

But what I love about Chicago in general, including architecture at UChicago and in Hyde Park generally, is that builders take bold risks. This means there's a lot of interesting and distinctive buildings. It also means you win some and you lose some. Such is the nature of taking risks. I am happy to live in a neighborhood that does this.

Meanwhile, the Obamalith has been growing on me with time—partly because it's so distinctive and it really is a remarkable and unique sight from all different parts of the neighborhood—the Midway, Jackson Park, and the lakefront. There’s something to be said for unmistakable skylines.

As far as I've heard, many people hated the Eiffel Tower when it first went up, and now it's iconic.

I'm also really excited about the larger community center and sports complex and library being built up in complex.

I'm going to guess that history will judge this one a win, but even if it doesn't, I'm glad that organizations take architectural risks in Chicago.

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

@streetsblogchi @ObamaFoundation @_atalliance @rideillinois @ChicagoDOE @ChiCritMass @ChicagoParks @LamontJRobinson @yancyforthe5th @WestTownBikes @WorkingBikes That stretch of Stony Island is not great and the intersection with 56th is particularly bad. Probably best to stick to paths through Jackson Park and approach the OPC from the West lagoon. That's the only place I've seen bike racks so far.

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

The grounds of the Obama Presidential Center are truly beautiful, and it has probably the best playground in Chicago!

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

Time to buckle up!

[Will Poff-Webster @willpoffwebster]

They did it! We’re going to have an amazing housing bill, folks

More analysis to come, but basically how we got here is:

-Tons of congressional offices had good housing bills gathering dust for years

-Republicans and Democrats saw they had overlap on cutting red tape for housing construction, even if they didn’t on other things. Staff did AMAZING work

-The Senate messed up build-to-rent housing, but the House fixed it and added more good bills

-The House wanted a smaller housing bill than the Senate, but the Senate pushed back on that while accepting the House approach on build-to-rent.

-The result is this amazing package that it looks like both chambers can agree on

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

There are currently 4 former presidents a mile from my house. Wild.

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

@willpoffwebster 107c. I guess the idea is to replace it with a new/better version described in 107b?

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

Why does the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act eliminate the Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse? Did Congress think its purpose was to promote regulatory barriers? There are like 6 provisions of the act that call on HUD to identify best practices, pretty much what the RBC does.

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

Kudos to all of these researchers for bold plans and making the case for abundance + affordability, but to win that argument we need more effective, scalable rental affordability strategies.

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

Two excellent reports dropped last week on housing abundance + affordability, from @CenterOnBudget and @EconomicSecProj. Both nail the big picture: we need supply-side reform and more/better subsidies. But both miss slightly, IMO, on how to subsidize. 🧵

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

DRA and HCV should coexist. HCV for an income-based deep subsidy. DRA as a shallow subsidy, less (or not at all) based on income, without all the bureaucracy of HCV, for the millions of renters who need a little help but currently get nothing.

[Paul Joice @PJoice]

@AdsoOfBelk Thank you, I LOL'd more from this than any other AI conversation I've had. 🤣