Michael Andersen

This was the week things flipped for me: more to read & more post engagement on Bluesky than on twitter. If you haven't, you should make a starter pack there on your favorite subject + see if your folks have made their own yet. Here's mine. go.bsky.app/5nxhmgK

@ChrisPenknz Thanks! Sent some emails there already, much appreciated.

@andersem Hello! Not directly within my area but can point you in the direction of these guys: consultations.standards.govt.nz/about/

@ChrisPenknz Hello MP Penk - I'm an American think-tank researcher currently visiting NZ, looking for someone who knows the history of lift standards in NZ - when and why they were harmonized to match Euro standards. We in the US may follow suit. I was advised to ask you here!

@MMLeague I fully agree that these reforms only work if & when local governments carry them out in good faith. But waiting around for local action has failed, because to address a market-wide housing shortage, many cities need to be doing the same thing at once sightline.org/2021/07/29/sta…

@MMLeague Re-legalizing townhomes has been so popular among buyers, especially younger and first-time ones, that it's been the one bright spot in our construction industry - actually ramped up fast despite the overall population slowdown your post identifies

CA and OR have led the nation in #preemption since 2017. So far, they're still waiting for the actual construction to tick up. 😬 Let's prioritize #PartnershipOverPreemption and get housing moving fast with the MI Home Program: hubs.la/Q047CkSh0

@buildhomez Cool thanks! Seems like a good case study

@andersem Neighborhood wise it has all the things you'd want out of a potential apt zoned neighborhood -Small homes on huge lots -Platted very well for large apartment buildings -I haven't quantified it, but probably a less politically engaged neighborhood than you'd see in wealthier area

YIMBY popularists heavily disagree with Shoreline's upzoning strategy Even though out of scale buildings poll poorly, Shoreline has upzoned some single family neighborhoods to 7 stories and now 256 units are being built on this site Shoreline can expect a big backlash

@buildhomez zero? impressive! anything more about the neighborhood or political context?

This is a tongue in cheek post btw. There has been zero backlash to the huge buildings built in Shoreline in SFH neighborhoods, and Shoreline would've been much worse off if they held themselves back over fear of a backlash that never materialized.

Data-driven research, at its best, presents you with results that surprise you. 😲 When I began studying Seattle's minimum pay standard for delivery drivers, I personally expected to see high-attachment delivery drivers making more money after the policy went into effect. 1/13

@jayparsons @JMGregorchuk The bill is happening either way. How counterproductive is the question

@JMGregorchuk i don't accept the premise. how do politicians pass (through both chambers) a housing bill opposed by YIMBYs and industry groups / builders? That would become the headline.

Genuinely puzzled that 100+ YIMBY groups signed off on a letter that says "we should allow build-to-rent construction everywhere except not really everywhere." What the heck? YIMBYs are now NIMBYs? That is literally a tactic you criticize NIMBYs for. 🤦‍♂️

@SukritGanesh To me, yes; to the downstate cities and homebuilders who didn’t want to accept this compromise, no. Bend wouldn’t have been directly affected (they don’t use IZ & leaders don’t aspire to) but fought this idea tooth & nail. I’m told some downstate builders & Realtors did, too.

@andersem Why did they limit it to the Portland area though? Wouldn't it make more sense to ban it statewide?

This week, Oregon's legislature voted to ban underfunded inclusionary zoning from the Portland metro area. It's a big turnaround, and I hope a path forward for other states too. link to follow

Here's my main advice to progressive pro-housing friends elsewhere: try to break out of the "IZ is good"/"IZ is bad" dualism. Focus on the fact that funded IZ can work, and that unfunded IZ doesn't. sightline.org/2026/03/05/ore…

"Investors" just means "landlords" and banning landlords means banning renters, which is why Republicans have decided they, too, like this terrible idea

@ModeledBehavior I think naming "CBS" as your favorite TV show gets the message across

Nobody picked Murder She Wrote????

Bleak

I wanted to understand how automation hits white collar jobs so I went on a huge research trip into the last time it happened: the 1980s We rarely talk about the mass automation brought about by the PC. But it was massive! Take a look at this map of the most popular job in every US state in 1978. With the exception of truck drivers – for now – every job on that map has been reshaped by automation

@CascadePolicy Agree that’s a bad price trend! Does it include rental and multifamily price data, though?

In 1990: • 3,100 people per square mile • Median home = 2.0× median income In 2020: • 4,200 people per square mile • Median home = 4.7× median income As density increased, affordability collapsed. Yet Metro’s strategy doubles down on higher-density housing and subsidies instead of expanding supply and allowing more single-family homes. If the goal is affordability, the data should matter.

One of the most interesting ways to see the true 'center' of social media was this graph of meme origins from KnowYourMeme. YouTube + 4chan dominated early internet culture, Tumblr had a few influential years, then Twitter was the center of everything until the rise of TikTok. It's a shame it cuts off in 2022, would love to see more recent data. TikTok is surely #1 by now, but by how much?

You mean this policy simultaneously raises revenue AND cracks down on addictive sports betting? What a great advertisement for the law! Other states should adopt it immediately!