Potential Raleigh

By providing residents convenient access to a private (but shared), car-free yard where children can safely play, courtyard blocks are ideal housing for families, who can enjoy both the “big yard” of the suburbs and the walkability, density, and convenience of the city.

@_dmoser Can we plan bulldoze most North American cities and build Paris?

Be glad for the realities we have avoided👇👇 The most influential architect of the 20th century had the plan to bulldoze Paris 🇫🇷 and replace it with this

@oevans82 And electric trolley buses are an excellent fit for transit buses. All-day service on static routes!

Given the present state of the technology, battery electric buses are not a good fit for all-day transit use, but are an excellent fit for suburban school buses. Shorter, more passenger-dense routes and mid-day charging FTW.

@Cobylefko Wellington House, London SW19 by @MATT_architect

What are some of your new favorite buildings that have been completed in the last 10 or so years?

@OakCityCRE The main difference is that the left pic had a large plot of undeveloped land owned by a single developer, rather than a bunch of individually owned parcels with houses on them already

@OakCityCRE @JWDemby If this was a nice 4-plex, then one $300k home could become 4 $300k homes…

Something tough about trying to build less expensive housing is that you naturally would try to get the cheapest last/existing property. So it always feels like something less expensive/affordable being replaced with something more expensive.

@ShellStationsUK Please don’t. This is a poor use of land and the shift to EV should be an opportunity for us to rethink use of space in our cities that has been dedicated to cars…

Meet the future of EV charging - open now. #ShellRecharge Shell Recharge, Fulham Road, SW6 5HY

@oevans82 @OaksAndSpokes A city-wide streets plan would be one of the best activities a planning department could undertake that is rarely done

@OaksAndSpokes I think the permissive, but parcel-by-parcel, approach is not enough. They need to get out in front with a second round of city-wide remappings & put new streets in the comprehensive plan in areas marked for upzoning to support that development

@oevans82 @NC_By_Train I wonder if they extended the Piedmont service west to Gastonia and east to Clayton and then all the counties contributed their commuter train funds to the state to modernise the fleet and run one giant statewide regional rail service?

@potentialral @NC_By_Train That'd be *awesome*, but even 1 train per hour (Clockface schedule, please!) would be a game changer!

Tired: The NC Piedmont has three major metropolitan areas: the Triangle, the Triad, and Charlotte. Wired: The NC Piedmont is a major metropolitan area.

What if BRT just became the standard, where most (all?) bus routes had frequent service, dedicated lanes, and good stop/station facilities et al?

"Every time you improve a street, you can improve it for everyone."

@HeadwaysMatter @WakeTransit

Minimum lot sizes are the most underrated element of the exclusionary zoning triangle. Parking mandates and apartment bans are bad, but in most cities, you'll get mass-produced affordable housing via oneplexes on small lots before you get it via zero-parking midrise or duplexes.

Eliminate exclusively single-family zoning

Eliminate parking minimums

@YIMBYDurham @UNC_System @HabitatNC Just as long as they are not greenfield SFRs!

North Carolina would be in a better place if it required, that EVERY undergraduate at a @UNC_System University, as a pre-requisite of graduating, spend one semester building affordable housing with @HabitatNC . #UNC #NCState #NCCU #NCAT #NC #Housing nytimes.com/2021/05/01/opi…

@_jcaruso That said, why spend the money to build it at all if you aren’t going to run regular all-day service which would actually generate ridership? That’s the problem that we haven’t had answered yet...

@_jcaruso The only argument I can make is that if we get it built, it *should* be easier to add service down the line. If the project gets killed then it’s another wasted opportunity and many years until the next one...

So we’re gonna spend a bunch of money to create a regional rail link, but then not run very many trains... then also build an expensive BRT systems that runs parallel to it for a large segment... this makes no sense. #ralpol

@_jcaruso @RaleighGov All free

@_jcaruso @RaleighGov And then minimum lot sizes

Removing parking minimums is the single biggest action @RaleighGov can take on climate. As a bonus, it would cost $0 #ralpol #earthday