Jake's blog
Let's talk about how poorly LA is meeting its state housing quotas.
Bottom line, up front: the quota system has been as toothless as the old quota system, and more aggressive measures are needed to build more housing. A few years ago, I was hopeful that the new state housing quota system would get LA's cities to get off their tuchuses and build more housing. I'm sad to say that I was wrong. Let's go back a few years to 2021, where the state established that Greater LA needed 1.35 million new units between 2021 and 2029. The grand total permitted, halfway through this eight-year cycle, is 132,839, less than 10% of...
My review of the new NYC subway map is out!
Check it out at Vital City.
A true story about the California bar exam
Note: Our regularly scheduled programming will resume shortly. This is an anecdote which has nothing to do with transport or housing. If you don't know, to become a lawyer, you have to pass the Bar Exam, and it's been in the news that the latest California bar exam has been a clusterfuck. This doesn't surprise me at all, because the California Bar just doesn't give a shit. They didn't care when it was 54 degrees inside a test center or give anyone a break when an earthquake hit in the middle of the exam. Nope, keep writing, they said. I've...
Let's talk about NYC's new congestion pricing scheme, and its effects on traffic.
So, if you haven't heard, today is the first day of Manhattan's congestion pricing. The long and short of it is, to enter Midtown and Downtown Manhattan on surface streets or the East River bridges is now $9; the other crossings had their tolls raised by $9. It came to be because the subways melted down in 2017, including fatal crashes. The State needed money to fund the subways, and so a grand bargain was struck to set up new tolls. A couple of students at Brown set up a bot based on Google Maps data to track drive times...
Let's talk about California Governor Newsom's order to clear out the homeless encampments.
BOTTOM LINE, UP FRONT: Clearing the encampments is a necessary but not sufficient step to ending the housing crisis. Governor Newsom gave the green light, in the wake of the Grants Pass Supreme Court case, for both state and local governments to crack down on homeless encampments. I'm not against clearing encampments. Tent cities are a public health hazard, and they turn public spaces into zones that decent people avoid. Sidewalks, squares and parks should be for everybody, not just an extension of Skid Row. Decent people everywhere shouldn't have to put up with this shit. But having said that,...