Builders seeking approval for proposed real estate developments must in almost all American localities navigate a complex series of required procedural steps, but for those who persevere and succeed in obtaining a permit, one eleventh-hour device can bring all those efforts to naught: the objector … [Read more...]
Pop Culture Urbanism: What Twin Peaks Understands About NIMBYism
Welcome to Twin Peaks: home of black coffee, cherry pie, murder, intrigue, and the endangered pine weasel. To kick off season two of Pop Culture Urbanism, I dive into David Lynch's eccentric nightmare/daytime soap opera world to examine the age old trope of the bad guy developer and how they … [Read more...]
Environmental review vs. congestion pricing
One of the sickest paradoxes in American law has got to be the arduous environmental review that's applied to transit and dense building projects, but I didn't think it was this bad. From an article about San Mateo County residents bitching about being asked to pitch in for the roads they use: The … [Read more...]