Author | Lightnews

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 2d

Through its Missing Middle Subdivision State Law, Portland has built more than 1400 new homes in just 3 years.

Credit to #YIMBY Governor @TinaKotek!

Most of them are lower-cost than the neighborhoods where they are built.

1 2

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 4d

I dig back into political classics to explain why homebuilding humbles the maker—and enrages the idle.

Read my latest essay, onHousing: https://www.aaronlubeck.com/p/the-builder-and-the-blamer

#deTocqueville #Nietzsche #MatthewCrawford #housing #politicalphilosophy

1

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 4d

Kathleen A. Madden (1947-2025)

I am saddened by the passing of Kathy Madden, a pioneer in the field of placemaking and co-founder of Project for Public Spaces.

I had the opportunity to meet Kathy at the Better Cities Film Festival in Detroit in 2023. She will be missed.

https://loom.ly/qWxC_VM

1 1 3

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 5d

Much of our housing crisis can be understood through Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

We should focus on developing housing that not only fosters love and belonging but also promotes human flourishing at the highest levels.

One idea to achieve this is... 👇

1

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 6d

I am leading a panel on urban placemaking in Charlotte in November.

The trains in North Carolina are just scarce enough that it doesn't work.

I need a train from Durham to Charlotte that departs around 5:30 AM and arrives in Charlotte by 8:00 AM for the workday.

1 2

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 8d

The best part of my crazy fall? Coaching the Riverside Varsity Girls Tennis Team.

Last year, they beat a #ChapelHill school for the first time ever. This year, they made the 2nd round of playoffs and sent all four qualifying teams to regionals—#1 doubles nearly made states.

stay tuned #states26!

1

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 9d

American Main Street buildings are ubiquitous across the country and around the globe.
But new ones have been almost completely eradicated in the last 50 years.

Who is responsible for their disappearance? And how do we bring them back?

From Classical Architecture Studio in #Charleston.

1

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 10d

HOT TAKE:
Yes, the Interstate System should have been built.
No, those freeways should not have been built anywhere inside of already-existing American cities.

via Segregation By Design

3

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 10d

It's election season in Durham, North Carolina, and that means Class-A psychopathy and gaslighting are around the corner!

Bookmark this to come back to it later.

+ If you SEE it, SAY it.

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 11d

I got to review the new California Forever town plan.
This will be the largest new town built in America in a century, and it's filled with creative design and placemaking.
Read my latest onHousing: link via bio https://www.aaronlubeck.com/p/i-got-to-review-the-new-california

1 2

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 12d

If you mandate B, you'll get a lot less A.

1 2

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 12d

Sometimes, placemaking is A LOT simpler than you'd think.

#design #architecture #theater #tacticalurbanism

1 1 6

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 16d

Minimum lot size and #affordability inversely correlate?!?
Who could have known?

2 1

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 17d

The common denominator of beauty?
USE ONE DAMN MATERIAL.

This? 👇 ........................... or That? 👇

1

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 18d

Affordability is more readily achieved through detached and 1- and 2-family homes than through large multi-family developments.

Very few people understand this, resulting in unproductive policy discussions.

Read my latest, onHousing. Link via bio

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 19d

We are doing it wrong.
Power to the People > Power to the State

2

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 22d

Shutters that don't fit the window are one of the easiest ways to identify whether or not a trained professional worked on the design.

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 23d

American cities are reserved for single-family homes.
#Democrats want to be relevant? ☝️☝️☝️ FIX THIS ☝️☝️☝️

via @nytimes

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 24d

Parking requirements + car culture = URBICIDE.

3

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 26d

There is no greater joy than taking stewardship of a thing that came before you,
and preparing it for the generations that come after.

#northcarolina #historicpreservation #placemaking #architecture

1 7

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · 27d

This is the way.

#pocketneighborhoods
#cottagecourts
#intentionalcommunity

3

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · Sep 26

Sketch for a 2-bedroom home from the Durham Small Lot Collection.

Developed in collaboration with Allison Ramsey Architects.

1

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · Sep 25

Sometimes, infill construction can make a neighborhood look MORE like itself.

#architecture #traditional #design #infill #incrementaldevelopment

3

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · Sep 24

I am honored to be one of the keynotes at the Urban Guild's Annual Summit in Chattanooga.

These are the best urban designers in the world. The Guild is growing, the roster of speakers is filled with heavy hitters, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

https://www.urbanguild.org/guild-summit

2

Aaron Lubeck @aaronlubeck.bsky.social · Sep 23

WE ARE DOING IT WRONG!
1920 vs 2020

1 7