Brian Goggin
@briangoggin.bsky.social
DC-area urbanist, francophile, affordable housing developer, lover of trains and buses.
Here at my hostile bus stop wishing DC had a guerrilla bus bench/shelter effort à la @idothethinking.bsky.social and others. Or, you know, localities took responsibility
August 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Here at my hostile bus stop wishing DC had a guerrilla bus bench/shelter effort à la @idothethinking.bsky.social and others. Or, you know, localities took responsibility
Reposted by Brian Goggin
this is fantastic news and I'm grateful to the eight councilmembers who voted to move Montgomery County forward. you can thank them using this handy form ⬇️ ggwash.org/morehousingnow
To create more housing options for working families, Montgomery County will open up single-family zoning a little, as a treat
Montgomery County takes a first step towards zoning reform
View this post on ggwash.org
ggwash.org
July 23, 2025 at 7:59 PM
this is fantastic news and I'm grateful to the eight councilmembers who voted to move Montgomery County forward. you can thank them using this handy form ⬇️ ggwash.org/morehousingnow
Reposted by Brian Goggin
A new report from @zoningatlas.bsky.social shows that it's largely illegal to build most housing types, other than single-family, across the vast majority of Massachusetts land.
“We still have yet to address the fact that it is simply illegal to build housing in most places."
“We still have yet to address the fact that it is simply illegal to build housing in most places."
July 17, 2025 at 2:05 PM
A new report from @zoningatlas.bsky.social shows that it's largely illegal to build most housing types, other than single-family, across the vast majority of Massachusetts land.
“We still have yet to address the fact that it is simply illegal to build housing in most places."
“We still have yet to address the fact that it is simply illegal to build housing in most places."
Reposted by Brian Goggin
Be sure to vote today, Virginians! The YIMBY chapters have endorsed Senator Ghazala Hashmi! @yimbyaction.bsky.social
June 17, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Be sure to vote today, Virginians! The YIMBY chapters have endorsed Senator Ghazala Hashmi! @yimbyaction.bsky.social
Corollary: I wish we could shift local governments’ default position from ‘how can we extract concessions’ from new housing to ‘how can we help facilitate’ new housing
New housing isn't a burden that needs to be mitigated. It's a benefit that each and everyone of our communities cannot survive without.
May 20, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Corollary: I wish we could shift local governments’ default position from ‘how can we extract concessions’ from new housing to ‘how can we help facilitate’ new housing
Reposted by Brian Goggin
Are you a renter who doesn’t own a car? Senator Wahab wants to raise your rent.
Senator Wahab offers a vigorious defense of including off-street parking in the price of rent.
April 22, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Are you a renter who doesn’t own a car? Senator Wahab wants to raise your rent.
Reposted by Brian Goggin
California is in a deep and worsening housing crisis, and the two most ambitious bills to address it are in trouble. Please read and sign on to my open letter to the Senate Housing Committee Chair asking for support on SB 79 and SB 677.
“The roots of our housing affordability crisis are multifaceted, but the core of the issue is clear: tight restrictions on homebuilding across our state have led to a severe shortage.” cayimby.org/blog/open-le...
Open Letter to Sen. Aisha Wahab
By advancing the pro-housing bills in the Senate Housing Committee, we can show Californians that their government can still deliver on big, visionary goals, and show the nation that the California Dr...
cayimby.org
April 18, 2025 at 10:26 PM
California is in a deep and worsening housing crisis, and the two most ambitious bills to address it are in trouble. Please read and sign on to my open letter to the Senate Housing Committee Chair asking for support on SB 79 and SB 677.
Reposted by Brian Goggin
Take action to save Metro funding & DC: Urge Congress to support & bring the DC Local Funds Act to a vote to restore DC's spending authority. Recent Congressional budget prevents DC from spending $1.1 billion of its own revenues, including $214m for Metro
secure.everyaction.com/lVdw10pZ6U67...
secure.everyaction.com/lVdw10pZ6U67...
Email Congress to restore DC's funding for Metro, police and teachers
secure.everyaction.com
March 26, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Take action to save Metro funding & DC: Urge Congress to support & bring the DC Local Funds Act to a vote to restore DC's spending authority. Recent Congressional budget prevents DC from spending $1.1 billion of its own revenues, including $214m for Metro
secure.everyaction.com/lVdw10pZ6U67...
secure.everyaction.com/lVdw10pZ6U67...
For anyone still emailing Congress, here's what I wrote to "yes" vote senators today in case it's of any help:
March 15, 2025 at 2:21 AM
For anyone still emailing Congress, here's what I wrote to "yes" vote senators today in case it's of any help:
Reposted by Brian Goggin
CALLS ARE WORKING - it has bought us precious time, but we NEED to keep the pressure up.
Tomorrow is the cloture vote.
KEEP CALLING: (202) 224-3121 ☎️☎️☎️
Tell your Dem Senator to vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill.
Do NOT assume your Senator will be good on this. Trust me.
Tomorrow is the cloture vote.
KEEP CALLING: (202) 224-3121 ☎️☎️☎️
Tell your Dem Senator to vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill.
Do NOT assume your Senator will be good on this. Trust me.
🚨 Everyone needs to call their Dem Senator right now. They are starting to cave.
Tell them:
1. Vote NO on Cloture
AND
2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill.
Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it.
TODAY is the showdown.
🤳🏽: (202) 224-3121
Tell them:
1. Vote NO on Cloture
AND
2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill.
Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it.
TODAY is the showdown.
🤳🏽: (202) 224-3121
March 13, 2025 at 6:54 PM
CALLS ARE WORKING - it has bought us precious time, but we NEED to keep the pressure up.
Tomorrow is the cloture vote.
KEEP CALLING: (202) 224-3121 ☎️☎️☎️
Tell your Dem Senator to vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill.
Do NOT assume your Senator will be good on this. Trust me.
Tomorrow is the cloture vote.
KEEP CALLING: (202) 224-3121 ☎️☎️☎️
Tell your Dem Senator to vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill.
Do NOT assume your Senator will be good on this. Trust me.
Reposted by Brian Goggin
🚨 To folks not in DC: Please take a few minutes today and give the Senators on the list below a call. Nearly 700K District residents are facing the immediate loss of over $1B from our local budget tucked into the current Continuing Resolution. DC isn’t a federal agency, and this is local $. #FreeDC
This week the Senate will vote on the Continuing Resolution which would revoke DC's ability to set our own budget. This would be devastating for our communities, and we need the Senate to VOTE NO.
Use our toolkit to call Senators today and every day until the vote: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Use our toolkit to call Senators today and every day until the vote: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
March 12, 2025 at 12:30 PM
🚨 To folks not in DC: Please take a few minutes today and give the Senators on the list below a call. Nearly 700K District residents are facing the immediate loss of over $1B from our local budget tucked into the current Continuing Resolution. DC isn’t a federal agency, and this is local $. #FreeDC
Reposted by Brian Goggin
"following RIP’s adoption in 2021-22, average sale prices for new middle housing decreased by $200,000"
www.portland.gov/bps/planning...
www.portland.gov/bps/planning...
February 6, 2025 at 2:08 AM
"following RIP’s adoption in 2021-22, average sale prices for new middle housing decreased by $200,000"
www.portland.gov/bps/planning...
www.portland.gov/bps/planning...
Adding two other opportunities to support building more housing in high-cost Arlington:
1. Online survey for project to transform a Walgreens into 276 homes and retail: publicinput.com/a06002
This one is along Plan Langston Boulevard in exclusionary north Arlington
1. Online survey for project to transform a Walgreens into 276 homes and retail: publicinput.com/a06002
This one is along Plan Langston Boulevard in exclusionary north Arlington
February 4, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Adding two other opportunities to support building more housing in high-cost Arlington:
1. Online survey for project to transform a Walgreens into 276 homes and retail: publicinput.com/a06002
This one is along Plan Langston Boulevard in exclusionary north Arlington
1. Online survey for project to transform a Walgreens into 276 homes and retail: publicinput.com/a06002
This one is along Plan Langston Boulevard in exclusionary north Arlington
Reposted by Brian Goggin
If you live/work/study in Arlington, Virginia and are frustrating about the high cost of housing, spending 30 seconds to submit favorable feedback on this proposal to build 323 homes is an easy and meaningful thing you can about it!
Arlington! We're seeking feedback about a site plan project at 2500 Wilson Boulevard. Review project materials and share feedback by February 7! publicinput.com/l53176
Feedback for 2500 Wilson Boulevard -- Jan. 27-Feb. 7, 2025 - PublicInput
The applicant the Meridian Group proposes to: Amend the site s General Land Use Plan (GLUP) designation to Medium Office-Apartment-Hotel Rezone the site from C-O-1.5 to C-O-2.5 Demolish the existing o...
publicinput.com
February 4, 2025 at 5:25 AM
If you live/work/study in Arlington, Virginia and are frustrating about the high cost of housing, spending 30 seconds to submit favorable feedback on this proposal to build 323 homes is an easy and meaningful thing you can about it!
Reposted by Brian Goggin
here's how you can let the Montgomery County Council you support them doing something about housing already secure.everyaction.com/LUob_21Ef0GD...
Tell the Montgomery County Council it's time for more housing
More Housing N.O.W. is an important first step towards building the housing we need and making it possible for more people to call Montgomery County home.
secure.everyaction.com
February 3, 2025 at 7:47 PM
here's how you can let the Montgomery County Council you support them doing something about housing already secure.everyaction.com/LUob_21Ef0GD...
Reposted by Brian Goggin
is it good or bad that a billionaire oligarch with close ties to foreign dictators is currently downloading the most sensitive information the us federal government has about its citizens to his own private servers?
February 2, 2025 at 6:36 AM
is it good or bad that a billionaire oligarch with close ties to foreign dictators is currently downloading the most sensitive information the us federal government has about its citizens to his own private servers?
Reposted by Brian Goggin
Kendra's setting up a database of federal de-funding in transportation research. If you are a researcher, and you have had a federally funded (or NAS/TRB) research project cancelled or paused, filling out this form would be helpful:
February 1, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Kendra's setting up a database of federal de-funding in transportation research. If you are a researcher, and you have had a federally funded (or NAS/TRB) research project cancelled or paused, filling out this form would be helpful:
Reposted by Brian Goggin
This should be a national scandal: Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution asking the state to suspend various legal protections for property owners in burned areas—of their right to build a duplex or ADU, to reasonable permit timelines, and more.
basically every state housing law: the HAA, the Housing Element Law, the Density Bonus Law, the commercial-corridors upzoning laws, the parking-reductions-near-transit law, the 5-hearing limit & objective-standards definition of SB 330, and more.
4/5
4/5
January 29, 2025 at 4:12 AM
This should be a national scandal: Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution asking the state to suspend various legal protections for property owners in burned areas—of their right to build a duplex or ADU, to reasonable permit timelines, and more.
Reposted by Brian Goggin
@kevinerdmann.bsky.social explains that institutional investors purchasing single-family houses is a result of changes to lending standards since 2008 on top of exclusionary zoning. Right now, they are a rare source of credit that can fund housing construction: www.mercatus.org/research/pol...
Getting Corporate Money Out of Single-Family Homes Won’t Help the Housing Affordability Crisis
Since the Great Recession, a new sector has emerged in US housing markets: Wall Street firms are buying large portfolios of single-family homes to manage as rentals. As housing costs across the countr...
www.mercatus.org
January 28, 2025 at 1:47 AM
@kevinerdmann.bsky.social explains that institutional investors purchasing single-family houses is a result of changes to lending standards since 2008 on top of exclusionary zoning. Right now, they are a rare source of credit that can fund housing construction: www.mercatus.org/research/pol...
Reposted by Brian Goggin
We did it!
January 22, 2025 at 4:19 PM
We did it!
Reposted by Brian Goggin
Devastating: 50% of all traffic and pedestrian fatalities among big 4 DMV jurisdictions occur in Prince George's. These tragedies in PGC are more than 2x the loss of life in peers. We urgently need to fix PGC's dangerous, wide, high speed roads.
January 16, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Devastating: 50% of all traffic and pedestrian fatalities among big 4 DMV jurisdictions occur in Prince George's. These tragedies in PGC are more than 2x the loss of life in peers. We urgently need to fix PGC's dangerous, wide, high speed roads.
Live posting council meetings, urbanist Bluesky has officially arrived
Happy Tuesday, folks! I’m spending my evening at a city council meeting in the Bay Area suburb of Menlo Park (average home value $2,600,000), home of Facebook, where a battle is brewing over an item to convert 3 downtown parking lots (gasp!) into affordable housing.
Grab some 🍿, 🧵starts here!
Grab some 🍿, 🧵starts here!
January 16, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Live posting council meetings, urbanist Bluesky has officially arrived
Reposted by Brian Goggin
anyway. the County Council needs to be reminded to do their jobs, and if you have just a few minutes, you can do so right here secure.everyaction.com/Z5qs3AYACkSt...
Tell the Montgomery County Council: we can't afford a pause
Montgomery County has a housing shortage, and the County Council has had over four years to do something about it. Doing nothing comes at a big cost, and residents like us are paying the price. Let t...
secure.everyaction.com
January 10, 2025 at 1:13 PM
anyway. the County Council needs to be reminded to do their jobs, and if you have just a few minutes, you can do so right here secure.everyaction.com/Z5qs3AYACkSt...
Reposted by Brian Goggin
My home is in West Los Angeles—distressingly close to the fires, but well-ensconced in an urbanized area, and so almost certainly safe. Please consider donating to the Los Angeles Red Cross to help those who are less fortunate:
www.redcross.org/local/califo...
www.redcross.org/local/califo...
American Red Cross Los Angeles Region
The American Red Cross Los Angeles Region is a non-profit humanitarian organization serving Los Angeles, lnyo, Mono & part of Kern County.
www.redcross.org
January 8, 2025 at 11:17 PM
My home is in West Los Angeles—distressingly close to the fires, but well-ensconced in an urbanized area, and so almost certainly safe. Please consider donating to the Los Angeles Red Cross to help those who are less fortunate:
www.redcross.org/local/califo...
www.redcross.org/local/califo...
Reposted by Brian Goggin
RIP Ronnie Clark the “51st person, and the 19th pedestrian, to die in a car crash in the District this year” wapo.st/41RQQfG
A driver ran over a man on Christmas Eve, then ran away
Ronnie Clark is the 51st person, and the 19th pedestrian, to die in a car crash in D.C. this year. He was hit while on the sidewalk.
wapo.st
December 28, 2024 at 1:05 PM
RIP Ronnie Clark the “51st person, and the 19th pedestrian, to die in a car crash in the District this year” wapo.st/41RQQfG