Allison Lirish Dean
@ear2thepavement.bsky.social
Urban planner + journalist writing about the intersection between planning, bureaucracy, and democracy. I’m also working on the green transition in Rhode Island. www.allisonlirishdean.com
Pinned
Make Bureaucracy Great Again
In the past, the administrative state was a powerful force for good in Americans’ lives. To defeat Trumpism, it needs to become one again.
www.currentaffairs.org
To defeat Trumpism, the administrative state must once again become a powerful force for good in ordinary Americans’ lives. My latest for @currentaffairs.bsky.social www.currentaffairs.org/news/make-bu...
I’m not a pollster or a statistician, but as a reasonably educated consumer of statistical information it feels like there is a lot of misleading spin in the anti-Trump polling world. Trump’s net approval is not “plummeting” but has been very stable for awhile now.
October 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I’m not a pollster or a statistician, but as a reasonably educated consumer of statistical information it feels like there is a lot of misleading spin in the anti-Trump polling world. Trump’s net approval is not “plummeting” but has been very stable for awhile now.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
US highway spending is a mess.
Yale prof @zliscow.bsky.social & colleagues found that South Carolina’s DOT spends $375,500 repaving a mile of highway – more than twice as much as North Carolina.
In @bloomberg.com, I spoke with Liscow about the wild inefficiencies of state DOTs.
Yale prof @zliscow.bsky.social & colleagues found that South Carolina’s DOT spends $375,500 repaving a mile of highway – more than twice as much as North Carolina.
In @bloomberg.com, I spoke with Liscow about the wild inefficiencies of state DOTs.
American Roads Are Paved With Inefficiency
Why do US highway projects cost so much? A researcher finds some surprising sources of infrastructure inflation, and points to ways to make road work more affordable.
www.bloomberg.com
October 23, 2025 at 12:07 PM
US highway spending is a mess.
Yale prof @zliscow.bsky.social & colleagues found that South Carolina’s DOT spends $375,500 repaving a mile of highway – more than twice as much as North Carolina.
In @bloomberg.com, I spoke with Liscow about the wild inefficiencies of state DOTs.
Yale prof @zliscow.bsky.social & colleagues found that South Carolina’s DOT spends $375,500 repaving a mile of highway – more than twice as much as North Carolina.
In @bloomberg.com, I spoke with Liscow about the wild inefficiencies of state DOTs.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Republicans in North Carolina today adopted a new congressional map, favored by President Trump, that is expected to shift one seat toward the GOP.
www.newsobserver.com...
www.newsobserver.com...
October 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Republicans in North Carolina today adopted a new congressional map, favored by President Trump, that is expected to shift one seat toward the GOP.
www.newsobserver.com...
www.newsobserver.com...
As the saying goes, “just one more lane will fix it.”
Reporting from New York Focus last year found that the project would save drivers six minutes max, at a cost of $1.3 billion.
nysfocus.com/2025/10/14/h...
nysfocus.com/2025/10/14/h...
Hochul Hits Pause on Hudson Valley Highway Expansion
Reporting from New York Focus last year found that the project would save drivers six minutes max, at a cost of $1.3 billion.
nysfocus.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:09 PM
As the saying goes, “just one more lane will fix it.”
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
A report by an environmental group says millions of tons of discarded U.S. electronics are being shipped overseas each month — much of it to Southeast Asian countries not prepared to safely handle hazardous waste.
Watchdog report says American e-waste is causing a 'hidden tsunami' in Southeast Asia
A report by an environmental group says millions of tons of discarded U.S. electronics are being shipped overseas each month — much of it to Southeast Asian countries not prepared to safely handle hazardous waste.
bit.ly
October 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
A report by an environmental group says millions of tons of discarded U.S. electronics are being shipped overseas each month — much of it to Southeast Asian countries not prepared to safely handle hazardous waste.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Nor is it a good reflection on local dem leadership, who cannot manage to express unhappiness, much less contempt, over Cuomo's contemptuous candidacy.
Curtis Sliwa is more principled in his personal contempt for the disgraced former governor who voluntarily resigned from office amidst 13 credible sexual harassment claims and other scandals than a good number of Democratic voters in this city, and that's not a good reflection on those voters.
October 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Nor is it a good reflection on local dem leadership, who cannot manage to express unhappiness, much less contempt, over Cuomo's contemptuous candidacy.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
My day on RIPTA thanks to
@govdanmckee.bsky.social
-finding the 71's frequency has been cut almost in half
-waiting 19 min for the R-line at 9:30am
-packing onto an extremely overcrowded 22 because its frequency is slashed
-barely missing the 75, so I took the 72 which is 3x farther from home.
@govdanmckee.bsky.social
-finding the 71's frequency has been cut almost in half
-waiting 19 min for the R-line at 9:30am
-packing onto an extremely overcrowded 22 because its frequency is slashed
-barely missing the 75, so I took the 72 which is 3x farther from home.
October 22, 2025 at 8:03 PM
My day on RIPTA thanks to
@govdanmckee.bsky.social
-finding the 71's frequency has been cut almost in half
-waiting 19 min for the R-line at 9:30am
-packing onto an extremely overcrowded 22 because its frequency is slashed
-barely missing the 75, so I took the 72 which is 3x farther from home.
@govdanmckee.bsky.social
-finding the 71's frequency has been cut almost in half
-waiting 19 min for the R-line at 9:30am
-packing onto an extremely overcrowded 22 because its frequency is slashed
-barely missing the 75, so I took the 72 which is 3x farther from home.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Luxembourg touts free transit in an FT ad. And they’re not even socialist!
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Luxembourg touts free transit in an FT ad. And they’re not even socialist!
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Throughout my entire experience in Israeli detention, I saw countless cracks beneath the surface. For every ostensible manifestation of strength and vitality, there was a corollary sign of weakness, stupidity, decline, or all three. www.currentaffairs.org/news/my-time...
My Time as a Prisoner of Israel
Like hundreds of other activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, I was abducted by the IDF and held in Ketziot prison. There, I saw firsthand that Israel’s “strength” is more fragile than it seems.
www.currentaffairs.org
October 22, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Throughout my entire experience in Israeli detention, I saw countless cracks beneath the surface. For every ostensible manifestation of strength and vitality, there was a corollary sign of weakness, stupidity, decline, or all three. www.currentaffairs.org/news/my-time...
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
a reminder that ICE received an astonishing influx of money with the megabill this summer: boltsmag.org/how-the-gop-...
ICE is stockpiling arms, including chemical weapons, guided missile warheads and explosive components. The spending dwarfs anything we've ever seen in the agency - a 700% increase.
The President is building an army to attack his own country.
The President is building an army to attack his own country.
October 21, 2025 at 6:39 PM
a reminder that ICE received an astonishing influx of money with the megabill this summer: boltsmag.org/how-the-gop-...
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
A fascinating election to watch in two weeks — the CW is that policing has receded as an issue, but here’s a data point otherwise:
Soren Stevenson lost an eye during a 2020 BLM protest after he was shot by police with a foam projectile. He is running for Minneapolis city council this fall. “I do talk about police accountability because it is vital to who I am as a person,” he said.
As Minneapolis Votes, Some Struggle to Keep Police Violence in the Spotlight
Five years after George Floyd, the mayor and his allies on city council claim credit for vast improvements, but critics keep pressing the case for more discipline and police alternatives.
boltsmag.org
October 22, 2025 at 1:36 AM
A fascinating election to watch in two weeks — the CW is that policing has receded as an issue, but here’s a data point otherwise:
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
THIS is who the White House nominated to lead the Office of Special Counsel:
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”
GIFT: www.wsj.com/opinion/paul...
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”
GIFT: www.wsj.com/opinion/paul...
Opinion | Paul Ingrassia’s ‘Nazi Streak’
The Trump nominee’s repellent texts are a lesson for young MAGA.
www.wsj.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:40 PM
THIS is who the White House nominated to lead the Office of Special Counsel:
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”
GIFT: www.wsj.com/opinion/paul...
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”
GIFT: www.wsj.com/opinion/paul...
There should never be screens in taxicabs.
October 21, 2025 at 10:16 PM
There should never be screens in taxicabs.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
WELL HOW ABOUT THAT
"A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
WELL HOW ABOUT THAT
"A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
A higher percentage of New York City Jews are voting for Zohran Mamdani than Jews nationwide who voted for Donald Trump, and yet the latter are treated as a substantial voice in American Jewish culture, while the former are almost totally ignored by mainstream American Jewish organizations.
October 21, 2025 at 10:02 PM
A higher percentage of New York City Jews are voting for Zohran Mamdani than Jews nationwide who voted for Donald Trump, and yet the latter are treated as a substantial voice in American Jewish culture, while the former are almost totally ignored by mainstream American Jewish organizations.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Mamdani is already getting the criminals out of NYC!
October 21, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Mamdani is already getting the criminals out of NYC!
The rise of the Business Improvement District, especially in New York, has also contributed to this trend of hostile or absent seating through a shift in emphasis on gearing space toward private consumption and away from facilitating the spontaneous public gathering of different groups of citizens.
October 21, 2025 at 8:39 PM
The rise of the Business Improvement District, especially in New York, has also contributed to this trend of hostile or absent seating through a shift in emphasis on gearing space toward private consumption and away from facilitating the spontaneous public gathering of different groups of citizens.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
The ghost of William Whyte hates this trend. You should, too.
October 21, 2025 at 8:21 PM
The ghost of William Whyte hates this trend. You should, too.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Federal agents many in masks at Broadway and Canal moments ago questioning a man, a bunch more agents just walked away. "Can i call my mom," the man asks, he's now being loaded into a car and being driven away. More TK @thecity.nyc
October 21, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Federal agents many in masks at Broadway and Canal moments ago questioning a man, a bunch more agents just walked away. "Can i call my mom," the man asks, he's now being loaded into a car and being driven away. More TK @thecity.nyc
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
National Guard deployment in DC is costing $1 million/day www.cnn.com/2025/08/28/p...
They’re there each time I step out of the Metro, idling in groups with nothing to do
Meanwhile, around the corner, people are sleeping on the street, nowhere else to go, as Trump cuts funding for homeless people
They’re there each time I step out of the Metro, idling in groups with nothing to do
Meanwhile, around the corner, people are sleeping on the street, nowhere else to go, as Trump cuts funding for homeless people
October 20, 2025 at 11:01 PM
National Guard deployment in DC is costing $1 million/day www.cnn.com/2025/08/28/p...
They’re there each time I step out of the Metro, idling in groups with nothing to do
Meanwhile, around the corner, people are sleeping on the street, nowhere else to go, as Trump cuts funding for homeless people
They’re there each time I step out of the Metro, idling in groups with nothing to do
Meanwhile, around the corner, people are sleeping on the street, nowhere else to go, as Trump cuts funding for homeless people
elements of a deteriorating status quo. [end]
October 20, 2025 at 10:36 PM
elements of a deteriorating status quo. [end]
public about why they are taking those stances, and include people in shaping a government response to the material problems they face. This is very different from a politics that unethically asks us—as this editorial does—to be satisfied with merely splitting the difference between various
October 20, 2025 at 10:35 PM
public about why they are taking those stances, and include people in shaping a government response to the material problems they face. This is very different from a politics that unethically asks us—as this editorial does—to be satisfied with merely splitting the difference between various
capitalism, but you wouldn’t know it from this piece. The problem isn’t that our politics isn’t centrist enough, it’s that it revolves around pandering and polling to determine an ever-shifting "center," as opposed to a politics in which leaders take principled and informed stances, help educate the
October 20, 2025 at 10:34 PM
capitalism, but you wouldn’t know it from this piece. The problem isn’t that our politics isn’t centrist enough, it’s that it revolves around pandering and polling to determine an ever-shifting "center," as opposed to a politics in which leaders take principled and informed stances, help educate the
to socialism”? What does that mean? Many Democratic Socialists represent capitalism fused with elements of social democracy (like universal healthcare, well-funded education, and affordable housing). There is something called “market socialism.” Socialism isn’t just one thing and neither is
October 20, 2025 at 10:32 PM
to socialism”? What does that mean? Many Democratic Socialists represent capitalism fused with elements of social democracy (like universal healthcare, well-funded education, and affordable housing). There is something called “market socialism.” Socialism isn’t just one thing and neither is