Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
@jgbollard.bsky.social
I am writing a book about the ways the founders of American urban planning experimented on the neighborhoods of Washington, DC before World War II. I am also a licensed architect.
Pinned
White House Architecture Was an Honor System. Trump Noticed.
For 125 years, informal norms constrained what a president could do to one of the nation’s most famous landmarks.
www.theatlantic.com
The only thing that has ever stood in the way of the president building a big gaudy ballroom, is an understanding that the powerful would defer to self-appointed experts.
And now we see what a bad system that was.
And now we see what a bad system that was.
Just another one of those WTF moves that’s normal under this administration.
Trump officials set to approve ‘forever chemical’ as pesticide ingredient
Critics say that fifth Pfas Trump’s EPA has proposed for approval this year would put food and water supply at risk
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Just another one of those WTF moves that’s normal under this administration.
Passed by a procession for the guardsman who died on 4th street SW.
November 28, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Passed by a procession for the guardsman who died on 4th street SW.
Great strategy and I would love to see it all over DC.
Oregon's new statewide model zoning code includes a huge density bonus for community land trust & limited or shared equity co-op homes if all are affordable at up to 120% of median income.
Putting land into shared ownership for 90+ years gives you 3 additional stories, up to a total of 6!
Putting land into shared ownership for 90+ years gives you 3 additional stories, up to a total of 6!
November 27, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Great strategy and I would love to see it all over DC.
Wow, Bob Stern, so many things to say, alas it’s Thanksgiving. Hope you’re enjoying time with those you love!
November 27, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Wow, Bob Stern, so many things to say, alas it’s Thanksgiving. Hope you’re enjoying time with those you love!
Damn that’s crazy. If only there was a way to not sacrifice everything for your ambition.
Exclusive: President Trump has argued with the architect he handpicked to design a White House ballroom over the size of the project, reflecting a conflict between architectural norms and Trump’s grandiose aesthetic.
Trump wants a bigger White House ballroom. His architect disagrees.
The president and James McCrery had argued in recent weeks over the project’s size, with Trump pushing him to expand the ballroom.
wapo.st
November 26, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Damn that’s crazy. If only there was a way to not sacrifice everything for your ambition.
[in Canada] Muriel Bowsre
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 PM
[in Canada] Muriel Bowsre
Very intriguing study on a subject I have extensive personal experience with.
1. My main critique is that it doesn't reflect the ground condition that 90% of NIMBYing is done by around 5% of a population.
2. The predominant aesthetic category that is disliked is height—and 5 stories at that!
1. My main critique is that it doesn't reflect the ground condition that 90% of NIMBYing is done by around 5% of a population.
2. The predominant aesthetic category that is disliked is height—and 5 stories at that!
NEW PAPER w/ @cselmendorf.bsky.social & @jkalla.bsky.social:
An under-appreciated reason why voters oppose dense new housing, especially in less-dense neighborhoods: they think it looks ugly and want to prevent that, even in other neighborhoods.
Some of what we think is NIMBYism might not be!
An under-appreciated reason why voters oppose dense new housing, especially in less-dense neighborhoods: they think it looks ugly and want to prevent that, even in other neighborhoods.
Some of what we think is NIMBYism might not be!
November 25, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Very intriguing study on a subject I have extensive personal experience with.
1. My main critique is that it doesn't reflect the ground condition that 90% of NIMBYing is done by around 5% of a population.
2. The predominant aesthetic category that is disliked is height—and 5 stories at that!
1. My main critique is that it doesn't reflect the ground condition that 90% of NIMBYing is done by around 5% of a population.
2. The predominant aesthetic category that is disliked is height—and 5 stories at that!
Amazon is just there to get you to click. But you should, to learn about a dusty-shoed Robert Moses type named Gary Neal.
November 25, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Amazon is just there to get you to click. But you should, to learn about a dusty-shoed Robert Moses type named Gary Neal.
Uh, the Cultural Tutor wrote a book and it's 482 pages long Rest assured it is not worth your time.
The Cultural Tutor
'The Cultural Tutor is dedicated to a cosmopolitan view of culture. It writes about every continent, every religion, every tradition of art and poetry' TOMIWA OWOLADE, THE TIMES
'For anyone who has e...
www.penguin.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Uh, the Cultural Tutor wrote a book and it's 482 pages long Rest assured it is not worth your time.
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
Nobody has ever done the posting to policy pipeline like him 🫡
Paul’s at the forefront of American housing policy. Tying together YIMBYism, public finance, and public development, he’s building *the model* for American social housing.
Now he’s been appointed to Zohran’s Transition Committee on Housing. We at @publicenterprise.bsky.social couldn’t be prouder!
Now he’s been appointed to Zohran’s Transition Committee on Housing. We at @publicenterprise.bsky.social couldn’t be prouder!
November 25, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Nobody has ever done the posting to policy pipeline like him 🫡
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
November 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
The different lc "a" glyphs might be elegant variation—changing the form up for interest. As to the alphabet, possibly someone with training in lettering/drafting—see this sheet from the Olmsted firm's _Instructions to Draftsmen_, 1932.
November 24, 2025 at 5:44 PM
The different lc "a" glyphs might be elegant variation—changing the form up for interest. As to the alphabet, possibly someone with training in lettering/drafting—see this sheet from the Olmsted firm's _Instructions to Draftsmen_, 1932.
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
#Architecture, Hybridity, and the Codex Mellon: Collaborative Design at St. Peter’s #earlymodern
tickets.nga.gov/events/019a5...
tickets.nga.gov/events/019a5...
November 24, 2025 at 3:23 PM
#Architecture, Hybridity, and the Codex Mellon: Collaborative Design at St. Peter’s #earlymodern
tickets.nga.gov/events/019a5...
tickets.nga.gov/events/019a5...
Lot of thoughts on this interview, but I'll lead with her best point: the indoor air quality standard in ASHRAE Standard 62.1, and incorporated into our model mechanical code, is essentially miasma theory (80% comfort with odorous effluent).
What's the deal with indoor air quality?
From CO2 monitors to better building codes, Dr. Georgia Lagoudas outlines how to clean up the spaces where we spend 90% of our lives.
www.volts.wtf
November 24, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Lot of thoughts on this interview, but I'll lead with her best point: the indoor air quality standard in ASHRAE Standard 62.1, and incorporated into our model mechanical code, is essentially miasma theory (80% comfort with odorous effluent).
The thing about moralizing content like this is that it provides plenty of opportunity for viewers to imagine exactly what that "cheap theatrical manager" was up to.
November 24, 2025 at 3:26 PM
The thing about moralizing content like this is that it provides plenty of opportunity for viewers to imagine exactly what that "cheap theatrical manager" was up to.
Crowds at the 1893 World's Fair left obsessed with one painting on exhibit: the departure of a fresh faced boy from his country home.
Called "Breaking Home Ties," its ambiguous sentimentality about the possibilities of urban living irritated conservatives and modern aesthetes alike. 🗃️
Called "Breaking Home Ties," its ambiguous sentimentality about the possibilities of urban living irritated conservatives and modern aesthetes alike. 🗃️
November 24, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Crowds at the 1893 World's Fair left obsessed with one painting on exhibit: the departure of a fresh faced boy from his country home.
Called "Breaking Home Ties," its ambiguous sentimentality about the possibilities of urban living irritated conservatives and modern aesthetes alike. 🗃️
Called "Breaking Home Ties," its ambiguous sentimentality about the possibilities of urban living irritated conservatives and modern aesthetes alike. 🗃️
Pretty sure that this isn't cubist architecture but who's to say? Nobody buy tiktok folklorists has ever researched the topic 😞.
November 24, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Pretty sure that this isn't cubist architecture but who's to say? Nobody buy tiktok folklorists has ever researched the topic 😞.
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
How dead inside do you have to be to do this to your brand?
November 23, 2025 at 1:03 AM
How dead inside do you have to be to do this to your brand?
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
SHE IS ROASTING COFFEE WHILE MARCHING IN THE PARADE this is why Silver Spring is the best Spring
November 22, 2025 at 5:32 PM
SHE IS ROASTING COFFEE WHILE MARCHING IN THE PARADE this is why Silver Spring is the best Spring
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
🚨 My latest blog post is on Bergpolderflat, Rotterdam - the 1934 modernist scheme that revolutionised social housing and provided the prototype of the postwar slab block:
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/h...
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/h...
November 22, 2025 at 8:55 AM
🚨 My latest blog post is on Bergpolderflat, Rotterdam - the 1934 modernist scheme that revolutionised social housing and provided the prototype of the postwar slab block:
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/h...
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/h...
And it pains me to say, I was wrong
Love is not a symptom of time
Time is just a symptom of love
(Aquinas)
Love is not a symptom of time
Time is just a symptom of love
(Aquinas)
November 23, 2025 at 3:17 AM
And it pains me to say, I was wrong
Love is not a symptom of time
Time is just a symptom of love
(Aquinas)
Love is not a symptom of time
Time is just a symptom of love
(Aquinas)
Thanks google, very AI
November 23, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Thanks google, very AI
The owners of the Spirit deserve credit for ditching the post-Bicentennial DC design tropes: making everything red white and blue, vaguely Americana, and polished and polite. We're lucky the red and burgundy was too iconic for the Commanders to change it like the Wizards. Just their own thing.
November 23, 2025 at 12:44 AM
The owners of the Spirit deserve credit for ditching the post-Bicentennial DC design tropes: making everything red white and blue, vaguely Americana, and polished and polite. We're lucky the red and burgundy was too iconic for the Commanders to change it like the Wizards. Just their own thing.