Michael McLean
@mclean.bsky.social
Ideal city: ⚛️ nuclear-powered, 🏙️ dense housing, 💰 affordable, 🚇 transit. Aka Chicago.
Posting about those things here, and trying to make them better IRL.
Posting about those things here, and trying to make them better IRL.
Pinned
Michael McLean
@mclean.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Here are curated lists that you can follow if you are interested in these topics
🔌💡 Energy bsky.app/profile/did:...
🏙️ Urbanism bsky.app/profile/did:...
🏛️ Politics bsky.app/profile/did:...
💵 Economics bsky.app/profile/did:...
✶✶✶✶ Chicago bsky.app/profile/did:...
🔌💡 Energy bsky.app/profile/did:...
🏙️ Urbanism bsky.app/profile/did:...
🏛️ Politics bsky.app/profile/did:...
💵 Economics bsky.app/profile/did:...
✶✶✶✶ Chicago bsky.app/profile/did:...
Reposted by Michael McLean
Story about woman who became U.S. citizen, one day after her husband was taken by federal immigration agents outside their home:
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/28/i...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/28/i...
November 29, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Story about woman who became U.S. citizen, one day after her husband was taken by federal immigration agents outside their home:
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/28/i...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/28/i...
Folders
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university
Full statement from NU below:
Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Folders
Great Chicago bot
The CTA Holiday Train is on the Orange line toward Loop
Next Stops:
• Pulaski: Due - 3:54 PM
• Kedzie: 1m - 3:55 PM
• Western: 4m - 3:58 PM
• 35th/Archer: 8m - 4:02 PM
• Ashland: 11m - 4:05 PM
Track It Here
Next Stops:
• Pulaski: Due - 3:54 PM
• Kedzie: 1m - 3:55 PM
• Western: 4m - 3:58 PM
• 35th/Archer: 8m - 4:02 PM
• Ashland: 11m - 4:05 PM
Track It Here
November 28, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Great Chicago bot
Reposted by Michael McLean
Minimum parking requirements create financially insolvent land use patterns.
The two apartment buildings on the right generate six times more in property taxes than the big box store on the left, while occupying almost half the space!
#BlackFridayParking
The two apartment buildings on the right generate six times more in property taxes than the big box store on the left, while occupying almost half the space!
#BlackFridayParking
November 28, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Minimum parking requirements create financially insolvent land use patterns.
The two apartment buildings on the right generate six times more in property taxes than the big box store on the left, while occupying almost half the space!
#BlackFridayParking
The two apartment buildings on the right generate six times more in property taxes than the big box store on the left, while occupying almost half the space!
#BlackFridayParking
Reposted by Michael McLean
The Christkindlmarkt thing is so funny top to bottom. America so starved for vibrant public spaces and events that this winter craft fair gets Disneyland-level regional demand, and this is seen as a problem to be solved with cops and security
November 28, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The Christkindlmarkt thing is so funny top to bottom. America so starved for vibrant public spaces and events that this winter craft fair gets Disneyland-level regional demand, and this is seen as a problem to be solved with cops and security
It’s me, I fell for this post.
No, WTTW did not host a wine tasting with Samantha Steele on WTTW tonight. But it’s been posted as if it’s real, and the admission that it’s fake is buried in the comments.
But the creation and propagation in itself is extremely damning.
But the creation and propagation in itself is extremely damning.
November 28, 2025 at 8:52 PM
It’s me, I fell for this post.
Ontario will refurbish Pickering B!
This power plant supplies ~16% of electricity consumed in the province. It was slated for closure, but a coalition of labor and advocates successfully fought to save it.
globalnews.ca/news/1154448...
This power plant supplies ~16% of electricity consumed in the province. It was slated for closure, but a coalition of labor and advocates successfully fought to save it.
globalnews.ca/news/1154448...
Ontario officially greenlights $26.8B Pickering nuclear power station refurbishment | Globalnews.ca
Energy Minister Stephen Lecce announced on Wednesday that the province had approved a plan from Ontario Power Generation to refurbish the plant's CANDU reactors.
globalnews.ca
November 28, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Ontario will refurbish Pickering B!
This power plant supplies ~16% of electricity consumed in the province. It was slated for closure, but a coalition of labor and advocates successfully fought to save it.
globalnews.ca/news/1154448...
This power plant supplies ~16% of electricity consumed in the province. It was slated for closure, but a coalition of labor and advocates successfully fought to save it.
globalnews.ca/news/1154448...
One of the most common questions you hear at a housing meeting
“Yeah, but what is the rent going to be?”
To which I ask, “for what: this apartment building, or the rest of the neighborhood?”
“Yeah, but what is the rent going to be?”
To which I ask, “for what: this apartment building, or the rest of the neighborhood?”
Interesting new working paper that studies chains of movers after the construction of a new apartment building in Honolulu.
Paper finds that the project resulted in the opening up other, lower cost, housing on the island, benefiting the housing market overall.
Paper finds that the project resulted in the opening up other, lower cost, housing on the island, benefiting the housing market overall.
uhero.hawaii.edu
November 28, 2025 at 7:46 PM
One of the most common questions you hear at a housing meeting
“Yeah, but what is the rent going to be?”
To which I ask, “for what: this apartment building, or the rest of the neighborhood?”
“Yeah, but what is the rent going to be?”
To which I ask, “for what: this apartment building, or the rest of the neighborhood?”
About to watch Wicked, and half of the local Louisville ads at the theater are AI generated. Woof.
November 28, 2025 at 4:07 PM
About to watch Wicked, and half of the local Louisville ads at the theater are AI generated. Woof.
This is pretty bullish for Canada. Tells me Carney really has the juice.
Guilbeault has fought to shut down Ontario nuclear plants for years.
www.thestar.com/politics/fed...
Guilbeault has fought to shut down Ontario nuclear plants for years.
www.thestar.com/politics/fed...
Steven Guilbeault resigns from Mark Carney’s cabinet
Before entering elected politics, the Liberal MP worked as a famed environmentalist.
www.thestar.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:41 AM
This is pretty bullish for Canada. Tells me Carney really has the juice.
Guilbeault has fought to shut down Ontario nuclear plants for years.
www.thestar.com/politics/fed...
Guilbeault has fought to shut down Ontario nuclear plants for years.
www.thestar.com/politics/fed...
You can see right when everyone turned off their ovens and stovetops and started eating their slop plates
⚡️ ComEd Grid Report
(Last 24H as of 6:40pm)
🔌 Current Load: 10,177 MW
📊 System Dynamics:
Peak Ramp Rate: 1,216 MW/hr (6:05am)
Load Volatility: 6.9%
Load is decreasing (-10.95%)
🏭 System Efficiency:
Load Factor: 84%
Base Load: 9,325 MW
Data From Grid Status
(Last 24H as of 6:40pm)
🔌 Current Load: 10,177 MW
📊 System Dynamics:
Peak Ramp Rate: 1,216 MW/hr (6:05am)
Load Volatility: 6.9%
Load is decreasing (-10.95%)
🏭 System Efficiency:
Load Factor: 84%
Base Load: 9,325 MW
Data From Grid Status
November 28, 2025 at 2:27 AM
You can see right when everyone turned off their ovens and stovetops and started eating their slop plates
Reposted by Michael McLean
Still thinking about this article. It’s always been a sore spot in YIMBY circles that so many progressive foundations pour money into NIMBYism, and I’m glad it’s finally being aired in public. Keep talking about it. www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/philant...
Philanthropy Needs to Pick a Side on the Housing Construction Debate
Despite California’s severe housing shortage, foundations are still funding on the wrong side of the housing fight there, guest author Ned Resnikoff writes.
www.insidephilanthropy.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Still thinking about this article. It’s always been a sore spot in YIMBY circles that so many progressive foundations pour money into NIMBYism, and I’m glad it’s finally being aired in public. Keep talking about it. www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/philant...
Reposted by Michael McLean
Really can't overstate how problematic robotaxis become at scale:
"Urban traffic is constrained by the fact that getting around by car either requires (expensively) paying someone else to drive or (inconveniently) driving oneself. Without such constraints the result could be brutal gridlock."
"Urban traffic is constrained by the fact that getting around by car either requires (expensively) paying someone else to drive or (inconveniently) driving oneself. Without such constraints the result could be brutal gridlock."
Self-driving cars will transform urban economies
A robotaxi boom is coming. The impacts might be broader than you expect
www.economist.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Really can't overstate how problematic robotaxis become at scale:
"Urban traffic is constrained by the fact that getting around by car either requires (expensively) paying someone else to drive or (inconveniently) driving oneself. Without such constraints the result could be brutal gridlock."
"Urban traffic is constrained by the fact that getting around by car either requires (expensively) paying someone else to drive or (inconveniently) driving oneself. Without such constraints the result could be brutal gridlock."
Wow, this is quite a truth nuke. Gotta say, my priors were very wrong here.
Amazon/Microsoft/Google/Apple all have very high net favs, Nvidia is unknown, Tesla is unpopular, Meta is somewhere in between
"Big tech companies" in general underperform the average of specific tech companies and are narrowly underwater - but still much more popular than both political parties
"Big tech companies" in general underperform the average of specific tech companies and are narrowly underwater - but still much more popular than both political parties
November 27, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Wow, this is quite a truth nuke. Gotta say, my priors were very wrong here.
Everyone, please talk to your family members about this stuff this week.
We are entering a golden era of scams and grift.
We are entering a golden era of scams and grift.
this image was generated with google's latest nana banana pro tool. we have no idea how bad it is about to get.
November 27, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Everyone, please talk to your family members about this stuff this week.
We are entering a golden era of scams and grift.
We are entering a golden era of scams and grift.
Pluribus spoiler warning
[see next post]
[see next post]
November 27, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Pluribus spoiler warning
[see next post]
[see next post]
Folders
Northwestern University is expected to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education that would reportedly restore $790 million in frozen federal funding and end an investigation into antisemitism at the university.
Northwestern University nearing deal with Trump administration that would restore federal funding
www.wbez.org
November 27, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Folders
Reposted by Michael McLean
One weird trick to speed up your bus service.
Cost: $0
Cost: $0
I completed my final count. Out of 10,511 bus stops, I found that 4,360 (41%) of them could be removed to align with national best practices of 1/4 mile spacing. Long-form explainer article and an interactive map are forthcoming. Green dots are removed stops, black are kept stops.
November 26, 2025 at 4:30 PM
One weird trick to speed up your bus service.
Cost: $0
Cost: $0
We gotta bring back the wide awakes @djinnandtonic.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 6:21 PM
We gotta bring back the wide awakes @djinnandtonic.bsky.social
I’ll never not be shocked by what the DOT did to my hometown.
(Baseball stadium for scale)
(Baseball stadium for scale)
November 26, 2025 at 4:32 PM
I’ll never not be shocked by what the DOT did to my hometown.
(Baseball stadium for scale)
(Baseball stadium for scale)
Reposted by Michael McLean
We found that if every car had these driver assist features, the U.S. could prevent 1.6 million total car crashes (including about 7,200 fatal crashes), and save more than $260 billion annually in costs to society www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 26, 2025 at 1:14 PM
We found that if every car had these driver assist features, the U.S. could prevent 1.6 million total car crashes (including about 7,200 fatal crashes), and save more than $260 billion annually in costs to society www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Michael McLean
Pedestrians suffered highest number of hit-and-run crashes, 42% of them. In 64% of pedestrian fatality cases, the driver was piloting a larger vehicle such as an SUV, pickup truck, or van. IDOT-controlled roads remain among the most dangerous. chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/25/k...
Key findings from CDOT's annual Chicago Traffic Crashes report - Streetsblog Chicago
The Chicago Department of Transportation’s recently released annual Chicago Traffic Crashes report looks at data from the past several years and discusses the agency’s plan of action to reduce prevent...
chi.streetsblog.org
November 26, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Pedestrians suffered highest number of hit-and-run crashes, 42% of them. In 64% of pedestrian fatality cases, the driver was piloting a larger vehicle such as an SUV, pickup truck, or van. IDOT-controlled roads remain among the most dangerous. chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/25/k...