Alex Pemberton
@yellowbrickurban.com
Real estate bro on a planner/researcher detour. Focus on how real estate markets build cities, how regulation shapes real estate markets, and how urban battlefields entrench segregation.
yellowbrickurban.com/ideas
yellowbrickurban.com/ideas
Man, this fucking broke me.
A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.
January 25, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Man, this fucking broke me.
Lüften is social engineering to normalize German landlords shifting the blame for painting over black mold to steal security deposits. It relies on Calvinist shame and a Good German sense of order that rejects the great innovations of Americanism.
Resist.
Resist.
His German roommate marched into his bedroom early every morning and threw open his windows, even if he had company.
Her German boyfriend kept the windows open all night, even when bats were flying in.
America, meet lüften:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
Her German boyfriend kept the windows open all night, even when bats were flying in.
America, meet lüften:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
‘House burping’ is a cold reality in Germany. Americans are warming to it.
The often mandated German practice of airing out homes no matter the season has strained and even ended relationships, but it’s gotten a boost on U.S. social media.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 20, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Lüften is social engineering to normalize German landlords shifting the blame for painting over black mold to steal security deposits. It relies on Calvinist shame and a Good German sense of order that rejects the great innovations of Americanism.
Resist.
Resist.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Not X, but Y?
Wow. AI slop.
Not X, but Y?
Wow. AI slop.
January 19, 2026 at 2:12 PM
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Not X, but Y?
Wow. AI slop.
Not X, but Y?
Wow. AI slop.
Every day, MoCo wakes up and looks in the mirror and asks itself a simple question: How can we MoCo harder than we did yesterday?
hi from Minneapolis. these folks are catastrophically overthinking it; the immediate need when agents hit a block is for people that speak *any* language to know it's not safe to go out. that need is far more pressing than whatever this infantilizing "actually it's racist to make noise" shit is.
January 19, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Every day, MoCo wakes up and looks in the mirror and asks itself a simple question: How can we MoCo harder than we did yesterday?
Tune in to hear Bobby "The Floorplan Fascist" Fijan chat with New Founding, a Christian nationalist project funder building a (Ruby) RidgeRunner compound in Tennessee.
No novel Fair Housing Act interpretations, but queue up more of their episodes for Holocaust revisionism, anti-DEI slop, and more!
No novel Fair Housing Act interpretations, but queue up more of their episodes for Holocaust revisionism, anti-DEI slop, and more!
January 14, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Tune in to hear Bobby "The Floorplan Fascist" Fijan chat with New Founding, a Christian nationalist project funder building a (Ruby) RidgeRunner compound in Tennessee.
No novel Fair Housing Act interpretations, but queue up more of their episodes for Holocaust revisionism, anti-DEI slop, and more!
No novel Fair Housing Act interpretations, but queue up more of their episodes for Holocaust revisionism, anti-DEI slop, and more!
I watched Eden (2024) on the Netflix platform. While there are reasons to watch it, not exclusively Ana de Armas-related, the German accents are very bad. The German accents are so bad, I spent the film so puzzled by the premise of the production I created a Letterboxd to work it out.
My review:
My review:
A ★½ review of Eden (2024)
Eden wants to split the difference. It attempts to balance an auteur vibe with a blockbuster budget and a Hollywood cast with faithful adherence to its period-piece source material. Instead, it split ...
boxd.it
January 14, 2026 at 2:03 AM
I watched Eden (2024) on the Netflix platform. While there are reasons to watch it, not exclusively Ana de Armas-related, the German accents are very bad. The German accents are so bad, I spent the film so puzzled by the premise of the production I created a Letterboxd to work it out.
My review:
My review:
Only in America! (because every other developed country has windows that block sound, rendering this method of protest ineffective)
CNN in Minneapolis: You can literally see someone is playing on the drum set right here outside the entrance of the hotel right now.
January 10, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Only in America! (because every other developed country has windows that block sound, rendering this method of protest ineffective)
Man, cities are so beautiful.
And there is not another city in the world where this is possible. That is American Exceptionalism and damn if I'm not too jaded yet to believe in an exceptional America.
And there is not another city in the world where this is possible. That is American Exceptionalism and damn if I'm not too jaded yet to believe in an exceptional America.
Best TikTok thing going is the two dudes trying food from every country without leaving NYC. If you haven’t seen them yet, it’s incredible. My favorite so far is last week’s. Legit got me emotional.
January 9, 2026 at 3:39 AM
Man, cities are so beautiful.
And there is not another city in the world where this is possible. That is American Exceptionalism and damn if I'm not too jaded yet to believe in an exceptional America.
And there is not another city in the world where this is possible. That is American Exceptionalism and damn if I'm not too jaded yet to believe in an exceptional America.
No wars but the 2019 Chicken Sandwich Wars.
January 5, 2026 at 3:25 AM
No wars but the 2019 Chicken Sandwich Wars.
Approximately one-third of the IFS blog are variations on the "despite what you may reasonably deduce from our publications and entire body of work, we promise we love all babies and are definitely not racists" genre of post.
It's just the t-shirt meme with faux-academic lexicon and chart slop.
It's just the t-shirt meme with faux-academic lexicon and chart slop.
I was wondering why their is so much random racist discourse on Somalis on the TL rn but oh it’s election season for governor rn lol
January 2, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Approximately one-third of the IFS blog are variations on the "despite what you may reasonably deduce from our publications and entire body of work, we promise we love all babies and are definitely not racists" genre of post.
It's just the t-shirt meme with faux-academic lexicon and chart slop.
It's just the t-shirt meme with faux-academic lexicon and chart slop.
I haven't followed this drama closely enough to know the merits, but it seems instructive that the official university statement is riddled with grammar and style errors.
Parallelism problems, subject-verb disagreement, preposition mismatches—nearly every sentence gets redlined at the 100 level.
Parallelism problems, subject-verb disagreement, preposition mismatches—nearly every sentence gets redlined at the 100 level.
December 24, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I haven't followed this drama closely enough to know the merits, but it seems instructive that the official university statement is riddled with grammar and style errors.
Parallelism problems, subject-verb disagreement, preposition mismatches—nearly every sentence gets redlined at the 100 level.
Parallelism problems, subject-verb disagreement, preposition mismatches—nearly every sentence gets redlined at the 100 level.
Apropros the discourse:
Miniatur Wunderland, the world's largest model railway, used to invite the major political parties to create dioramas of their vision of "Utopia"
You need to know nothing of German politics or parties to understand their vibes/agendas. That is an immense power—and the point.
Miniatur Wunderland, the world's largest model railway, used to invite the major political parties to create dioramas of their vision of "Utopia"
You need to know nothing of German politics or parties to understand their vibes/agendas. That is an immense power—and the point.
December 19, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Apropros the discourse:
Miniatur Wunderland, the world's largest model railway, used to invite the major political parties to create dioramas of their vision of "Utopia"
You need to know nothing of German politics or parties to understand their vibes/agendas. That is an immense power—and the point.
Miniatur Wunderland, the world's largest model railway, used to invite the major political parties to create dioramas of their vision of "Utopia"
You need to know nothing of German politics or parties to understand their vibes/agendas. That is an immense power—and the point.
There is, within this paragraph, a sixty-three-word sentence comprised of three independent clauses, within which two relative clauses and three adverbial clauses are nested, and which, in that space, employs a dozen commas and twice as many pronouns as common nouns, including three shapeshifter...
Possibly the only thing more freakish than Nuzzi's prose is the contortions her defenders twist themselves into. "She's not just hot, but she definitely is hot, while also being a vulnerable smol child. Also, criticizing her is sexist."
December 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
There is, within this paragraph, a sixty-three-word sentence comprised of three independent clauses, within which two relative clauses and three adverbial clauses are nested, and which, in that space, employs a dozen commas and twice as many pronouns as common nouns, including three shapeshifter...
This is the best I've read of the genre.
Listening to the article via the AI robot voice reader makes it even better.
Listening to the article via the AI robot voice reader makes it even better.
"We are unearthing the echo of loneliness. We are unfolding the brushstrokes of regret. We are saying the words that mean meaning." A great, clarifying, skin-crawling piece on A.I. writing 'style' by Sam Kriss. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/m...
Why Does A.I. Write Like … That?
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:01 PM
This is the best I've read of the genre.
Listening to the article via the AI robot voice reader makes it even better.
Listening to the article via the AI robot voice reader makes it even better.
This guy is a jackass.
FHA family status protections explicitly prohibit discrimination against families with children, as landlords are wont to do over wear-and-tear and racialized biases (see: Evicted)
Using this photo would help insulate managers from FHA family status claims.
FHA family status protections explicitly prohibit discrimination against families with children, as landlords are wont to do over wear-and-tear and racialized biases (see: Evicted)
Using this photo would help insulate managers from FHA family status claims.
One of the craziest rules inhibiting “Family Friendly” apartments is the application of Fair Housing Act
Here is a (old) Christmas card photo for my family. I’m obviously biased but I also think this is a PERFECT lifestyle photo to illustrate the benefits of living in an apartment building
Here is a (old) Christmas card photo for my family. I’m obviously biased but I also think this is a PERFECT lifestyle photo to illustrate the benefits of living in an apartment building
December 5, 2025 at 4:14 AM
This guy is a jackass.
FHA family status protections explicitly prohibit discrimination against families with children, as landlords are wont to do over wear-and-tear and racialized biases (see: Evicted)
Using this photo would help insulate managers from FHA family status claims.
FHA family status protections explicitly prohibit discrimination against families with children, as landlords are wont to do over wear-and-tear and racialized biases (see: Evicted)
Using this photo would help insulate managers from FHA family status claims.
Reposted by Alex Pemberton
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries: “Strong floor, no ceiling”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro: “A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro: “A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy.”
December 3, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries: “Strong floor, no ceiling”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro: “A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro: “A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy.”
If I was a Davidson County, TN Democrat in a position of authority and saw this map, I would build so much fucking housing.
If you ever wondered what GOP gerrymandering looks like in red states with blue cities, I present:
December 3, 2025 at 2:13 AM
If I was a Davidson County, TN Democrat in a position of authority and saw this map, I would build so much fucking housing.
The "health and safety" pretext for zoning is nonsensical today because it was never more than a Jim Crow assertion of Black neighbors as unsafe and unhealthful.
It's how zoning was legitimated as a police power after antecedants—segregation ordinances, racial covenants—proved legally ineffectual.
It's how zoning was legitimated as a police power after antecedants—segregation ordinances, racial covenants—proved legally ineffectual.
November 24, 2025 at 4:29 PM
The "health and safety" pretext for zoning is nonsensical today because it was never more than a Jim Crow assertion of Black neighbors as unsafe and unhealthful.
It's how zoning was legitimated as a police power after antecedants—segregation ordinances, racial covenants—proved legally ineffectual.
It's how zoning was legitimated as a police power after antecedants—segregation ordinances, racial covenants—proved legally ineffectual.
Diagramming this fucking sentence.
November 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Diagramming this fucking sentence.
I am the mouse and the architect of my maze. The giver of my own pleasure and torment. I desire. I desire desiring. I desire being desired. I desire desire itself.
November 17, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I am the mouse and the architect of my maze. The giver of my own pleasure and torment. I desire. I desire desiring. I desire being desired. I desire desire itself.
Be forewarned:
You may also encounter maps of major downzonings.
Such is life. Beauty and sorrow coexist. They must.
You may also encounter maps of major downzonings.
Such is life. Beauty and sorrow coexist. They must.
November 10, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Be forewarned:
You may also encounter maps of major downzonings.
Such is life. Beauty and sorrow coexist. They must.
You may also encounter maps of major downzonings.
Such is life. Beauty and sorrow coexist. They must.
Single-Stair Sickos might like to learn that a lot of European cities used to produce detailed books on their built environment, including complete floor plans.
Here's a snippet from Hamburg und Seine Bauten (1914)
Here's a snippet from Hamburg und Seine Bauten (1914)
November 10, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Single-Stair Sickos might like to learn that a lot of European cities used to produce detailed books on their built environment, including complete floor plans.
Here's a snippet from Hamburg und Seine Bauten (1914)
Here's a snippet from Hamburg und Seine Bauten (1914)
Right-wingers are afraid of everything except looking stupid in public.
November 4, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Right-wingers are afraid of everything except looking stupid in public.
Peak Gustavo Petro
October 29, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Peak Gustavo Petro