David Shere
@davidshere.net
Berkeley Yimby Jew Dad
On the Housing Advisory Commission trying to make more and better affordable housing.
Berkeley Civic Library: https://www.civic-library.com
Blog: https://davidshere.github.io
On the Housing Advisory Commission trying to make more and better affordable housing.
Berkeley Civic Library: https://www.civic-library.com
Blog: https://davidshere.github.io
Design guidelines are great but without the institutional structure and continuity needed to implement, they will all end up in the same place.
Here are the Subway/Metro Station design guidelines that were compiled by UMTA/USDOT in the 1970s in an attempt to prevent WMATA-style cost overruns again.
It got shelved when everyone at UMTA got laid off and we forgot it. But it's prescient about cost drivers -- rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/11352
It got shelved when everyone at UMTA got laid off and we forgot it. But it's prescient about cost drivers -- rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/11352
DOT ROSA P
ROSA P serves as an archival repository of USDOT-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other information authored or co-authored by USDOT ...
rosap.ntl.bts.gov
January 17, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Design guidelines are great but without the institutional structure and continuity needed to implement, they will all end up in the same place.
This is a pretty good use of a chatbot. “Help me choose something subject to these constraints” is something it’s good at.
“I have a bottle of cab and some boneless skinless chicken breasts. I can spend about an hour and half on prep. Lactose intolerant. Feeding 2. What should I make?
“I have a bottle of cab and some boneless skinless chicken breasts. I can spend about an hour and half on prep. Lactose intolerant. Feeding 2. What should I make?
at last we will be free from the backbreaking drudgery of ordering pizza from a menu and even counting how many people the pizza is for www.theverge.com/tech/863365/...
January 17, 2026 at 4:00 PM
This is a pretty good use of a chatbot. “Help me choose something subject to these constraints” is something it’s good at.
“I have a bottle of cab and some boneless skinless chicken breasts. I can spend about an hour and half on prep. Lactose intolerant. Feeding 2. What should I make?
“I have a bottle of cab and some boneless skinless chicken breasts. I can spend about an hour and half on prep. Lactose intolerant. Feeding 2. What should I make?
Apparently going to meetings and meeting and being annoying runs in the family
January 15, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Apparently going to meetings and meeting and being annoying runs in the family
And I though my strawberry/raspberry/blueberry budget was out of control…
January 15, 2026 at 12:51 AM
And I though my strawberry/raspberry/blueberry budget was out of control…
Reposted by David Shere
we are never going back
Things are grim right now but as a reminder of who we are and why we fight, this is the US Women’s figuring skating champion.
January 11, 2026 at 12:32 AM
we are never going back
Thank god there wasn’t a bike lane there, could have been much worse.
The FDNY's response to a five alarm fire in the Bronx was delayed by drivers who parked their cars in front of three fire hydrants closest to the blaze. Two firefighters and one civilian were injured.
Illegally Parked Cars Delayed FDNY Response to Five-Alarm Fire - Streetsblog New York City
First responders call out scofflaws blocking hydrants for delaying the response to a five alarm fire in the Bronx.
buff.ly
January 6, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Thank god there wasn’t a bike lane there, could have been much worse.
My wealth tax proposal is a billionaire minimum tax. If your wealth inside of some band - say 2-5 billion - you pay a minimum tax each year, say 50 million. Much easier to enforce. And each one has a team of dedicated auditors at IRS that whose salaries and expenses they pay for.
December 30, 2025 at 5:18 PM
My wealth tax proposal is a billionaire minimum tax. If your wealth inside of some band - say 2-5 billion - you pay a minimum tax each year, say 50 million. Much easier to enforce. And each one has a team of dedicated auditors at IRS that whose salaries and expenses they pay for.
Here's a project - no density bonus, no BMR units, $1.8 million in-lieu fee, and coming it at 49,90 square feet which, by pure happenstance I'm sure, is just 100 sq. feet shy of being subject to HARD HATS.
December 29, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Here's a project - no density bonus, no BMR units, $1.8 million in-lieu fee, and coming it at 49,90 square feet which, by pure happenstance I'm sure, is just 100 sq. feet shy of being subject to HARD HATS.
Fuck these guys, also this is a stupid gimmick and dumbass policy and I hope it doesn’t get off the ground.
“California is on a path to self-destruction,” wrote Bill Ackman, joining opposition to a tax proposal alongside Google’s cofounder and more.
Possible California Wealth Tax Causes Billionaire Freakout: Page, Thiel Threaten To Leave
“California is on a path to self-destruction,” wrote Bill Ackman, joining opposition to a tax proposal alongside Google’s cofounder and more.
www.forbes.com
December 28, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Fuck these guys, also this is a stupid gimmick and dumbass policy and I hope it doesn’t get off the ground.
1 pm, January 20, 2029, National Mall. Great national bonfire begins and all that gaudy shit goes right in.
Hideous is not a strong enough word to describe Trump's assault on the Oval Office. I served in multiple countries run by criminal dictators, but none of them had an office quite so distasteful.
December 28, 2025 at 5:26 PM
1 pm, January 20, 2029, National Mall. Great national bonfire begins and all that gaudy shit goes right in.
Affordable housing idea - deed restrict your ADU or volunteer it for rent stabilization in exchange for...what? Properly tax abatement?
December 27, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Affordable housing idea - deed restrict your ADU or volunteer it for rent stabilization in exchange for...what? Properly tax abatement?
Starting to get into ZAB, LPC, DRC, and all our amazing processes for getting stuff built.
TIL, if you want to build a new off-street parking space in panoramic hill - probably the highest fire risk in the city - you need an AUP and LPC review! For laying down concrete, which doesn't burn!
TIL, if you want to build a new off-street parking space in panoramic hill - probably the highest fire risk in the city - you need an AUP and LPC review! For laying down concrete, which doesn't burn!
December 26, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Starting to get into ZAB, LPC, DRC, and all our amazing processes for getting stuff built.
TIL, if you want to build a new off-street parking space in panoramic hill - probably the highest fire risk in the city - you need an AUP and LPC review! For laying down concrete, which doesn't burn!
TIL, if you want to build a new off-street parking space in panoramic hill - probably the highest fire risk in the city - you need an AUP and LPC review! For laying down concrete, which doesn't burn!
My worst bluesky habit is popping into hate threads on Mark Cuban’s posts and telling people why he’s right and they’re dumb
December 25, 2025 at 4:37 PM
My worst bluesky habit is popping into hate threads on Mark Cuban’s posts and telling people why he’s right and they’re dumb
This is fine and great but if the president and congressional majorities want to kill NCAR or any other program, they should be able to. Voters should be able to experience and understand what it is they're voting for.
NEW: Colorado Sens Hickenlooper and Bennet announce they're putting a hold on the Senate appropriations package to demand funding for NCAR.
Bennet said today that the Trump administration's move to dismantle the climate/weather lab is retaliation for Tina Peters' imprisonment.
Bennet said today that the Trump administration's move to dismantle the climate/weather lab is retaliation for Tina Peters' imprisonment.
December 19, 2025 at 12:59 AM
This is fine and great but if the president and congressional majorities want to kill NCAR or any other program, they should be able to. Voters should be able to experience and understand what it is they're voting for.
My first job in tech they said "well you don't have the experience but you seem like a self-starter so we'll give you a shot."
Darn it, there was a resonant post today or yesterday that I can't track down now.
Something like "As a white man, I've never had to advocate for myself that hard, people have tended to just recognize my talent & give me opportunities."
Definitely me
Something like "As a white man, I've never had to advocate for myself that hard, people have tended to just recognize my talent & give me opportunities."
Definitely me
December 17, 2025 at 11:38 PM
My first job in tech they said "well you don't have the experience but you seem like a self-starter so we'll give you a shot."
Why is reducing street parking good?
Just saw an driver turn right off WB Hopkins onto Peralta, nearly hit a guy on a bike in the crosswalk, and then go park her car twenty feet away in a spot that’s going to be a concrete protected bike lane in a year or so.
Just saw an driver turn right off WB Hopkins onto Peralta, nearly hit a guy on a bike in the crosswalk, and then go park her car twenty feet away in a spot that’s going to be a concrete protected bike lane in a year or so.
December 16, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Why is reducing street parking good?
Just saw an driver turn right off WB Hopkins onto Peralta, nearly hit a guy on a bike in the crosswalk, and then go park her car twenty feet away in a spot that’s going to be a concrete protected bike lane in a year or so.
Just saw an driver turn right off WB Hopkins onto Peralta, nearly hit a guy on a bike in the crosswalk, and then go park her car twenty feet away in a spot that’s going to be a concrete protected bike lane in a year or so.
@berkeleyca.gov love your surveys, I really do. I wonder though, if this is the most inviting way to present the San Pablo plan draft report
December 12, 2025 at 4:40 AM
@berkeleyca.gov love your surveys, I really do. I wonder though, if this is the most inviting way to present the San Pablo plan draft report
Thousands of people shitting on a man for suggesting maybe - just maybe - it’s a good thing that Donald Trump is not in charge of all health care finance in America.
For all Universal HC/Single Payer/M4A advocates.
What do the biggest, expensive hospital chains do. Do they opt out and only serve the rich ?
Who in the USA gov runs the program?
R U ok with having to see a primary care doc before you can see a specialist ?
What do the biggest, expensive hospital chains do. Do they opt out and only serve the rich ?
Who in the USA gov runs the program?
R U ok with having to see a primary care doc before you can see a specialist ?
December 12, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Thousands of people shitting on a man for suggesting maybe - just maybe - it’s a good thing that Donald Trump is not in charge of all health care finance in America.
World historical fuck up
We wasted a decade of practically free interest rates to allow lots of housing to be built. Just awful.
December 7, 2025 at 5:07 AM
World historical fuck up
I fully support RealPage bans because what they do sucks, but it's not surprising we've seen little impact 🧵
www.therebuild.pub/p/theres-no-...
www.therebuild.pub/p/theres-no-...
There’s No Quick Trick to Solving the Housing Crisis
Why Banning RealPage and Airbnb Didn't Lower Rents
www.therebuild.pub
November 29, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I fully support RealPage bans because what they do sucks, but it's not surprising we've seen little impact 🧵
www.therebuild.pub/p/theres-no-...
www.therebuild.pub/p/theres-no-...
Great article about the state of things, but I just cannot get over the San Diego erasure on display here.
Come on, people! It’s the actual second biggest city in the state!
Come on, people! It’s the actual second biggest city in the state!
November 27, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Great article about the state of things, but I just cannot get over the San Diego erasure on display here.
Come on, people! It’s the actual second biggest city in the state!
Come on, people! It’s the actual second biggest city in the state!
Berkeley has a 20% requirement but in practice everything that gets built uses the density bonus, where developers opt-in to building BMR units because it makes them *more* money. Our requirement is more than SDB so projects kick in some extra $$ to the housing trust fund. Works pretty well.
Unfunded inclusionary zoning is bad!
The research in Happy City is more than a decade old. Recent experience suggests the inclusionary zoning approach I supported has recently led to delay/cancellation of new housing.
To your point Mark, yes, coops/cohousing do seem to create a blast radius of social connections in surrounding 'hood.
To your point Mark, yes, coops/cohousing do seem to create a blast radius of social connections in surrounding 'hood.
November 23, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Berkeley has a 20% requirement but in practice everything that gets built uses the density bonus, where developers opt-in to building BMR units because it makes them *more* money. Our requirement is more than SDB so projects kick in some extra $$ to the housing trust fund. Works pretty well.
Berkeley's ordinance is up December 2nd!
Courtesy of the Casita Coalition:
AB 1033 (ADUs for sale) implementation tracker!
Implemented: San Jose, San Francisco, West Hollywood, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Stockton, and Martinez.
In progress: Sebastopol, Berkeley, and Los Angeles.
Interested: 3 cities (I won't disclose)
AB 1033 (ADUs for sale) implementation tracker!
Implemented: San Jose, San Francisco, West Hollywood, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Stockton, and Martinez.
In progress: Sebastopol, Berkeley, and Los Angeles.
Interested: 3 cities (I won't disclose)
November 21, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Berkeley's ordinance is up December 2nd!
Bad for four years but maybe an impetus to get rid of the system and try something new
We are getting closer to the conditions where two Republicans slip through the top-two primary and into the general election for governor in California.
The polls show that as very possible now, before Steyer (and maybe Swalwell) split the field even more.
The polls show that as very possible now, before Steyer (and maybe Swalwell) split the field even more.
Tom Steyer enters California governor's race
November 19, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Bad for four years but maybe an impetus to get rid of the system and try something new