Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
@mateosfo.bsky.social
I make things, including bike rides, state housing laws, bread, and trouble. Quality varies with rainfall, political winds, and tire pressure. Run comms at @cayimby for the love of cities.
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Today on Volts: you may have noticed that some climate/energy types (like me) have become obsessed with housing & urban land use lately. Why? Why are they climate issues? What's the connection? The great @mateosfo.bsky.social and I attempt to answer those questions.
Why housing is a pass/fail question for climate
Housing is a climate issue we can't afford to ignore — Matthew Lewis explains why.
www.volts.wtf
This was a lot of fun, both because we covered a lot of topics and because David and I have known each other so long and so the conversation flowed.
But the whole tl;dr of the thing is:
Housing policy is (still) climate policy. And the climate movement should do more to acknowledge this, IMO.
But the whole tl;dr of the thing is:
Housing policy is (still) climate policy. And the climate movement should do more to acknowledge this, IMO.
"More so than many of its neighbors, however, Berkeley — the birthplace of single-family zoning — has become a ‘YIMBY’ town."
werkin it www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/arti...
werkin it www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/arti...
As Berkeley weighs a big rezoning, small businesses worry they’ll pay the price
The city’s plan to rezone three commercial corridors has left many shop owners and residents wondering whether the very qualities that draw people to these districts might be eroded in the...
www.sfchronicle.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:13 PM
"More so than many of its neighbors, however, Berkeley — the birthplace of single-family zoning — has become a ‘YIMBY’ town."
werkin it www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/arti...
werkin it www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/arti...
Exactly right.
The whole project is to either defeat or otherwise neutralize the Confederacy's role in US governance, and quarantine Lost Causers to the shitheap of history.
But we can't even get started until people acknowledge that 1964 was the *start* of the 2nd Civil War -- not the end of it.
The whole project is to either defeat or otherwise neutralize the Confederacy's role in US governance, and quarantine Lost Causers to the shitheap of history.
But we can't even get started until people acknowledge that 1964 was the *start* of the 2nd Civil War -- not the end of it.
as a white liberal with Southern roots, quite frankly, I think other white liberals from the South need to get the fuck over their oddly defensive attitude about what should be pretty blindingly obvious.
I understand why some white liberals from the Deep South want to insist that there isn't something distinct (and bad) about Southern political culture but the problem with this is that we wouldn't even have this idea of "The South" as distinct from the rest of the US if there wasn't a there there
November 17, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Exactly right.
The whole project is to either defeat or otherwise neutralize the Confederacy's role in US governance, and quarantine Lost Causers to the shitheap of history.
But we can't even get started until people acknowledge that 1964 was the *start* of the 2nd Civil War -- not the end of it.
The whole project is to either defeat or otherwise neutralize the Confederacy's role in US governance, and quarantine Lost Causers to the shitheap of history.
But we can't even get started until people acknowledge that 1964 was the *start* of the 2nd Civil War -- not the end of it.
Of all the horrible things that have happened to journalism in the United States during my career, for some reason the one that stings most is the loss of the Washington Post to Bezos and the very worst reactionary centrists/Republican water-carriers in DC.
hate it.
hate it.
WaPo editorial board launches a disgusting car-brained attack on Seattle's new mayor Katie Wilson.
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
November 17, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Of all the horrible things that have happened to journalism in the United States during my career, for some reason the one that stings most is the loss of the Washington Post to Bezos and the very worst reactionary centrists/Republican water-carriers in DC.
hate it.
hate it.
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
WaPo editorial board launches a disgusting car-brained attack on Seattle's new mayor Katie Wilson.
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
November 17, 2025 at 4:20 PM
WaPo editorial board launches a disgusting car-brained attack on Seattle's new mayor Katie Wilson.
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
November 17, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
I’m still struggling with the fact that ICE “brown shirts” went to a taco shop and thought they would get served.
F that!
F that!
November 16, 2025 at 9:11 PM
I’m still struggling with the fact that ICE “brown shirts” went to a taco shop and thought they would get served.
F that!
F that!
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
Car culture is an abomination and the only reason why don't constantly think about it as such is because it's too insane to grapple with the reality of millions of crashes each year, along a war's worth of needless deaths and hundreds of thousands people maimed - in the US alone.
The dam is breaking. The world's leading public health news organization is now reporting US driver violence as a public health crisis.
"American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and other major cities." t.co/BEcu5JJ457
"American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and other major cities." t.co/BEcu5JJ457
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/traffic-deaths-pedestrian-safety-vision-zero-los-angeles-dot-nhtsa/
t.co
November 17, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Car culture is an abomination and the only reason why don't constantly think about it as such is because it's too insane to grapple with the reality of millions of crashes each year, along a war's worth of needless deaths and hundreds of thousands people maimed - in the US alone.
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
i don't think that bush v. gore is the *worst* ruling in the history of the supreme court, but i do think it is the most openly *corrupt* ruling in its history. a real disgrace.
November 17, 2025 at 1:57 AM
i don't think that bush v. gore is the *worst* ruling in the history of the supreme court, but i do think it is the most openly *corrupt* ruling in its history. a real disgrace.
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
bush v gore is the hinge upon which basically everything awful from the last quarter century swings on
i don't think that bush v. gore is the *worst* ruling in the history of the supreme court, but i do think it is the most openly *corrupt* ruling in its history. a real disgrace.
November 17, 2025 at 3:51 AM
bush v gore is the hinge upon which basically everything awful from the last quarter century swings on
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
The message from Trump is crystal clear - if you beat the hell of out police, if you threaten to kill FBI officers - I will make sure you get away with it if you are breaking the law to keep me in power.
If you don't see it, this is a message about 2028.
If you don't see it, this is a message about 2028.
November 16, 2025 at 10:20 PM
The message from Trump is crystal clear - if you beat the hell of out police, if you threaten to kill FBI officers - I will make sure you get away with it if you are breaking the law to keep me in power.
If you don't see it, this is a message about 2028.
If you don't see it, this is a message about 2028.
Francis Fukuyama:
"Building more homes and reducing and ultimately reversing the long-term rise in housing prices and transportation costs is a direct way of reducing inequality in the United States."
And what causes high transportation costs, do you reckon?
"Building more homes and reducing and ultimately reversing the long-term rise in housing prices and transportation costs is a direct way of reducing inequality in the United States."
And what causes high transportation costs, do you reckon?
November 16, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Francis Fukuyama:
"Building more homes and reducing and ultimately reversing the long-term rise in housing prices and transportation costs is a direct way of reducing inequality in the United States."
And what causes high transportation costs, do you reckon?
"Building more homes and reducing and ultimately reversing the long-term rise in housing prices and transportation costs is a direct way of reducing inequality in the United States."
And what causes high transportation costs, do you reckon?
Seattle's streets, working as designed by taxpayer-funded city traffic engineers; Seattle's drivers, responding to city/state/federal incentives and subsidies.
Seattle Fire is currently responding to a driver who hit a 2-year-old child and then fled the scene at Alki Avenue SW near 61st Ave SW.
Driver was last seen heading south on Alki.
Driver was last seen heading south on Alki.
November 16, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Seattle's streets, working as designed by taxpayer-funded city traffic engineers; Seattle's drivers, responding to city/state/federal incentives and subsidies.
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
Flying cars would produce more accident deaths than AI is producing now through suicide. SF depictions of flying cars never get into the gritty details of transport and never to my knowledge depict crashes. @humantransit.bsky.social
November 16, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Flying cars would produce more accident deaths than AI is producing now through suicide. SF depictions of flying cars never get into the gritty details of transport and never to my knowledge depict crashes. @humantransit.bsky.social
Shot:
Flying cars would produce more accident deaths than AI is producing now through suicide. SF depictions of flying cars never get into the gritty details of transport and never to my knowledge depict crashes. @humantransit.bsky.social
November 16, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Shot:
"Contrast this with the majority of American cities today, where you are 3 to 4 times more likely to get killed walking on a road. There is no way for my kids to ride their bikes to school without riding on a highway. The walking street is a single block long." marylandmatters.org/2025/11/15/w...
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a day to think ahead, too, to solutions - Maryland Matters
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a day to remember people like his wife, Sarah, who was struck and killed in 2022 while riding her bike, writes Dan Langenkamp. But it's also a day ...
marylandmatters.org
November 16, 2025 at 6:18 PM
"Contrast this with the majority of American cities today, where you are 3 to 4 times more likely to get killed walking on a road. There is no way for my kids to ride their bikes to school without riding on a highway. The walking street is a single block long." marylandmatters.org/2025/11/15/w...
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
/2 The article and headline don’t arise in a vacuum, they arise on the front page of the New York Times, which has selected a very specific way to approach moral and political issues, characterized by detachment, both-sidesism, and trolling.
November 16, 2025 at 4:56 PM
/2 The article and headline don’t arise in a vacuum, they arise on the front page of the New York Times, which has selected a very specific way to approach moral and political issues, characterized by detachment, both-sidesism, and trolling.
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
I’m familiar, by the way, with the argument that we just aren’t appreciating the NYT’s subtlety here; that it’s actually a searing indictment of this group of elites, just in a “show me, don’t tell me” kind of way. That take relies on ignoring that it’s in the New York Times.
/1
/1
November 16, 2025 at 4:51 PM
I’m familiar, by the way, with the argument that we just aren’t appreciating the NYT’s subtlety here; that it’s actually a searing indictment of this group of elites, just in a “show me, don’t tell me” kind of way. That take relies on ignoring that it’s in the New York Times.
/1
/1
Just about every elected official is a coward when it comes to street safety.
They're more afraid of angering a few drivers than they are of those drivers killing and maiming their own constituents.
It's pathetic and unforgivable. Vote out any local official who doesn't prioritize safe streets.
They're more afraid of angering a few drivers than they are of those drivers killing and maiming their own constituents.
It's pathetic and unforgivable. Vote out any local official who doesn't prioritize safe streets.
How many more deaths of people walking and biking will we tolerate before we make our streets safer?
This is a crisis throughout the East Bay - a woman was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing an Antioch street yesterday.
We need to rapidly transform our streets to slow cars and protect people.
This is a crisis throughout the East Bay - a woman was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing an Antioch street yesterday.
We need to rapidly transform our streets to slow cars and protect people.
November 16, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Just about every elected official is a coward when it comes to street safety.
They're more afraid of angering a few drivers than they are of those drivers killing and maiming their own constituents.
It's pathetic and unforgivable. Vote out any local official who doesn't prioritize safe streets.
They're more afraid of angering a few drivers than they are of those drivers killing and maiming their own constituents.
It's pathetic and unforgivable. Vote out any local official who doesn't prioritize safe streets.
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
How many more deaths of people walking and biking will we tolerate before we make our streets safer?
This is a crisis throughout the East Bay - a woman was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing an Antioch street yesterday.
We need to rapidly transform our streets to slow cars and protect people.
This is a crisis throughout the East Bay - a woman was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing an Antioch street yesterday.
We need to rapidly transform our streets to slow cars and protect people.
November 16, 2025 at 4:17 AM
How many more deaths of people walking and biking will we tolerate before we make our streets safer?
This is a crisis throughout the East Bay - a woman was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing an Antioch street yesterday.
We need to rapidly transform our streets to slow cars and protect people.
This is a crisis throughout the East Bay - a woman was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing an Antioch street yesterday.
We need to rapidly transform our streets to slow cars and protect people.
The American car industry quite deliberately designs its products so that they kill people. They know this. They are not ignorant of how their products work.
They don't care.
They don't care.
Trigger warning.
“In crashes, SUVs are more likely to strike vital organs in the core of adults’ bodies & heads of children. Hitting pedestrians above their center of gravity means they’re more likely to be knocked forward & down and then be driven over.”
Plus more likely to hit in the 1st place.
“In crashes, SUVs are more likely to strike vital organs in the core of adults’ bodies & heads of children. Hitting pedestrians above their center of gravity means they’re more likely to be knocked forward & down and then be driven over.”
Plus more likely to hit in the 1st place.
November 16, 2025 at 7:04 AM
The American car industry quite deliberately designs its products so that they kill people. They know this. They are not ignorant of how their products work.
They don't care.
They don't care.
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
Despite local, state, and federal safety campaigns, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston are among major cities that now report more traffic fatalities than homicides. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
‘They Don’t Return Home’: Cities Across US Fail To Curb Traffic Deaths - KFF Health News
Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston reported more traffic fatalities than homicides last year. Despite local, state, and federal safety initiatives, such as Vision Zero, traffic deaths across the ...
kffhealthnews.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Despite local, state, and federal safety campaigns, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston are among major cities that now report more traffic fatalities than homicides. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
WATCH: “Every day, 20 people go out for a walk, and they don't return home,” says Adam Snider, a spokesperson for the Governors Highway Safety Association, as U.S. cities fail to curb traffic deaths. youtu.be/JTXIoECD6Xk?...
Traffic Deaths Outpace Homicides in Los Angeles
YouTube video by KFF Health News
youtu.be
November 13, 2025 at 10:29 PM
WATCH: “Every day, 20 people go out for a walk, and they don't return home,” says Adam Snider, a spokesperson for the Governors Highway Safety Association, as U.S. cities fail to curb traffic deaths. youtu.be/JTXIoECD6Xk?...
The dam is breaking. The world's leading public health news organization is now reporting US driver violence as a public health crisis.
"American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and other major cities." t.co/BEcu5JJ457
"American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and other major cities." t.co/BEcu5JJ457
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/traffic-deaths-pedestrian-safety-vision-zero-los-angeles-dot-nhtsa/
t.co
November 16, 2025 at 3:56 AM
The dam is breaking. The world's leading public health news organization is now reporting US driver violence as a public health crisis.
"American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and other major cities." t.co/BEcu5JJ457
"American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and other major cities." t.co/BEcu5JJ457
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
"Americans’ driving habits have worsened across multiple measures, from reckless driving to drunken driving, which road #safety advocates call a public #health failure"
#Vehicular #Violence @bikeportland.org @waroncars.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
#Vehicular #Violence @bikeportland.org @waroncars.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
‘They Don’t Return Home’: Cities Across US Fail To Curb Traffic Deaths - KFF Health News
Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston reported more traffic fatalities than homicides last year. Despite local, state, and federal safety initiatives, such as Vision Zero, traffic deaths across the ...
kffhealthnews.org
November 14, 2025 at 7:40 PM
"Americans’ driving habits have worsened across multiple measures, from reckless driving to drunken driving, which road #safety advocates call a public #health failure"
#Vehicular #Violence @bikeportland.org @waroncars.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
#Vehicular #Violence @bikeportland.org @waroncars.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism
Well-written overview of the public health crisis of drivers killing people and the complete failures of elected officials and public servants at the local, state, and national levels to do anything effective to stem the violence and carnage.
"Americans’ driving habits have worsened across multiple measures, from reckless driving to drunken driving, which road #safety advocates call a public #health failure"
#Vehicular #Violence @bikeportland.org @waroncars.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
#Vehicular #Violence @bikeportland.org @waroncars.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
‘They Don’t Return Home’: Cities Across US Fail To Curb Traffic Deaths - KFF Health News
Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston reported more traffic fatalities than homicides last year. Despite local, state, and federal safety initiatives, such as Vision Zero, traffic deaths across the ...
kffhealthnews.org
November 14, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Well-written overview of the public health crisis of drivers killing people and the complete failures of elected officials and public servants at the local, state, and national levels to do anything effective to stem the violence and carnage.