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There’s a clear choice in this race: I’ve fought to build the homes we need to lower costs. My opponent has only blocked them.

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Thank you, @fayettealliance - for bringing us together for a forum filled with thoughtful questions, meaningful conversation, and a room full of engaged, curious voters.

Lexington’s future deserves our attention, and it’s encouraging to see so many neighbors showing up to help shape it.

Keep the conversation going: check out the @civiclex.ky voter guide, get to know your candidates, and make your plan to vote on or before November 3rd. Your voice matters.

#TeamWu #DanWuForLex

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Hartford was intensifying incrementally. Then, mid-century sudden intensification hit it hard.

Incremental intensification is organic, market-driven, healthy, resilient, and vibrant. One building falling into disrepair does not screw over the whole neighborhood like it does for big box buildings that result from sudden intensification.

Sources

Columbus Blvd (former Front St) from Temple St looking north: https://lostnewengland.com/2016/08/columbus-boulevard-hartford-connecticut-2/

Talcott St from Columbus Blvd (former Front St) looking west: https://lostnewengland.com/2016/08/talcott-street-hartford-connecticut/

Charles St from Kilbourn St (now defunct) looking north: https://lostnewengland.com/2016/08/charles-street-hartford-connecticut/

Columbus Blvd (former Front St) from Kilbourn St (now defunct) looking north: https://lostnewengland.com/2016/08/columbus-boulevard-hartford-connecticut/

Incremental vs. Sudden Intensification Graphic by StrongTowns: https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/9/5/incrementalism

#suddenintensification #hartford #connecticut #thenandnow #carfreeamerica

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Businesses relocating from suburban office parks back to the city center shift communities away from the fragile, financially unproductive model of suburban sprawl and toward long-term municipal solvency and resilience. Suburban developments require massive public investments in infrastructure—like roads and utility pipes—that rarely generate enough tax revenue per acre to pay for their own long-term maintenance. In contrast, urban centers leverage existing infrastructure through higher density and walkability, vastly improving the community’s “wealth-to-infrastructure ratio” by generating exponentially higher tax yields per acre. This concentration of economic activity replaces volatile, single-industry dependence with a diversified ecosystem of adaptable, interconnected small businesses that maximize local wealth retention and organically foster human interaction. Ultimately, moving back downtown stops the cycle of public debt used to subsidize expansion and instead builds a self-sustaining, fiscally strong foundation where public capital is used efficiently.

Well played, PNC!

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Housing is on the ballot in BC this Saturday.
The province set the floor with Bill 44. Your local council decides everything above it: how fast permits move, what builders pay, and what your neighbourhood is allowed to become. The people elected October 17 will shape what gets built in your community for the next four years.
Before you vote, ask your candidates where they stand. Our voter’s guide, built with Strong Towns, gives you the questions that separate housing talk from housing action, and one that reveals more than any other (slide 4).
Swipe through, then get the full guide: https://toolbox.smallhousing.ca/resources/asking-candidates-about-housing/
Still deciding? Check your registration and find your candidates at elections.bc.ca.
Authorized by Small Housing BC Society, registered sponsor under LECFA, info@smallhousingbc.org

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We had an incredible time last week at the second annual Civic Leader Summit!

Despite an approaching hurricane, we brought together speakers and attendees from across the country for 5 keynote presentations and 20 breakout sessions focused on practical strategies to make our cities and towns better places to live.

There's something energizing about being surrounded by so many smart, passionate people who are dedicated to making a difference in their communities.

A huge thank you to all of our sponsors, speakers, volunteers, and everyone who helped make this event possible.

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Is “filtering” a real strategy to create housing affordability? Charles Marohn says not, but let’s investigate for ourselves…

Check out the latest from NCAI, link is below and in bio.

https://ncaffordabilityinitiative.substack.com/p/filtering-isnt-a-housing-affordability?r=3xt21&utm_medium=ios

#affordablehousing #filtering #rentcontrol #inclusionaryzoning #tenantrights

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Yes to benches
Yes to dignity
Yes to ORT
No to dirt
No to self doubt
Yes to transportation choice

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MA Voters: Voting YES on Question 7 will legalize starter homes and get us closer to making the American Dream accessible for all.

I’ll be voting YES on Ballot Question 7 this November, and I kindly ask you to do the same.

Full piece on substack. Link in bio.

Sources:
https://www.legalizestarterhomes.com/
https://www.remainplaces.com/post/the-impact-of-minimum-lot-size-requirements-on-massachusetts-housing-prices
https://delrosemcshane.com/2026/09/28/2026-massachusetts-ballot-question-7-minimum-lot-size
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/historical-housing-production
https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-housing-theory-of-everything/
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00345.x
https://icma.org/sites/default/files/303954_Municipal%20Form%20of%20Government%20Survey%20Summary%202011.pdf
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2022/iss1/1/
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674942936..
https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd41AKDAKLF/
https://x.com/jeremyelevine/status/2105086964588515463?s=46

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What a few days in Pensacola. 🙌

We were grateful to represent @zeroemptyspaces at the Civic Leader Summit alongside people who genuinely care about making their communities stronger. @civicleadersummit

A few highlights:

➡️ Chuck Marohn / @strongtowns kicking things off with the morning keynote

➡️ Our friend Max Musicant from Minneapolis getting everyone hands-on with his “Snowballing” Placemaking session @musicantgroup

➡️ Our own “From Empty Spaces to Civic Assets” session, which was met with great engagement, thoughtful questions, and conversations that kept going afterward

➡️ Valerie Lemmie from the @ketteringfoundation keynote bringing a powerful perspective around citizenship, collective action, and strengthening communities

We loved meeting everyone through @strongtowns, @civiccon, and the broader Civic Leader Summit community.

Lots of new connections, ideas, and conversations about how we can bring vacancy activation and creative placemaking into more cities.

We’re heading home energized and ready to keep opening doors.

If you’re planning a conference, summit, panel, workshop, or civic conversation, keep @zeroemptyspaces in mind.

From Zero Empty Spaces to the stage, our mission stays the same: helping unlock closed doors and create new opportunities in more communities.

#ZeroEmptySpaces #CivicLeaderSummit #StrongTowns #UniteUsGroup #CreativePlacemaking

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Our emotional cracks reveal a history of pain, sadness, & fear. They show the fragility of our hearts and the difficulties we’ve endured. Yet, if we aim the light just right, we can create a beautiful kaleidoscope of healing, restoration & wisdom. #TerraFirma🌱 💡 @strong_towns #TraumaInformed

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We've found some of the best conference moments happen after the microphones turn off and people actually sit down together.

Tonight in Pensacola, we had the opportunity to bring together a table of fellow speakers between civic leaders, placemakers, artists, architects, downtown advocates, storytellers, and community builders during the @civiccon Civic Leader Summit.

Different cities. Different disciplines. Different perspectives.

But many of the same questions:

How do we make our communities more vibrant?
How do we strengthen downtowns?
How do we better support artists and entrepreneurs?
How do we turn vacant and underutilized spaces into assets instead of liabilities?

And of course, how do we work with ai?

These are exactly the conversations we believe matter at @zeroemptyspaces.

We were grateful to share the table with Mayor Allan Branch of Panama City, Valerie Lemmie of @ketteringfoundation, artist and designer Daniela de Castro, @kristenphoto, Max Musicant of The Musicant Group, J. Scott Sallis of Dalrymple | Sallis Architecture, Misty Heath of @sododistrict, and Nick Georgoudiou.

We've found there’s real power in bringing people from different sectors around the same table to exchange ideas, challenge assumptions, share what’s working, and uncover unexpected opportunities to collaborate.

At @zeroemptyspaces, we spend a lot of time thinking about what happens when underutilized places are reimagined. The same principle applies to people: bring the right mix together and entirely new possibilities can emerge.

We’re looking forward to more conversations, more ideas, and more collaboration throughout the rest of the Civic Leader Summit.

And if your community is wrestling with a vacant or underutilized space, we’re always happy to compare notes and explore what it could become.

#CivicLeaderSummit #CreativePlacemaking #CommunityBuilding #DowntownRevitalization #ZeroEmptySpaces

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