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| 1. | Brandon Donnelly | 14M |
| 2. | 0xdb8f...bcfd | 4.5M |
| 3. | jcandqc | 4.1M |
| 4. | 0x65de...c951 | 2.1M |
| 5. | kualta.eth | 869.1K |
| 6. | Ev Tchebotarev | 170.5K |
| 7. | voltron | 81.5K |
| 8. | William Mougayar's Blog | 28.4K |
| 9. | Empress Trash | 19.8K |
| 10. | Md Abid Raihan | 19K |
It is perhaps well known that the Ford F-Series has been the best selling vehicle for the last 41 years in the US. In 2022, sales surpassed 640,000 trucks, meaning one was sold about every 49 seconds. Of course, much has been written about what this means for overall safety in our cities. According to Axios, the average 8 year old is completely out of view when in front of an F-150. And the death rate of car drivers colliding with a truck versus even an SUV, looks something like this:
Another important thing to point out is what has happened to the bed sizes on these trucks: they have continuously gotten smaller. Between 1961 and 1979, the bed portion occupied 64% of the length of the truck. But starting in 2021, the bed had gotten down to 37%. The reality, at least according to this consumer survey, is that the most frequent use case for these trucks is actually just "shopping/errands." It is not hauling or towing.
So like all cars, and most things, probably the real reason these trucks are so popular is that they evoke a particular self-image. In this case, it is something about appearing "powerful" and "rugged." Lots of people clearly want these adjectives. But even if powerful and rugged aren't what you're going after, it is almost certain that you have simply chosen different words and found different ways to communicate that self-image.
The City of Victoria, BC did a good thing last week: It passed its "Missing Middle Housing Initiative", which means that up 6 dwelling units (their language not mine) will soon be permissible on every single-family lot in the city, and up to 12 dwelling units will be permissible in "corner townhouses". These land uses changes come into effect on Sunday, March 12, 2023 (45 days after adoption).
Here on the blog, we've been talking about this shift toward intensifying our single-family neighborhoods for many years. And momentum clearly continues to grow. At face value, this appears to be one of the more enlightened moves by a city: 6 homes and 12 homes. Though these headline numbers may have something to do with the average lot sizes in Victoria. Either way, the devil is in the details. And here are some of those details:
This is an interesting article about the neighborhood-based social network, Nextdoor, and how it has become a tool for housing politics:
Overall, activists both for and against more housing regard Nextdoor as an increasingly influential and even critical tool in the fight, which conflicts with the platform’s marketing as a friendly, kinder social media. Rather than being the neighborhood bulletin board, Nextdoors around the country are looking more like the local zoning commission hearing.
Housing debate is no stranger to social media, but in the case of Nextdoor, the audience gets focused down to the scale of a neighborhood. And that clearly changes things.
For the full article, click here.
It is perhaps well known that the Ford F-Series has been the best selling vehicle for the last 41 years in the US. In 2022, sales surpassed 640,000 trucks, meaning one was sold about every 49 seconds. Of course, much has been written about what this means for overall safety in our cities. According to Axios, the average 8 year old is completely out of view when in front of an F-150. And the death rate of car drivers colliding with a truck versus even an SUV, looks something like this:
Another important thing to point out is what has happened to the bed sizes on these trucks: they have continuously gotten smaller. Between 1961 and 1979, the bed portion occupied 64% of the length of the truck. But starting in 2021, the bed had gotten down to 37%. The reality, at least according to this consumer survey, is that the most frequent use case for these trucks is actually just "shopping/errands." It is not hauling or towing.
So like all cars, and most things, probably the real reason these trucks are so popular is that they evoke a particular self-image. In this case, it is something about appearing "powerful" and "rugged." Lots of people clearly want these adjectives. But even if powerful and rugged aren't what you're going after, it is almost certain that you have simply chosen different words and found different ways to communicate that self-image.
The City of Victoria, BC did a good thing last week: It passed its "Missing Middle Housing Initiative", which means that up 6 dwelling units (their language not mine) will soon be permissible on every single-family lot in the city, and up to 12 dwelling units will be permissible in "corner townhouses". These land uses changes come into effect on Sunday, March 12, 2023 (45 days after adoption).
Here on the blog, we've been talking about this shift toward intensifying our single-family neighborhoods for many years. And momentum clearly continues to grow. At face value, this appears to be one of the more enlightened moves by a city: 6 homes and 12 homes. Though these headline numbers may have something to do with the average lot sizes in Victoria. Either way, the devil is in the details. And here are some of those details:
This is an interesting article about the neighborhood-based social network, Nextdoor, and how it has become a tool for housing politics:
Overall, activists both for and against more housing regard Nextdoor as an increasingly influential and even critical tool in the fight, which conflicts with the platform’s marketing as a friendly, kinder social media. Rather than being the neighborhood bulletin board, Nextdoors around the country are looking more like the local zoning commission hearing.
Housing debate is no stranger to social media, but in the case of Nextdoor, the audience gets focused down to the scale of a neighborhood. And that clearly changes things.
For the full article, click here.
What is positive to see is that a number of other zoning requirements have been updated. Because it's not enough to just say, "Hey, we're going to allow more homes on each lot. There, we've done something. Developers, go and do that." Here, the allowable height has been increased, setbacks have been decreased, and the floor space ratio (site density) has been increased from 0.5 to 1.1 (assuming you do at least one amenity contribution).
I don't know if this is exactly right and if it's everything that developers will need in order to start building a lot more missing middle housing in Victoria. (If you're a local developer, please let me know in the comment section below.) But I think it's certainly a step in the right direction.
What is positive to see is that a number of other zoning requirements have been updated. Because it's not enough to just say, "Hey, we're going to allow more homes on each lot. There, we've done something. Developers, go and do that." Here, the allowable height has been increased, setbacks have been decreased, and the floor space ratio (site density) has been increased from 0.5 to 1.1 (assuming you do at least one amenity contribution).
I don't know if this is exactly right and if it's everything that developers will need in order to start building a lot more missing middle housing in Victoria. (If you're a local developer, please let me know in the comment section below.) But I think it's certainly a step in the right direction.
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