Co-Founder @americanhousing | Building Rowhomes for Families | Fellow @manhattaninst | Signal: Bfijan.19 |
- Tweets 50,323
- Following 7,264
- Followers 153,089
- Likes 411,937
Sub-prime mortgages and CDOs is probably one of the best argument against regulation on the labs … there’s no guarantee it won’t be useless or make things worse.
2
449
“Can you pick me up from school early so we can buy a new fishing reel?”
The kids are gonna be alright …
6
2
119
4,034
An honor to talk to @RealBenCarson about building housing for families at the @HUDgov Innovative Housing Showcase.
26
13
232
8,195
The weather is crummy … but if you come hang out in out exhibit on the Mall, we have a pretty cool view
12
3
171
6,459
Decades of car centric zoning? These neighborhoods were walked by kids a generation ago. After cars
17
Mushroom Tart at Le Dip (Parc) + Warm Shrimp Salad
Have had these over 200 times (at least 100) and never disappoints
11/10
3
54
5,114
An important clip from that episode:
Conservatives need a *positive vision* for cities. And that both includes making them for families … and to actually BUILD IT
"There's a tendency on the conservative side to just critique when things go wrong in the City. Yes, crime is a problem. Yes, urban education needs to get better. But the best solution is to positively show what it would look like better.
If we want other states or cities to see the disparities we should go pick a piece of ground and just build a ton of stuff that's nice quality, beautiful and well run.
The best way to 'own the libs' would be to just build something awesome."
Popup kitchens on the National Mall?
Check out the Moment of Truth episode with @bobbyfijan ( 🔗 in comments).
11
12
95
23,277
This would make living in downtown San Antonio really nice.
Boring Company is working on a simple, precursor Hyperloop tunnel between Austin and San Antonio (>200 mph).
Due to traffic congestion, that journey can currently take up to 2.5 hours. @BoringCompany can reduce that to a consistent <30 mins.
7
3
121
17,485
If you’re in DC this week and happen to be walking by the Smithsonian/Castle … stop by to check out our kitchen modules. And a special presentation.
12
5
231
8,784
My walkable mixed-use zoning goal:
It should be legal to have childcare or school in any place where it’s legal to have a coffee shop
It *ought* to be easy to start a new school ... but the regulations around where a school can be, and what elements it needs are wayyyyy more onerous than building housing
13
22
253
16,078
And the other, notable, thing in the NHJ essay which has gone unremarked … despite being in the largest and densest City in the US … they still had to drive their daughter to school
There wasn’t enough density of kids for an **elementary school** to be walkable. In Brooklyn!
To live in an expensive downtown AND need to use a car for school contributes to making cities crushingly expensive for families.
I’ll write something longer later … But my wife and I also chose to send our kids to an elementary school that was “lower rated” … not for the sake of doing that or any moral gain, but bc the school was close enough that our kids could walk themselves. Which was an enormous benefit for the entire family.
However, we eventually had to send them all to different schools, for reasons specific to each child.
For my son, the school was not able to keep up with him academically, despite many adjustment we made. We assigned him reading at home (1 hour everyday) and a lesson of Math (Saxon). We even put him in a class that was taught entirely in Spanish, a language that he was not quite fluent in when he started. So he not only learned Spanish, he also learned how to learn in an environment where he occasionally had to raise his hand and ask “Can you repeat that, slowly please. I didn’t understand.”
He took the entrance exam for the City magnet middle school, and was able to get in. It’s still below what he’s capable of, and we still assign work outside of school. But the main difference has been that the rest of his friends are also academically ambitious. They all read books outside of school.
For my daughter, we had to take her out because they did not have the resources to help someone who was dyslexic. My wife pushed strenuously for her to get the extra help, we paid for private assessments and help but still really wanted her to get that inside school. After months of back and forth and several sit downs with the school, they eventually were able to say that because our daughter was not “behind” they just didn’t have enough resources for her. Even though dyslexia is not, always, about being ahead of behind, merely a difference in the way they understand and read words
So the same year my son moved to the magnet school, we took out daughters out to homeschool them. And they flourished there, mostly due to the hard work of my wife … who was also working full time at the same time. We found a great co-op for her.
After 2 years, she took the entrance exams for the same school as our son, and is now in that school with him. Which has been great for her.
In my opinion, every parent should do the best for their own child, but in the context of doing the best for the FAMILY. And doing the best for your child can only be done if you are involved in their education, whether it is public, private or homeschool.
And needs can change every year, so don’t be wedded to any means. The goal is to raise productive, mature, educated children of good character.
29
10
302
48,341
This was the most astounding part of the NHJ essay - that her daughter had not been learning FOR YEARS - and she was unaware
I constantly check in with my kids on what they are learning. When I get home, one of first question I ask:
“So tell me about what you read”
I’ll write something longer later … But my wife and I also chose to send our kids to an elementary school that was “lower rated” … not for the sake of doing that or any moral gain, but bc the school was close enough that our kids could walk themselves. Which was an enormous benefit for the entire family.
However, we eventually had to send them all to different schools, for reasons specific to each child.
For my son, the school was not able to keep up with him academically, despite many adjustment we made. We assigned him reading at home (1 hour everyday) and a lesson of Math (Saxon). We even put him in a class that was taught entirely in Spanish, a language that he was not quite fluent in when he started. So he not only learned Spanish, he also learned how to learn in an environment where he occasionally had to raise his hand and ask “Can you repeat that, slowly please. I didn’t understand.”
He took the entrance exam for the City magnet middle school, and was able to get in. It’s still below what he’s capable of, and we still assign work outside of school. But the main difference has been that the rest of his friends are also academically ambitious. They all read books outside of school.
For my daughter, we had to take her out because they did not have the resources to help someone who was dyslexic. My wife pushed strenuously for her to get the extra help, we paid for private assessments and help but still really wanted her to get that inside school. After months of back and forth and several sit downs with the school, they eventually were able to say that because our daughter was not “behind” they just didn’t have enough resources for her. Even though dyslexia is not, always, about being ahead of behind, merely a difference in the way they understand and read words
So the same year my son moved to the magnet school, we took out daughters out to homeschool them. And they flourished there, mostly due to the hard work of my wife … who was also working full time at the same time. We found a great co-op for her.
After 2 years, she took the entrance exams for the same school as our son, and is now in that school with him. Which has been great for her.
In my opinion, every parent should do the best for their own child, but in the context of doing the best for the FAMILY. And doing the best for your child can only be done if you are involved in their education, whether it is public, private or homeschool.
And needs can change every year, so don’t be wedded to any means. The goal is to raise productive, mature, educated children of good character.
15
5
187
12,280
Univ of Alabama also aggressively courts smart kids from the rest of the country.
If you get a qualifying score on your PSAT to get National Merit Finalist ... you get a full scholarship to Alabama
5 Years of Tuition + Room + Board + $$
"Alabama also courted applicants from bedroom communities around New York; Washington, D.C.; Seattle; Boston; and eventually Chicago, where Alabama’s sticker price looked downright reasonable compared with the tuition at pricey private colleges and more expensive public options"
35
37
1,020
104,194
A family staying in the City and sending their kid to private school is much better, both because it is ~slightly "better" for the taxes and budget ....
But mostly because by staying it makes the City marginally family friendlier. So that the next family sees kids and thinks "I can do that too!"
And it is, of course, no one else's business where you send your kids. Public, private, charter, homeschool, Kumon, etc. Do the best for your own kids. Always.
3
2
57
5,394
This is a guy who got his brother elected to the State Supreme Court ... and his brother is STILL on the court!
3
520
Had Instinct look at my calendar and create a map of my meeting schedule and locations in DC today.
A crazy day … but incredibly useful tool!
17
83
7,889
Or look at this.
the Navy Yard in philly is one of the primary places where new businesses are going now. But it's really inconvenient to get to via transit ... even when you are pretty close
All of southern delware county (which is fairly affordable!) becomes a "suburb" of the Navy Yard
1
2
385
Look at the NJ transit outside Philly. There is one line. It pulls all demand towards there. So that people have to drive to lindewold, park, ride, and the transfer
It should make the places away from those areas a lot more attarctive. Especially if you don't work in center city
1
1
300
The New Jersey suburbs of Philly is even clearer
There is ONE line on NJTransit. It's why there are so many bridges & car commuters. And it, obviously, enhances prices in the cities directly on the train. Haddonfield, Cherry Hill etc
AVs makes it a lot more reasonable for people to disperse to other suburban cities
I don't think this is properly accounting for the "new" places that are unlocked by Autonomous Vehicles.
For example, there are many suburbs of the major city that are in close proximity to the major employment centers, but are not currently primary suburbs because they are not near the public transit. And so they are much less desirable
Commuting from these places is quite unpleasant because they are along arterial roads with stop and go traffic. Which is the most unpleasant and most exhausting way to drive. People greatly prefer to drive on highways or to ride on trains.
AVs do not have that same problem. And therefore rather than people competing for the places that are near Park And Ride or the major interchanges, more people will be able to trade the same commute and live in different places. Which will more evenly distribute home prices across the metros
And probably effect traffic and commuting patterns as well
11
1
56
13,229
Look at the map of the Pennsylvania suburbs of Philly ... all of the areas directly west of the city are along Route 3. The train completely avoids it, by going Northwest, and Southwest.
There is a bus along Route 3, but it's extremely long.
My parents live out in West Chester (a beautiful city with a great downtown and good schools but it's an awful commute to Philadlephia
Waymo is perfect for these places
2
7
1,242
It’s also because detached homes sell for more …
but the townhouse gaps are everywhere, not just Houston
Here’s Wheeler District in OKC
I think we just learned why Houston has those strange townhouse gaps!
Land use regulations, not just the market, after all @ebwhamilton @salimfurth
9
2
65
8,745
This is entire housing industry
One the mains reasons innovation has lagged & productivity in Construction is so low is bc *site built* construction relies on local labor. The incentives to drive home prices down, mean that builders and developers are constantly looking for the lowest cost labor, which is often imported.
And frankly the same forces driving down wages exist within Architecture, but early career jobs at Architecture firms are brutal. Terrible hours, very low pay. And it’s because Arch firms can only compete on price. So they reduce scope, quality, and depress wages. For people who have 5 years of schooling and loans. And though obviously regulations and licenses mean these jobs are more likely to be Americans or documented, we have seen a lot of off-shoring and outsourcing in Architecture and Engineering.
Combine both of those with the incentives of private equity, which is trying to maximize SHORT TERM returns on investment, and this is literally how we have arrived at a place where we build low quality, ugly, housing. Built by a large percentage of low wage labor. Both foreign and domestic.
When it’s cheaper to hire people to carry drywall on their backs up 2 flights of stairs or you only have to pay someone $40,000 a year to do drawings for 80 hours a week, and you can always lay someone off … why invest in tech? When you don’t own something long term, why build for beauty and quality?
The Trump Administration will hold every corporation accountable for replacing American workers with cheap foreign labor.
6
10
69
6,775
It’s not the dollar subsidy that’s a problem, 5MM is quite small … it’s the alternative use for the land
Is there a better way to use 150 acres than a single golf course in the middle of the most expensive city in the country? Esp when there are 5 other public golf courses.
The city loses $4.9 million a year subsidizing six sprawling golf courses used by a shrinking number of players. In a housing-starved city, that’s a tough sell.
📝: @tgoetz sfstandard.com/2026/09/13/sf…
14
6
108
7,212
I’d love to see even more units that get rid of an island … and have a dining table instead
Families need places to eat together! Even in smaller apartments.
(And so do friends who have dinner parties! @emmma_camp_ @mnolangray)
It’s why all of my ideas, intentionally, involve things that are:
1) Easy
2) Immediately applicable
3) Have positive compounding effects
Making more 1000sf corner apartments into 3BR/2BA units fits all of those things
3
1
35
5,024
It’s why all of my ideas, intentionally, involve things that are:
1) Easy
2) Immediately applicable
3) Have positive compounding effects
Making more 1000sf corner apartments into 3BR/2BA units fits all of those things
I don't like when proposed solutions to the fertility crisis are 'Go back in time and do what they did' back in a time with conditions that no one today wants to go back to.
The suggestion is unproductive.
4
2
58
10,041
It’s *almost* as if … solving the construction cost issue for attached townhomes is an important issue that would be broadly applicable and good for cities
I had these loaded in the chamber in Houston
Since there are 3+ attached units this gets treated as a 200 unit project
- sprinklers
- manhole for sewer
- storm drain connections
- etc
We can absorb 1 but not all 3
The fix?
Treat 3-4 unit projects also as residential
7
2
104
11,320
I don’t understand this. Why do, some, celebrity account follow so many?
As a way to goose follower accounts?
12
32
7,213
Look at these 1BR floorplans. It’s ~800 square feet (which is pretty large!) and are the most typical layout
Big bedroom, sized to have a TV across for headboard; enormous walk-in closet; huge bathroom. A big Kitchen … but no room for a dining table!
The living room is only 11’ wide, and fits 3 people max.
It’s not built for hosting (despite the kitchen size). It’s built for someone to be ALONE. With all the amenities and features while you are alone.
💯 As I told @DKThomp (did this chart)
“Apartments are built for Netflix and chill … we’re building for aloneness”
The things we build … including both technology AND the built environment … shape us. In this case, for the worse.
14
2
105
17,127
💯 As I told @DKThomp (did this chart)
“Apartments are built for Netflix and chill … we’re building for aloneness”
The things we build … including both technology AND the built environment … shape us. In this case, for the worse.
is this genuinely the explanation for decline of everything - friendships, excitement, spontaneity, dating?
3
3
48
23,590
This one of the reasons I wouldn’t call myself a “YIMBY.” Practically, it IS a political affiliation. Same for Abundance.
Though I can and do agree with many of the specific policies. And work with those people too.
I want cities to be great. I want to build housing for families in the City … so that people can have kids and stay. I want local amenities, parks, and public schools to be excellent (and smaller) and so that neighborhoods can a truly walkable for families.
And where I can agree on that with other people, of either party, great!
As I’ve said before, the vision I have for the City is this:
“Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets … each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets”
11
6
92
9,124
And in case there is any doubt … the **correct** way to order a martini is “Gin. Very dirty. With 3 olives (NOT blue cheese)”
4
761
Downtown San Antonio is one of the best examples of how tree protection can be good … perfect for mixed-use
Downtown San Antonio would be fantastic … if there were more long-term residents down by the riverwalk
Right now, it’s mostly tourists & hotels
Though a friend did the Tower Life building conversion to apartments. Which is a great project
10
10
330
41,868
The advantage of a crazy busy week in Dallas … got to be able to spend it with my wife! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
35
2
318
64,168
Downtown San Antonio would be fantastic … if there were more long-term residents down by the riverwalk
Right now, it’s mostly tourists & hotels
Though a friend did the Tower Life building conversion to apartments. Which is a great project
People love to say our cities are not great. They are. We’ve just forgotten how to make more of them. And chosen to forbid any attempts.
26
10
246
73,007
Except those places DO exist
You can buy a renovated 4BR house in West Philadelphia for $160K (!) that's 1 block from the main subway, 2 stops from the best office market in the city, a few blocks from elementary AND high school, and around the corner from bars, shopping and grocery on 52nd Street
It's thoroughly walkable, and yet most people will not choose to live here ... unless improvements are made to schools, safety, etc
America's shortage of places where it's possible to walk to places is one of the most tangible but rarely voiced ways that we lack freedom & choice, and all the available evidence suggests Americans don't simply prefer to live this way!!
27
10
134
23,055
