Dan Bloemker
@danbloemker.bsky.social
Chemical Engineer. Allegiance to the cities of Philadelphia, Bellingham, and Seattle. Build Housing. Build Industry. Build Trains. Build Cities. 🇺🇦🇺🇸
"The price of the brick is going up"
October 3, 2026 at 6:25 PM
"The price of the brick is going up"
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
The Urbanist is in the middle of our fall membership drive right now, and our pitch is pretty straightforward: we want to provide more REPORTING and not AI slop.
www.theurbanist.org/membership/
www.theurbanist.org/membership/
Membership
Advocacy Journalism for Better Cities
www.theurbanist.org
September 22, 2026 at 5:36 PM
The Urbanist is in the middle of our fall membership drive right now, and our pitch is pretty straightforward: we want to provide more REPORTING and not AI slop.
www.theurbanist.org/membership/
www.theurbanist.org/membership/
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
Randomly thought of this photo today taken by David Ley in 1974 of people protesting the construction of what would be the last mid-rise in Kitsilano before the downzoning. Apartments build in the 60s and 70s are now often celebrated as Vancouver's (relatively) affordable housing stock.
September 16, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Randomly thought of this photo today taken by David Ley in 1974 of people protesting the construction of what would be the last mid-rise in Kitsilano before the downzoning. Apartments build in the 60s and 70s are now often celebrated as Vancouver's (relatively) affordable housing stock.
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
still insane that he didn't go to prison for this
September 16, 2026 at 4:37 AM
still insane that he didn't go to prison for this
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
Three great reported essays on the inter generational conflict over housing and active transportation, particularly in Northern California:
First, a Berkeley-raised writer’s exploration of his parents’ generation’s complicated feelings about the proposed apartments and the Hopkins bike lane:
First, a Berkeley-raised writer’s exploration of his parents’ generation’s complicated feelings about the proposed apartments and the Hopkins bike lane:
A Tale of Paradise, Parking Lots and My Mother’s Berkeley Backyard (Gift Article)
Plans to build apartments have sparked a fight between progressive newcomers and nostalgic old-timers — with surprising allegiances in a writer’s hometown.
www.nytimes.com
September 8, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Three great reported essays on the inter generational conflict over housing and active transportation, particularly in Northern California:
First, a Berkeley-raised writer’s exploration of his parents’ generation’s complicated feelings about the proposed apartments and the Hopkins bike lane:
First, a Berkeley-raised writer’s exploration of his parents’ generation’s complicated feelings about the proposed apartments and the Hopkins bike lane:
I never used to bike anywhere, got an e-bike on a whim. Eliminated all my in-town car trips almost immediately. Even started biking to work (13 miles each way). E-bikes replace cars, not bikes.
Something I appreciate about BlueSky is that when someone drops an "e-bikes are cheating" take they are roundly criticized. There are definitely some anti e-bike folks here, but people generally understand that e-bikes are a transformative piece of technology for getting people out of cars.
September 3, 2026 at 1:34 PM
I never used to bike anywhere, got an e-bike on a whim. Eliminated all my in-town car trips almost immediately. Even started biking to work (13 miles each way). E-bikes replace cars, not bikes.
The debt situation Republicans have created is going to be a generational problem. You can't sustain a >100% debt to GDP ratio at 5% interest rates.
The hole only gets deeper and rates only get higher as skepticism in your ability to pay rises.
The hole only gets deeper and rates only get higher as skepticism in your ability to pay rises.
September 1, 2026 at 7:08 PM
The debt situation Republicans have created is going to be a generational problem. You can't sustain a >100% debt to GDP ratio at 5% interest rates.
The hole only gets deeper and rates only get higher as skepticism in your ability to pay rises.
The hole only gets deeper and rates only get higher as skepticism in your ability to pay rises.
This is one of those things that you know in your bones wouldn't have happened under the previous mayor.
Holy shit we’re flying like a bat out of hell. #Acceler8
August 25, 2026 at 10:51 PM
This is one of those things that you know in your bones wouldn't have happened under the previous mayor.
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
>imperial concubine controls national security
>court eunuchs are ceaselessly fighting for internal influence
>the viziers are scheming over who replaces the leader
>the leader fritters away all his time repeatedly replacing the grass on the lawn
>the palace debt grows greater by the day
>court eunuchs are ceaselessly fighting for internal influence
>the viziers are scheming over who replaces the leader
>the leader fritters away all his time repeatedly replacing the grass on the lawn
>the palace debt grows greater by the day
August 20, 2026 at 12:40 PM
>imperial concubine controls national security
>court eunuchs are ceaselessly fighting for internal influence
>the viziers are scheming over who replaces the leader
>the leader fritters away all his time repeatedly replacing the grass on the lawn
>the palace debt grows greater by the day
>court eunuchs are ceaselessly fighting for internal influence
>the viziers are scheming over who replaces the leader
>the leader fritters away all his time repeatedly replacing the grass on the lawn
>the palace debt grows greater by the day
Department of Commerce:
August 6, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Department of Commerce:
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
Some things I've learned about legislative advocacy, and I think my record speaks for itself.
1. Start by asking for everything you want. Stop preemptively negotiating against yourself. The process of passing the bill will whittle it down. Why started with a whittled down product?
1. Start by asking for everything you want. Stop preemptively negotiating against yourself. The process of passing the bill will whittle it down. Why started with a whittled down product?
August 5, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Some things I've learned about legislative advocacy, and I think my record speaks for itself.
1. Start by asking for everything you want. Stop preemptively negotiating against yourself. The process of passing the bill will whittle it down. Why started with a whittled down product?
1. Start by asking for everything you want. Stop preemptively negotiating against yourself. The process of passing the bill will whittle it down. Why started with a whittled down product?
This is such a binary test of "do you understand outcomes vs intents?" and it's at least inspiring that a majority of council gets it. The rest not so much...
Final vote: Juarez, Saka, Rivera, and Hollingsworth vote no and the legislation passes on a 5-4 vote.
July 29, 2026 at 10:10 AM
This is such a binary test of "do you understand outcomes vs intents?" and it's at least inspiring that a majority of council gets it. The rest not so much...
What do you do if you hear someone talking on the phone in the quiet car and you look over and it's LeBron?
Hell, what does @amtrak.com do?
Hell, what does @amtrak.com do?
July 27, 2026 at 9:05 PM
What do you do if you hear someone talking on the phone in the quiet car and you look over and it's LeBron?
Hell, what does @amtrak.com do?
Hell, what does @amtrak.com do?
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
the food safety stuff is another reminder that a large, huge, gigantic part of being a republican is going “lmao why are we spending money to prevent horrifying disasters from happening if they never happen 🤪”
July 15, 2026 at 9:59 AM
the food safety stuff is another reminder that a large, huge, gigantic part of being a republican is going “lmao why are we spending money to prevent horrifying disasters from happening if they never happen 🤪”
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
We are dooming current and future generations because we lack the imagination and political will to see a future designed around people instead of cars.
The project on the left is completely through environmental review and is approved to move into construction and the project on the right needs more environmental analysis, everything is working great.
July 14, 2026 at 3:36 PM
We are dooming current and future generations because we lack the imagination and political will to see a future designed around people instead of cars.
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
Politicians decided to give curb parking away for free. Off-street garages charge fees. So at peak hours, curb parking is jampacked, garages are mostly empty, and customers complain.
#Seattle has a parking MANAGEMENT problem, not a parking supply problem. It's politicians can and should fix it!
#Seattle has a parking MANAGEMENT problem, not a parking supply problem. It's politicians can and should fix it!
July 12, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Politicians decided to give curb parking away for free. Off-street garages charge fees. So at peak hours, curb parking is jampacked, garages are mostly empty, and customers complain.
#Seattle has a parking MANAGEMENT problem, not a parking supply problem. It's politicians can and should fix it!
#Seattle has a parking MANAGEMENT problem, not a parking supply problem. It's politicians can and should fix it!
All that weird science we used to sponsor does turn over some gems every so often:
www.economist.com/leaders/2026...
www.economist.com/leaders/2026...
www.economist.com
July 10, 2026 at 7:42 PM
All that weird science we used to sponsor does turn over some gems every so often:
www.economist.com/leaders/2026...
www.economist.com/leaders/2026...
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
It’s New Foods Day for the Minnesota State Fair and this, to me, is the promise of America
www.mnstatefair.org/new/food
www.mnstatefair.org/new/food
July 9, 2026 at 1:11 PM
It’s New Foods Day for the Minnesota State Fair and this, to me, is the promise of America
www.mnstatefair.org/new/food
www.mnstatefair.org/new/food
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
New from @frontiergroup.bsky.social: These are the states where people are driving less than they used to.
(Interestingly, all three West Coast states - WA, OR and CA - have seen meaningful declines in per-capita vehicle travel since 1994.)
frontiergroup.org/resources/wh...
(Interestingly, all three West Coast states - WA, OR and CA - have seen meaningful declines in per-capita vehicle travel since 1994.)
frontiergroup.org/resources/wh...
Updated: Less driving is possible
Residents of several states have driven fewer miles on average in recent years than they did three decades ago. This decline suggests that Americans’ high levels of driving are not inevitable.
frontiergroup.org
July 7, 2026 at 3:02 PM
New from @frontiergroup.bsky.social: These are the states where people are driving less than they used to.
(Interestingly, all three West Coast states - WA, OR and CA - have seen meaningful declines in per-capita vehicle travel since 1994.)
frontiergroup.org/resources/wh...
(Interestingly, all three West Coast states - WA, OR and CA - have seen meaningful declines in per-capita vehicle travel since 1994.)
frontiergroup.org/resources/wh...
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
to the CMs who might like to cut transit in the name of affordability i ask: if you made minimum wage, would you rather pay $29 per year to ensure your bus gets you to work on time, or $40 on a lyft every time it doesn’t show up?
to the CMs who might like to cut transit service and/or increase spending on transit security i ask: have you considered that what makes someone feel safe and secure is *getting on a bus* instead of waiting in the dark and the rain for a bus that may or may not come in 20 minutes?
Among the amendments being discussed: Bob Kettle's proposal to slash the measure, providing Seattle with one million fewer service hours over the next decade.
www.theurbanist.org/kettle-propo...
www.theurbanist.org/kettle-propo...
July 6, 2026 at 6:49 PM
to the CMs who might like to cut transit in the name of affordability i ask: if you made minimum wage, would you rather pay $29 per year to ensure your bus gets you to work on time, or $40 on a lyft every time it doesn’t show up?
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
Building near jobs and transit costs taxpayers $21K less per unit upfront than fringe development, cuts annual maintenance in half, and recoups public investment in 9 years vs. 13, consistent across 10 states.
cayimby.org/blog/why-bui...
cayimby.org/blog/why-bui...
Why Building Homes in Your Neighborhood's Backyard Is Actually the Fiscally Conservative Move - California YIMBY
Building homes near jobs, transit, and stores costs governments roughly $21,000 less per unit in upfront infrastructure than building at the suburban fringe — and that gap widens over time. …
cayimby.org
July 2, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Building near jobs and transit costs taxpayers $21K less per unit upfront than fringe development, cuts annual maintenance in half, and recoups public investment in 9 years vs. 13, consistent across 10 states.
cayimby.org/blog/why-bui...
cayimby.org/blog/why-bui...
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
Monday. 5 p.m. USA. Belgium. Seattle.
July 2, 2026 at 2:08 AM
Monday. 5 p.m. USA. Belgium. Seattle.
Reposted by Dan Bloemker
YIMBYism in blue states is inherently pro-trans because it makes it more practical for trans people fleeing Draconian laws in red states to move there
A cisgender straight guy screaming in Scott Wiener’s face and telling him that even though he passes great bills on LGBT issues, he “does not deserve to be at” the Trans March that he’s been attending for 22 years because he’s a YIMBY is a perfect symbol of the modern day SF “left.”
June 28, 2026 at 4:48 PM
YIMBYism in blue states is inherently pro-trans because it makes it more practical for trans people fleeing Draconian laws in red states to move there