I think this is a very important point in yimby discourse: people say they don’t like densification but in London at least the densification is happening anyway. It happens via house shares, kids living in parents houses forever etc. you get the densification with or without more housing!
A long time ago Ian Mulherin made this chart and this is densification. That part is already happening! Look at the line for London!
November 22, 2025 at 11:04 AM
I think this is a very important point in yimby discourse: people say they don’t like densification but in London at least the densification is happening anyway. It happens via house shares, kids living in parents houses forever etc. you get the densification with or without more housing!
But Texas also is doing densification; and California really isn’t.
September 25, 2026 at 3:57 PM
But Texas also is doing densification; and California really isn’t.
Or maybe, just maybe, people don't want to go far for stuff
June 23, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Or maybe, just maybe, people don't want to go far for stuff
I'm all for densification but I do not get the zero lot line...a wee bit of breathing room is needed.
September 25, 2026 at 7:25 PM
I'm all for densification but I do not get the zero lot line...a wee bit of breathing room is needed.
This is why the Charles Marohn, "gentle density" approach is bullshit and doomed to failure.
The NIMBYs will tell you that they just want gradual densification, *but they are lying to you!*
The NIMBYs will tell you that they just want gradual densification, *but they are lying to you!*
Not a joke, apparently: this NIMBY campaign page in Milwaukee talks about a 4-storey building as being “out of scale” with surrounding 3-storey buildings.
But they’re not against development, just this one.
But they’re not against development, just this one.
September 17, 2025 at 4:12 AM
This is why the Charles Marohn, "gentle density" approach is bullshit and doomed to failure.
The NIMBYs will tell you that they just want gradual densification, *but they are lying to you!*
The NIMBYs will tell you that they just want gradual densification, *but they are lying to you!*
Really stark numbers on the de-densification of American cities, from Cities Without Suburbs by David Rusk:
November 7, 2024 at 1:57 AM
Really stark numbers on the de-densification of American cities, from Cities Without Suburbs by David Rusk:
we need robust public transit and urban densification so beautiful and handsome lesbians in their 30s can travel around the city at night drinking things under the gleaming lights and contemplating their jobs, exes, and rivals
February 23, 2025 at 5:38 PM
we need robust public transit and urban densification so beautiful and handsome lesbians in their 30s can travel around the city at night drinking things under the gleaming lights and contemplating their jobs, exes, and rivals
This is the how / why densification and urbanism scales.
“In 2023, there were a record 74,100 carless households, representing 20% of all Seattle households. That’s up from 53,200, or 16% of households, in 2017.”
Seattle’s population boom came with little vroom, vroom
Census data shows even as the number of households in Seattle has grown, the number of cars has remained effectively unchanged for years, writes FYI Guy.
www.seattletimes.com
September 5, 2025 at 2:33 AM
This is the how / why densification and urbanism scales.
“Lot sprawl” as a term to attack densification in an established major city. 🧐
Tree Action Seattle's talking points for Monday's public hearing on middle housing push for an amendment increasing building setbacks -- but notably do not recommend pushing for additional building height even as they advocate "developing up, not out."
May 17, 2025 at 9:08 PM
“Lot sprawl” as a term to attack densification in an established major city. 🧐
Glasgows densification slowly creeping up.
November 22, 2024 at 1:10 PM
Glasgows densification slowly creeping up.
Le NIMBYisme à Montréal: Bâtiment de 6 étages bloqué (“densification incontrôlée qui risque de faire disparaître l’identité humaine et familiale du secteur”)
NIMBYism in Montreal: 6-storey building blocked (“uncontrolled densification that risks destroying the human/family identity of the area”)
NIMBYism in Montreal: 6-storey building blocked (“uncontrolled densification that risks destroying the human/family identity of the area”)
Félicitations aux imbéciles qui ont bloqué un superbe projet de logements locatifs dans Rosemont, à proximité de la rue des carrières, en pleine crise du logement!
@francoislimoges.bsky.social belle occasion d'utiliser le PL31 vu que le projet respecte le Plan d'urbanisme.
Source AgoraMtl
#polmtl
@francoislimoges.bsky.social belle occasion d'utiliser le PL31 vu que le projet respecte le Plan d'urbanisme.
Source AgoraMtl
#polmtl
March 29, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Le NIMBYisme à Montréal: Bâtiment de 6 étages bloqué (“densification incontrôlée qui risque de faire disparaître l’identité humaine et familiale du secteur”)
NIMBYism in Montreal: 6-storey building blocked (“uncontrolled densification that risks destroying the human/family identity of the area”)
NIMBYism in Montreal: 6-storey building blocked (“uncontrolled densification that risks destroying the human/family identity of the area”)
Infill Densification #CitiesSkylines2
February 21, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Infill Densification #CitiesSkylines2
Again, this correlation holds at every level, down to the neighborhood, so it's just literally true that anything you do to densify any area, anywhere, is going to increase the proportion of Dems. Densification = Demification
October 29, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Again, this correlation holds at every level, down to the neighborhood, so it's just literally true that anything you do to densify any area, anywhere, is going to increase the proportion of Dems. Densification = Demification
But still, it’s in the 90% percentile of US density and 98% percentile of densification. Genuine achievement!
November 14, 2024 at 2:28 AM
But still, it’s in the 90% percentile of US density and 98% percentile of densification. Genuine achievement!
the housing that gets cheaper is not necessarily the housing next door, it’s the housing across town at what used to be a comparable price point that’s in a neighborhood that’s not seeing densification.
September 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM
the housing that gets cheaper is not necessarily the housing next door, it’s the housing across town at what used to be a comparable price point that’s in a neighborhood that’s not seeing densification.
broadly speaking, texans choose sprawl over densification--isn't that a form of poor governance?
September 25, 2026 at 3:49 PM
broadly speaking, texans choose sprawl over densification--isn't that a form of poor governance?
The more economic data I look at the more Seattle-pilled I get. Rapid economic growth, high salaries, intense housing densification, and one of the largest transit buildouts in the US. Just passed Philadelphia to enter the top-10 of US metro areas by GDP.
In 2023, ALL of America's largest metro areas saw positive economic growth!
The fastest growers were OKC (+6.9%), Seattle (+6.2%), Houston (+5.4%), New Orleans (+5%), and Charlotte (+4.7%)
The fastest growers were OKC (+6.9%), Seattle (+6.2%), Houston (+5.4%), New Orleans (+5%), and Charlotte (+4.7%)
December 4, 2024 at 3:37 PM
The more economic data I look at the more Seattle-pilled I get. Rapid economic growth, high salaries, intense housing densification, and one of the largest transit buildouts in the US. Just passed Philadelphia to enter the top-10 of US metro areas by GDP.
"The lawsuit was filed by MAID, Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification, a group of homeowners."
🙄
🙄
Affordable housing bills 'legitimate government concern,' judge rules • Daily Montanan
Affordable housing bills 'legitimate government concern,' judge rules
dailymontanan.com
June 29, 2025 at 6:21 AM
"The lawsuit was filed by MAID, Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification, a group of homeowners."
🙄
🙄
The terracotta looks great in its context. Good example of strategic densification too
May 7, 2026 at 7:30 AM
The terracotta looks great in its context. Good example of strategic densification too
Embodied carbon ("Building material production") is really insignificant compared to other emissions. It is not worth adding cost to densification to drive these numbers down – concrete and steel are nothing compared to the energy required to heat/cool suburban houses and fuel cars to access them.
study: not only do apartments reduce emissions through improved energy efficiency and better travel patterns, they also have significantly less embodied carbon per resident than low density housing because they use building materials more efficiently www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
June 27, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Embodied carbon ("Building material production") is really insignificant compared to other emissions. It is not worth adding cost to densification to drive these numbers down – concrete and steel are nothing compared to the energy required to heat/cool suburban houses and fuel cars to access them.
it's so funny reading various books and papers by both centrists (and weirdly some libs/leftists in urban planning) complain against densification as an attack on the american middle class when housing and rents are one of the biggest concerns
July 16, 2026 at 4:30 PM
it's so funny reading various books and papers by both centrists (and weirdly some libs/leftists in urban planning) complain against densification as an attack on the american middle class when housing and rents are one of the biggest concerns
450,000 discrete visits/year for the Forum facilities that *aren't hockey*. The split ends up as 55/45% in favour of non-hockey events.
If Fillmore's plans are to liquidate that capacity in the name of densification, then densification is s failed concept.
If Fillmore's plans are to liquidate that capacity in the name of densification, then densification is s failed concept.
September 27, 2026 at 1:43 AM
450,000 discrete visits/year for the Forum facilities that *aren't hockey*. The split ends up as 55/45% in favour of non-hockey events.
If Fillmore's plans are to liquidate that capacity in the name of densification, then densification is s failed concept.
If Fillmore's plans are to liquidate that capacity in the name of densification, then densification is s failed concept.
Note to Dems: “Cities are the places to farm New Democrats” @dansavage.bsky.social
“Densification is creating blue voters” @volts.wtf
www.volts.wtf/p/dan-savage...
⬇️⬇️⬇️
“Densification is creating blue voters” @volts.wtf
www.volts.wtf/p/dan-savage...
⬇️⬇️⬇️
November 26, 2024 at 5:19 AM
Note to Dems: “Cities are the places to farm New Democrats” @dansavage.bsky.social
“Densification is creating blue voters” @volts.wtf
www.volts.wtf/p/dan-savage...
⬇️⬇️⬇️
“Densification is creating blue voters” @volts.wtf
www.volts.wtf/p/dan-savage...
⬇️⬇️⬇️
I'm pro-densification but I have to be real here, I really, really dislike this line of argumentation simply because of what it opens the door to /outside/ of housing discourse and I wish densification advocates didn't use it.
You cannot be pro-immigration and anti-infill housing at the same time. It is an oxymoron. We cannot properly welcome new people - whether from abroad or within - without building affordable places for them to live. The Canadian political class largely fails to understand the scale of our problem.
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas came out with some pretty strong words against Alberta separation — and in favour of immigration as a strength for the city — in his remarks at a Calgary Economic Development event yesterday:
April 10, 2026 at 5:52 PM
I'm pro-densification but I have to be real here, I really, really dislike this line of argumentation simply because of what it opens the door to /outside/ of housing discourse and I wish densification advocates didn't use it.
Enough about urban densification, lets talk about turban densification. Those things should be rock hard
January 2, 2024 at 3:00 AM
Enough about urban densification, lets talk about turban densification. Those things should be rock hard