August 26th, 2024
Earlier this summer, I co-organized a month-long 1,300-person "popup village" in Healdsburg, CA called Edge Esmeralda. This gathering was incredibly fun and rewarding in its own right, and it was also a huge accelerant to the creation of the permanent ...
July 15th, 2024
One thing I like about Georgist land taxes is they reflect a deep-seated intuition many people have that land should be owned by the community, while still employing markets to ensure efficient use of this limited resource.
People feel that land is sp...
July 14th, 2024
In the US, it's common for local governments to focus on tax revenue produced by a property, without considering the costs it adds to the city's budget. This is like measuring how far a car can drive without considering how much gas it uses to get ther...
April 13th, 2024
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the future of my home state in my lifetime. This post is part of a series I’m writing about this bold proposal.One of the biggest questions I had when I fir...
April 2nd, 2024
I’ve now done two egg retrieval cycles. Given that I had a zillion questions before I started, I thought I’d share my notes for others who might have similar questions.Things I would’ve loved to know beforehandOverall the process was way easier and les...
February 20th, 2024
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the future of my home state in my lifetime. This post is part of a series I’m writing about this bold proposal.
Up until recently, the new city’s potential...
February 20th, 2024
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the future of my home state in my lifetime. This post is part of a series I’m writing about this bold proposal.
California Forever’s proposal includes 10 V...
February 20th, 2024
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the future of my home state in my lifetime. This post is part of a series I’m writing about this bold proposal.
As an urbanism nerd, the aspect of Californ...
February 19th, 2024
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the future of my home state in my lifetime. This post is part of a series I’m writing about this bold proposal.
One of the most essential parts of Californ...
February 19th, 2024
A new city has been proposed in California, and I’ve never been more captivated by a vision for the future of my home state in my lifetime. This post is part of a series I’m writing about this bold proposal.
California Forever was founded by Jan Srame...
February 19th, 2024
A new city has been proposed in California, and the plan is going to a vote in Solano County’s November election. The proposed location is in Solano County, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento, and the group behind the proposal is named ...
January 17th, 2024
One of the biggest investments Esmeralda will make is something many people take for granted, but whose design has a huge impact on their experience of a neighborhood: its streets!
One of the most fundamental design decisions is what material a street...
December 30th, 2023
I've discovered a group trip format that I really love, and I wanted to share it with others because (a) you might find it fun to host or join something like this in the future and (b) selfishly, I would like more people to organize trips like this so ...
December 12th, 2023
It's been frustrating to see the US coverage of Milei, Argentina's new president. They are deeply misunderstanding (or misrepresenting?) what's going on. It seems the American press can only understand Argentine politics through the lens of the US, whe...
September 9th, 2023
As a real estate developer, one of the big decisions you need to make is whether you will sell or rent the buildings you've built.
Income from rentals flows in steadily over years, while income from sales hits all at once. This essential difference is...
September 7th, 2023
Most roads are paved with asphalt. Unfortunately, there are a lot of problems with asphalt. Bricks, cobblestones, and pavers are often much better options, because:
1. Asphalt degrades fast, so once you account for maintenance, it's more expensive it ...
July 4th, 2023
by Jason Benn & Devon Zuegel
So, you’ve been invited to an unconference! Maybe you’re not entirely sure what that means (did the organizers misspell "conference"?), or maybe you’ve been to dozens of these before and you’re looking for some ideas for h...
July 1st, 2023
The saga of Israeli water management is one of the most inspiring stories of the last 75 years. Israel went from having a serious water problem to being a net water exporter to neighboring countries. Meanwhile, the population grew from ~1 million to we...
May 18th, 2023
America hasn't built many walkable places in the last few decades, but there are a few exceptions. While collecting a list of these special places, I was shocked to discover that most are in the Southeast.
My mental image of contemporary southern dev...
January 7th, 2023
A question that's puzzled me for a while is why home buyers focus on price/sqft so much more than renters. I asked around for what other people thought and got some interesting answers, so I decided to write up my takeaways.
I. Investments demand legi...