Urbanist advocate. Policy Director at the Parking Reform Network. Writer at Strong Towns. Co-author "Escaping the Housing Trap." St. Paul, Minnesota.https://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mwts2v2zgk2xThe American planning profession gave up on actually, you know, planning cities in the mid-20 century, in favor of incoherently micromanaging private development to death. Decades of piling rules upon rules, each one developed to react to some perceived harm or grievance, and this is what you get: [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Oct 2026 21:22 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwts2v2zgk2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mwffil6v2226I do not regret a single one of the seconds I spent reading this article. [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Sep 2026 03:59 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwffil6v2226https://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mwc45er6cc2tNot just California. The nostalgia-to-NIMBYism pipeline is a thing everywhere. I think some subset of people are just wired this way—basic human discomfort with aging and change, combined with a cranky or combative personality. And social media lets them find and validate each other. [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Sep 2026 20:34 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwc45er6cc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mw4qjdy34k2rIMO it's basically a constant in the school quality / integration debate that well-resourced parents *will* seek out a "premium" education for their kids. If they can't get this in their school district, they'll opt out of public schools or of the city, either way to the detriment of those schools.22 Sep 2026 17:23 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw4qjdy34k2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mw4hgyblyk2rOn the rare occasions when I drop off or pick up by car, I like to park a block away and walk up to the building. It's just an immeasurably better experience. We can chat about the day, wave to other families, pet their dogs. Nobody either hurrying us along or holding us up. [contains quote post or other embedded content]22 Sep 2026 14:40 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw4hgyblyk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mvvjihifms2pwww.maptap.gg September 19 100🎯 85🎓 100🎯 100🎯 100🎯 Final score: 985 I am so baffled sometimes by what gets assigned to the easy / medium / hard tier in this game. https://www.maptap.gg19 Sep 2026 20:28 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvvjihifms2phttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mvqdxxyxyc27Spokane is what happens when thoughtful city leadership meets effective grassroots activism (Sarah Rose and @spokanereimagined.org are doing awesome work). Racking up real wins on housing and safer streets. Turns out we can try bold things to fix our cities without first studying them for years. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Sep 2026 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvqdxxyxyc27https://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mvqdfmybn227Yep, felt like most of the Dem consultant class and many liberal pundits were convinced that Van Hollen's trip to El Salvador was a mistake and that talking at all about CECOT or Abrego Garcia or deportation abuses was not savvy politics. Amoral and gross then, unstrategic as well in hindsight. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Sep 2026 18:56 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvqdfmybn227https://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mvpx4mahp22xIf it had the political will to calm those giant stroads and build out a safe bike network, LA could be the perfect e-bike city in a decade. Imagine zipping around at 20 mph on a mild SoCal day, not breaking a sweat. Never sit in traffic, and ditch that second car payment (or even the first!) [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Sep 2026 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvpx4mahp22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mvpvyt3b7k2x"Texas is the Wario to our Mario," I muse as I gaze out the front window at my Minnesota state flag and Rebel Loon sign, then go refresh the weather forecast to see if we're going to get that 2" of rain tomorrow, because the grass could still really use a good soaking. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Sep 2026 14:56 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvpvyt3b7k2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mvixud4yqs22Boomtown without the boom: During the 2010s, when San Francisco's economy was a juggernaut growing 10% per year, the SF metropolitan area was only the 26th-fastest growing US metro (and San Jose was 29th). From 2010 to 2016, San Francisco permitted one unit of housing for every 13 new jobs. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Sep 2026 20:41 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvixud4yqs22https://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mvircd3xbk2fThe potential affordability gains from policy that makes it easier for a 2-car family to become a 1-car family are enormous. And by the way, e-bikes *dramatically* lower the bar of difficulty / lifestyle adjustment involved in making that jump, even in a lot of suburban areas. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Sep 2026 18:43 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvircd3xbk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mvb2ii74vc2vFucking awful. And let's be clear: ICE operates the way it does because Stephen Miller's vision for American cities (and that of others in this White House) is one of ethnic cleansing — he straightforwardly says so. As with every ethnic cleansing campaign, it's fear that does most of the work. [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 Sep 2026 17:07 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvb2ii74vc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3mvayncjyik2vI feel conflicted like the author of this: I've got kids and nothing against LuLuLand, and an occupied building beats a vacant one. But big-box, car-oriented land use is Midway's original sin, and I'd hate for the vision of repairing that to die by repeated exception-making, born of desperation. https://streets.mn/2026/09/11/midway-zoning-cap/11 Sep 2026 16:33 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvayncjyik2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3muzprm5xak2wComo neighborhood is eerily quiet with the Fair over. I miss it already. Made it 4/12 days this year. One thing I love about the State Fair is it's so huge and varied I know someone out there must be having the dark-matter version of my Fair experience: zero overlap in what we visit, see, or eat.08 Sep 2026 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzprm5xak2whttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3muvg2gflns2zWatched a group of Somali teens in hijab participate in an impromptu Cha Cha Slide contest at the Minnesota State Fair (led by the entire haunted house cast in costume) and go wild squealing when one of them won it. The notion that certain immigrants "don't assimilate to US culture" is bullshit.07 Sep 2026 02:01 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3muvg2gflns2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3muhyikbrkk2wI saw the news story about the Haitian 20-year-old in Springfield who committed suicide after being fitted with an ICE ankle monitor, and then I saw this clip of JD "They're eating the pets" Vance right after. I don't find rage to be a productive emotion, but there are things that can get me there. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Sep 2026 17:54 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhyikbrkk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/dpherriges.bsky.social/post/3muflgsf3pk25This reminds me of the time I told my grandma I got a job with a nonprofit organization, and she looked deeply concerned for a while before asking me if I was going to get paid. [contains quote post or other embedded content]31 Aug 2026 18:55 +0000at://did:plc:7b66aolz6pxue6y2jssrbrob/app.bsky.feed.post/3muflgsf3pk25