Alfred Twu
@alfred_twu
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Commissioner-Elect Berkeley Rent Board, CA Dem Party delegate, East Bay architect & commercial artist. Retweet/follow/like≠endorsement B sky @ https://t.co/ls9iiPxfdE
Berkeley, CA
Joined March 2018
Been doing some gaming on the holidays. There's a lot of differences between different city building games, and it reflects the places where they're designed. Here's a thread on SimCity, Cities Skylines, Transport Tycoon, A-Train, and Soviet Republic. 1/
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While national news focuses on San Francisco, if you really want to know where California's headed - look at the East Bay. Home to nearly 3 million people (3x the size of SF), it's a window into the future of America's suburbs & non-superstar cities. And the future is bright. 🧵.
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Density of new housing in the US is similar to China. While the 30-story towers look impressive, the 6-story buildings popping up throughout American cities are more efficient. Both have around 150 homes per acre. Thread 1/
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An idea I proposed to North Berkeley design standards that Planing Commission voted on: allow ornament as an alternative to requiring notches, bump outs, & multiple materials on large buildings. This keeps building interesting, while also saving on structural & energy costs. 🏘️
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@vanillaopinions When Seoul removed the freeway, the traffic simply disappeared. People shopped at closer destinations or took transit. Similar in San Francisco with Embarcadero freeway. Chinatown got a subway to bring business back. Opposite happens when freeways widen, it generates new trips.
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Upzoning usually means taller buildings. These are cheaper than houses, but still costly. But get rid of yard & parking requirements instead, and the bungalow court - a California invention from the early 1900s - may yet save us again. Thread 1/
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Five shapes of apartment buildings, each with 60 homes. Top left, a wide block with doors off a long hallway, is the most common type built today in the US. Top center is common in Europe. Today we'll also look at a few other styles. Which do you prefer?.1/
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What happens if we don't #SaveTransit? Here's what downtown San Francisco would look like if the 50,000 people who currently BART in each day had to drive and park downtown instead. 50,000 cars = almost an entire square mile of parking
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Second Street Housing: Living next to, but not on top of main street. While most US/Canadian apartments are built on busy streets (Corridor zoning), we ought to look at next street over. 1/
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Missing middle housing - fourplexes, townhouses, etc - is great for most places. However, in places like Palo Alto, where land is north of $20 million an acre, it's time to look at Missing Large Housing, specifically, ways to build, plan, & finance big buildings cheaper. 1/
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Life east of the 5: sometime around 2020, California quietly passed a major milestone: there are now more of us living east of I-5 than west of it. 🏡📈. EastCal is our future. 1/
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April 27: Nevada & Colorado formally join Western States Pact, county health officials on the Illinois-Missouri border work together since their governors won't, and Massachusetts now also coordinating with Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire. 1/
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over 5000 blocks in San Francisco but most of The Discourse™ is about a few dozen of them🙃
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One way to keep cars from using bus lanes as express or passing lanes is grass. Buses are wide enough to straddle the grass, while cars can't.
Darrell makes great points in the thread. While car drivers ignore bus lane paint of all types, left-lane bus lanes have special challenges. Right-lane bus lanes get misused for loading, but left-lane bus lanes get used as high speed express lanes, which is much more dangerous.
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West Coast governors and New York area governors are now coordinating regional responses to containing the virus and reopening businesses.
Wow, OK. We're now in a "Western States Pact" about re-opening. So much for the federal government.
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Monday afternoon update: Massachusetts has joined the Multi State Council. We now have bipartisanship.
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Same comparison, now with a typical European block added. In Europe, the buildings are concrete and are slightly taller than their US counterparts. While again the density is similar, the couple additional floors allow larger courtyards and some front yard landscaping. 5/
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Florida passed law banning Chinese immigrants from owning property. The law has a useless exception for homes more than 5 miles from critical infrastructure (which limits it to rural areas) but also on lots smaller than 2 acres (rare in rural areas), so its basically a total ban.
Three months after Florida banned many Chinese citizens from owning property, some real estate agents say they are losing business as families across the state are walking away from deals.
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Only 1 city in the USA where rents are stable: Oakland! In recent years, Oakland has:.- Funded lots of affordable housing.- Legalized RVs on private property.- Rezoned car dealerships for housing.- Expanded tenant protections.- Lots of new highrises (no height limit in downtown).
Encouraging update here. Conditions slowly normalizing. A mind-blowing YoY rent comparison:. New York City +33.5%.Oakland +0.5%
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It's time for the 4-day, 32 hour week. We've been at 5 days/ 40 hours for almost 100 years. Meanwhile, productivity today is over 5 times higher than it was in the 1930s, which means it takes just 1 day to produce what took 5 back then.
"A four-day workweek might not be as unreasonable an ask as it would have been even five years ago. A new survey of more than 1,000 US workers found that nearly nine out of 10 US employees are interested in the idea.".
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California zoning is unnecessarily complex. In an ideal world, we would simplify it to the following four categories. 🐦
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transportation idea: use vacant houses as cargo containers. extra height and width compared to standard shipping containers makes easier to fit oversize stuff. 🙃
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What's the secret to the East Bay's progressive victories? We've got a lot of hardworking youth, parents, and elders, who've been playing the long game to bring change to the suburbs. Also we have very few billionaires.
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This is a big deal and has historical precedent. Basically all hospitals are Medicare facilities. The creation of Medicare was also used to desegregate hospitals. Hospitals had to do it to receive Medicare funding.
BREAKING: President Biden just announced that Medicare facilities will be required to perform abortions that save the mother’s life *regardless of state law*. This decision will save lives. So grateful for @POTUS's leadership.
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When done across a neighborhood, duplexes, accessory dwelling units, & small apartments unlocks the population density to support transit. A neighborhood of plexes & ADUs supports basic bus service, one with small apartment bldgs has enough people for frequent service. 🚌 1/
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Who's paying for that Prop? California's $502,000,000+ ballot measure election donor list is topped by DaVita and Uber. Realtors, unions, landlords, and business associations are also big on the list. Data is from the @CA_FPPC's Top Contributor list at
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5-over-1's are yesterday's news. Today's building code allow 5-over-3's. 🏗️🏬🐦
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A Look at Taipei Zoning & City Planning - a thread! A close look (complete with technical details!) at one of Asia's newest yet interesting cities. 1/
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My thoughts on the San Francisco fourplex debate. Because SF lots are tiny and prices are so high, for a house in San Francisco to be worth more as a site for apartments than as a luxury house, it's got to be zoned for a lot more than 4 homes. More like 15-30 of them. 🧵🏠1/
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The biggest savings in building housing isn't from making them smaller, it's from mass production. In most of the US, a suburban house costs less to build than a bedroom in San Francisco. Key factors:.- Use the same design 1000s of times.- Quick, predictable permitting schedule.
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what if the highways were shut down forever, and the land returned to the people that lived there?
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On the campaign trail, a question I got recently was "Why are there so many empty buses?" . I explained it as "There are a lot of road lanes that are used during rush hour but empty otherwise" and it clicked for them.
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Good morning East Bay! Excited to announce that I'm running for AC Transit Board At-Large! 🚌🐦.My platform:.- Supporting riders & workers.- Coordinating connections.- Growing our communities & businesses. ✅Endorse: 💵Donate:
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An illustrated look at the the US city of the future, based on changes happening today. Key highlights:.- Colleges & hospitals are big in-person job centers, surrounded by new homes.- Downtown freeways replaced by parks.- Slow streets & greenways.1/
In which the excellent @alfred_twu writes a guest post for Noahpinion, telling us what the American city of the future will look like!.
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In Fremont, landlords and realtors spent over a million dollars against Assemblymember Alex Lee, who is one of only a handful of legislators that doesn't take corporate money. Still, they failed to get any of the moderate Dems into the general election.
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In California your property taxes might be ten times your neighbors identical, equally valuable house, simply because you bought last year and he inherited it from someone who bought it in 1978. Also oil refineries, theme parks, & office buildings also gets that tax break 🙃.
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Downtown San Jose is easy mode for driving: wide streets on a grid, not that many people or cars (especially right now), good weather, no hills, and relatively low speeds. If self-driving software can't handle that, it shouldn't be available for public use.
Watch a Tesla on the latest version of "Full Self-Driving" Beta almost hit a pedestrian who had a walk sign, try going down railroad tracks, & glitch to the point where the driver COULD NOT TAKE CONTROL. All in 21-min drive. Full video from @Aiaddict1:
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@cafedujord He also vetoed independent redistricting, Native American tribal housing funding, expanding a LGBTQ youth housing program to San Diego & Sacramento, many healthcare bills. Reminds me of a tweet I saw where someone said "worst thing for a state is a gov who wants to be president".
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I want to thank everyone who's supported my campaign. While we are behind on the votes, the work to reform transit governance and bring about a seamless regional transit system will continue in other ways 🚋🚌🐦.
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The growing protests in China reminds me of the research that revolutions are most likely when the standard of living rises but then goes in reverse, causing anger due to unmet expectations. China's last 20 years have got to be one of the most extreme versions of this. 1/.
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CA Senate Bill 9 allows up to 4 homes in most single-family zones, regardless of local zoning. You can use #SB9 to split your lot, add a 2nd home to a lot, or both (split lot & have 2 homes on each lot for total of 4). Here's a how-to guide & thread:.1/
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Contra Costa County - home to refinery towns, wealthy suburbs such as San Ramon, as well as diverse suburbs like Antioch, re-elected pro-reform District Attorney Diana Becton by a large margin.
Thank you for believing in me and for believing that our justice system can keep us safe AND be more fair and equitable. Polls close tonight at 8 p.m. Let’s continue to show up, show out and #VOTE!
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The new #Caltrain electric trains are quite nice! Comfortable seats with power outlets, tables, and excellent lighting. More pics in the thread
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Not only are bungalow courts cheap to build, they're also smol and adorbs. This one's in Alameda, CA. Image by Jennvirskus, 9/
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Here it is: 2021 California Housing Legislation Highlights! Big year for fire prevention, general plans, small apartment buildings, electrification, student housing, and more. Details are in the thread and also being added to 1/ of 100+
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sometimes a map gives off a "haven't I seen this map before?" vibe. Left: size of Prop 13 property tax subsidy that homeowners who bought a long time ago get, map by @levin_phil. Right: Racial dot map, map by @UVACooperCenter
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Notches in buildings can make the structure complicated, as it creates a narrow weak point in the plan. It also reduces the amount of space inside, while increasing the surface area, leading to higher heating and cooling costs.
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Downloaded every zoning map for Silicon Valley. Guess which city makes it hardest to view the info? Palo Alto!
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Most US apartments bldgs have homes on both sides of the hallway, which means you only have windows facing one side. Elsewhere in the world, apartments have cross ventilation. With larger family-size units, even with a 2nd stair, this layout can be more efficient.
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Density doesn't mean cramped living spaces, in fact, the whole point is to fit more square feet of living space on the same piece of land. The urban American dream isn't a windowless bedroom pod, it's a 1,800 square foot condo with large balconies and windows on all sides.
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If SF politics is a knife fight in a phone booth, East Bay politics is a soccer game. It's a team sport. There's a lot of time & turf to cover, sometimes you got the ball, sometimes you pass it on, sometimes you take a break on the sideline while a fresh teammate goes in.🐦.
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"Build the Cube" memes have it wrong. It will be in Jersey City, not Manhattan.
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Landlords claim that rent control stops construction. They got it backwards. Zoning in the 1970s stopped construction, causing rents to go up & cities to pass rent control. Today, landlords continue to ban new homes in the wealthy neighborhoods they live in. #YesOn21 @YesOn21CA
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Random #architecture sketch: the 5 over 1 over 5 over 1 over 5 over 1 over 5 over 1 over 5 over 1 over 5 over 1 over 5 over 1. The boxy style a lot of apartments use goes from ordinary at 6 floors to real chaos energy at 40🙃🐦. what other styles would you like to see explored?
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Since housing twitter is talking architecture lately, here's some Western architecture with Chinese characteristics: while in the 2000s & 2010s, China was known for copying European buildings, local architects have since invented new designs that literally take it to new heights.
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In the East Bay, we're not just winning elections, we're delivering on the Democratic Party's promises. South Hayward has new starter condos selling for as low as $371,000, something a middle class couple can afford.
Riding on the bus bridge between South Hayward & Union City BART gives a taste of what Bus Rapid Transit could be like along Mission Boulevard, which has recently added a lot of new homes. There's also a protected bike lane, though it mixing with the right turn lane is not great
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One of the worst parts of the $2000 asset limit for people receiving Social Security disability money is that while homes are exempt from the limit, renters don't get any exception, which makes it impossible for people to save enough for first month's rent + security deposit.
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A good way to keep trucks out of the bike lane is to have a loading lane. On this block there are a few yellow-paint loading zones and the trucks and taxis use them. It's safer for everyone.
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Uber charging a driver a $11.26 service fee on a $9.06 fare. This company's going to implode.
As a driver for Uber I was charged money to drive a passenger thirteen miles today. #Uber #Rideshare #Lyft
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The medieval era was fine, it's the post-1978 era that really set society back. If the world's top public university has to cut 1/3 of its students, what scientific discoveries, inventions, and leaders are we going be missing out on over the next century?
UC Berkeley must slash new enrollment by a third unless high court intervenes
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California's new governor calls for a "Marshall Plan for affordable housing" to increase housing supply by 25%, a total of 3.5 million new homes. Depending on how you frame it, that's 9 new San Franciscos. or a couple buildings on each block. Thread 1/
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A thread on Missing Small Housing! Stuff smaller than a house, but bigger than a tent. The housing crisis isn't just a big city problem. Rural areas also don't have enough homes - for example, California's Imperial County has one of the highest rates of overcrowded homes. 1/
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Pamela Price, who is running to reform the District Attorney's office, came in first in the primary, with strong support not just in the Berkeley-Oakland area, but also in Fremont and the other South Alameda County cities.
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inspired by @ItchyFeetComic's maps of every European & American cities, here is a map of every Chinese city. 🙃. (English text below, Chinese text in reply)
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Back to the original point of massing breaks vs ornament, there is something funny how after 100 years, Modernist architecture - originally marketed as being simple and efficient - ended up as a style that's objectively less efficient than the decorated boxes they replaced 🙃.
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About 40 housing bills are now on Governor Newsom's desk - the largest number yet. Bills cover general plans, zoning, affordable housing funding, student housing, tenant protections, homeownership and homelessness. Details in thread.
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Oakland's library tax extension, which extends a parcel tax for another 30 years, Measure C, is passing with over 80% of the vote.
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Here in the East Bay, we don't think of ourselves as the main character. We're the supporting cast and the stage crew (there's a lot of infrastructure and heavy industry here!).We might not set out to change the world, but in the quiet sum of our everyday lives, we already have.
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Richmond has electric bikeshare - $80 a year, $5 a year for low income residents.
While Berkeley and Oakland continue to wait for the return of electric bikeshare, Richmond, which wasn't part of the Bay Area Bikeshare (now Bay wheels) system has an all-ebike system available at many places around the city
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Recently I was talking to some housing activists about how buildings with flat roofs are perceived to be taller, even when they’re not. I remarked how sloped roofs are coded as “house” & flat roof as “highrise”. Thread 1/ , or go to
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#California - where we live in that illustration in the earth science textbook of different landforms - both natural & artificial. 🐻🏔️🏜️🌋🏞️🐦. Full size image: Buy a poster:
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Cities in California that elect mayors on presidential years: Fresno, Sacramento, San Diego, Bakersfield, Stockton, Riverside, Fremont. On midterm years: LA, San Jose, Irvine, Long Beach, Oakland, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Chula Vista. On odd-numbered years: San Francisco.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed says a potential ballot measure to move citywide elections to presidential years is a democratic socialist power grab, and the proposal's author is pushing back.
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Colorado residents have also been assisting the hard-hit Navajo Nation. 4/.
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So, how can we bring the bungalow court back? Parking lots on stripmalls are a great place to start. Zoning changes required:.- Allow residential use, no density limit.- Get rid of yard/parking requirements.but guess what: no change to height limits. Your zucchinis are safe! 10/
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one of the tensions in SimCity is that most players want to build a big downtown with lots of buildings, but the car-centered transportation model makes it hard. So when it comes to parking lots, the game designer "just imagine they are underground.".
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Different city building games have both different player roles, as well as differences over what you have control over. While all of them let you build roads and rails, there are differences when it comes to zoning, as well as whether players can build homes & businesses. 2/
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East Bay has many cities, which leads to uncoordinated decisions such as bike lanes that stop at city limits. But it's like having a lot of little labs. While progress might slow in one place, it can't be stopped in the whole region. Emeryville built the homes Berkeley wouldn't.
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2024 California Propositions, Personified!.See thread for details on the 10 Props:.2🏫 Schools.3🏳️🌈 Marriage equality.4🌎 Climate adaptation.5🏗️ Housing & infrastructure.6⚖️ End slavery.32💵 Min. wage.33🏠 Rent control.34🚫 Restricts political activity.35👩⚕️ Healthcare.36⛓️ Prisons
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in contrast, in the Slovakian game "Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic", parking lots are realistically sized and something the player has to build if they decide to let people own personal cars.
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