Our On Again, Off Again, Infrastructure Future

Frequent power outages in California give pause to reflect on the overall fragility of our built environment.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoAugust 26, 2022California, wildfires, climate, Climate Change, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, Maintenance, Granola Shotgun

Love the One You’re With

When you’re not allowed to build the kind of housing you want, sometimes you have to work with what’s already here.

Housing, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoJuly 7, 2022housing, housing affordability, housing cost, housing crisis, Housing, housing market, housing policy, Homeownership, homeownership, home, Wisconsin, Granola Shotgun, zoning, Incremental Housing

Learning From Las Vegas: Academic Taxonomy

If we don’t dismiss Las Vegas as just a tacky tourist trap, what can we learn from its architecture?

Architecture, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoMay 16, 2022Nevada, architecture, Granola Shotgun, aesthetics

The "Lickety Splits": Working Around High Housing Costs in California

Small-scale developer Johnny Sanphillippo shares tales of Californians employing simple, low-cost, high-yield measures to get by amidst the housing crisis.

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoFebruary 25, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, affordable housing, California, Granola Shotgun, homelessness, Homelessness

Monopoly Hotels and Missing Middle Housing

In Monopoly, there are only two types of real estate: houses and hotels. But were hotels understood differently in 1904, when the game was first created?

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoFebruary 18, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, history, History, missing middle, affordable housing, San Francisco, California, Granola Shotgun

The Carpetbagger’s Guide to Home Ownership

Johnny Sanphillippo takes a break from writing about his current real-estate activities to talk about how he first bought property when he was younger and infinitely poorer.

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoJanuary 11, 2022housing cost, housing affordability, Homeownership, homeowners, housing, Granola Shotgun, California, San Francisco

From the Office of Dodge, Wiggle, Hack, Shrug & DeCamp, LLC

Real-world examples of the administrative friction that holds back small-scale developers.

Member Post, Sanphillippo, Small Scale Developers, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoNovember 29, 2021small-scale developers, infill, Infill Development, local regulation, Granola Shotgun, incremental development

We Need More “Democratic Architecture”

This architect demonstrates how there are so many places ready and waiting to become a part of the housing solution—if we would just allow them.

Housing, Sanphillippo, Member Post, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoNovember 9, 2021Housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Granola Shotgun, architecture, Homeownership, homeownership

California's SB 9: A Slow Reversion to the Historic Mean

California's Senate Bill 9 has sparked controversy, mainly among owners of single-family homes. But are we returning to historic forms of housing anyway, with or without state legislation?

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Zoning, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoNovember 1, 2021Housing, California, San Francisco, Granola Shotgun, zoning, housing policy, duplex, ADUs

We Live in a "People Aquarium"…and the Water Is Running Out

What can we do at the most immediate, local level when water reservoirs run low?

Local Government, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Suburban Experiment, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoOctober 5, 2021water, California, Granola Shotgun, climate, environment, subsidiarity, local government, local regulation

The Anecdotal "Buyback Effect"

What can we learn about the housing market and corporations buying back their own stock...through anecdotal references? (As it turns out, quite a lot!)

Sanphillippo, Housing, Member Post, Small Scale Developers, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoSeptember 13, 2021history, small scale developers, small scale development, California, missing middle, housing, Housing, Granola Shotgun

The Suburbs Will Thrive or Fail on Their Own Terms

The society that built Main Street is long gone. Is it time to move on to Plan B?

Maintenance, Sanphillippo, Suburban Experiment, Member Post, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoJuly 12, 2021real estate, suburbs, homeowners, Homeownership, Granola Shotgun, Wisconsin, Madison

This Is the Great Reshuffling

The fallout from the pandemic is spurring a housing re-shuffling in San Francisco. And not just from people fleeing the city—but people moving to the city and within the city.

Top Story, Sanphillippo, Housing, CoronavirusJohnny SanphillippoAugust 20, 2020San Francisco, Granola Shotgun, housing, Coronavirus, fieldsteadca, California

Lazaretto Dining

Some ideas—like making sure you have an abundant, resilient food supply—seem old-fashioned or even reactionary…until a crisis hits.

Local Food, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoAugust 12, 2020Food Week, Granola Shotgun, local food

"Not for Camera View"

An urban photographer reflects on the reactions he got when he started capturing what the American urban landscape is really like—parking lots, declining neighborhoods, tract homes, and all.

Top Story, SanphillippoJohnny SanphillippoJuly 28, 2020photos, Granola Shotgun, Detroit, Atlanta, montana, Chicago, southern california

The Other Pitchforks

Laws and rules often prohibit the very things that could make our neighborhoods more resilient. Like producing more of our own food — no small consideration during a time of social distancing and fragile supply chains.

Local Food, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoMay 7, 2020Gardening, Granola Shotgun, Coronavirus, local food

Your Money or Your Life?

We were vulnerable to a crash long before coronavirus appeared. We all made promises to ourselves and each other that we never meant to keep.

Sanphillippo, Economic Development, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoApril 22, 2020Coronavirus, economics, public health, Granola Shotgun

Skinning Your Knee vs. Breaking Your Leg

A cautionary tale from the superheated housing market of San Francisco.

Sanphillippo, Housing, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoMarch 3, 2020Bay Area, San Francisco, housing crisis, Granola Shotgun, fieldsteadca, California

Middle of the Road Kentucky

All the talk about urbanism these days is dominated by places like Brooklyn, Portland, Vancouver, and San Francisco because they’re prosperous and fashionable. It’s so easy to dismiss them as anomalies.

Member Post, Top Story, Sanphillippo, Mistakes A Town MakesJohnny SanphillippoSeptember 4, 2015Granola Shotgun, urbanism, auto-oriented

Real Value

Monday Member Blog Digest: Identifying places of real versus illusory value. What is a "bad neighborhood" anyway? What is the best use of land under or next to an urban freeway? The bright future of the Midwestern "Rust Belt," and why the past isn't a good guide to the future when it comes to real estate values. Neighborhood churches as an urban litmus test. Thoughts on Pope Francis's message re: cities and urbanism. Block parties and red tape. A victory for cyclists in South Florida. When to put your time and energy into an idea when you have more of them than you can effectively advocate for.