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Alfred Twu Profile picture
Alfred Twu
@alfred_twu
California Democratic Party delegate, East Bay architect & commercial artist. Retweet/follow/like≠endorsement @alfredtwu@sfba.social
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Dec 15, 2022 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
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/ 3D views of five types of a... In the last few decades, as codes in the US have allowed large wood buildings, the hotel-style floorplan has become standard for 4-8 story apartments.

It's the most efficient plan that meets code requirements of 2 stairs. Downsides: most people only get windows on one side.
2/ a five story apartment buil...
Dec 7, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Thoughts on what AI means for artists: AI art often has a sci-fi / fantasy style to it as it's one of the last big industries for illustrators. In 1960s-70s, color photos took over most work depicting things that exist, but artists were still needed to draw things that didn't. 1/ The style of a lot of AI art - realism with high contrast and bold colors - is similar to that used in video, card, and board games, which often have sci-fi or fantasy settings. It's likely the AI was trained on images from websites such as DeviantArt or ArtStation. 2/
Dec 7, 2022 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Hello from #pinolemtg !
#VisitPinole 🍐 A meeting in Pinole city hall Most of tonight's meeting is ceremonial but we do have some public comments, including one about the need to act now to improve pedestrian safety at a downtown crosswalk #pinolemtg 🐦
Dec 6, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
I don't think I've seen a city council meeting go this late before, 2:59 am might be some kind of record.

San Mateo has a five person council but there is one vacant seat, so they are stuck at 2-2 on both filling the vacancy and appointing a mayor (who could break the tie) Like most cities where members of the city council take turns being the mayor, the process in San Mateo is supposed to be just a formality, until now
Nov 28, 2022 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
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/ China's economy today is several times larger than it was in 2000, but the lifestyle changes are more than just about a number, the two decades saw an even bigger change in mobility: high speed trains, car ownership, international travel.

With lockdowns, mobility went to zero
2/
Jul 6, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
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/ a skyscraper next to a house Houses in San Francisco sell for median price of around $2 million. Even the cheap ones are well over a million. In comparison, new apartment projects pay $100,000 to $150,000 per unit of zoned capacity for a site. (For example, 1.5 million for a site that allows 10 units) 2/
Jun 9, 2022 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
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. 🧵 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.
Mar 29, 2022 • 105 tweets • 90 min read
2022 California Housing Legislation - over 100 bills this year.
More details: alfredtwu.medium.com/2022-californi…
PDF: dropbox.com/s/36zv8r1eacjr…
Details in thread! 1/
#CALeg California Housing Legislation Highlights as of March 27, 20 More bills this year on limiting wildfire risk:
#SB1292 from @HenrySternCA: Allows cities to limit housing in fire zones & replacing the zoned capacity elsewhere. For every unit of removed from a fire zone, 2 units of capacity must be added elsewhere. leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billText…
Feb 23, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The political story behind the Gov of Texas introducing anti-trans policy is that Texas has a primary election on 3/1, & TX Governor, the TX Attorney General & the other Republicans challenging them are competing to be more extreme. This is going to be an ugly election year. It's not just social issues where there's a competition for who can be most extreme. The right wing Republicans challenging Texas's Republican governor in the primary also want to eliminate property taxes, privatize schools, etc.
texastribune.org/2022/02/23/tex…
Jan 22, 2022 • 47 tweets • 23 min read
Two dozen exciting California state & congressional candidates to watch! Details in the thread. A map of California, labeled California June 7, 2022 Primary Starting at the top, Cheryl Sudduth is a scientist running for the new Congressional District 8, created to give the diverse communities of Richmond, Vallejo, Fairfield, and Pittsburg a voice of their own. cherylsudduth.nationbuilder.com/2/cheryl
Jan 21, 2022 • 6 tweets • 4 min read
Berkeley's independent redistricting commission has released its draft city council district maps! View/comment at …ng-commission-berkeley.hub.arcgis.com or redistricting@cityofberkeley.info
1/ #berkmtg Draft Map blue showing an east and west student district anddraft map marooon, showing a downtown district and a southsidraft map amber, which is similar to current Berkeley distridraft map orange, similar to today except west berkeley is a Draft Map Blue creates two renter/student supermajority districts: D4 Downtown/Northside (92% renter) & D7 which is east of Telegraph and includes Clark Kerr Campus (87% renter). …ng-commission-berkeley.hub.arcgis.com/documents/draf… Draft Map Blue, with D4 downtown / northside and D7 east of
Nov 20, 2021 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
"We need to understand the violence and motivation and hate in order to stop it." @woodstiff leads off on today's Transgender Day of Remembrance educational event at the Fall 2021 @CA_Dem conference. 1/ Screenshot with Trans Awareness Week banner and Tiffany Wood "What leads to violence? There's anti-trans stigma, there's discrimination" @woodstiff highlights a report from @HRC at thehrcfoundation.org/reports/an-epi… 2/
Oct 29, 2021 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
Thread on the @ucsantabarbara cube dorm:
- no windows 👀
- next to airport and hazmat facility 👀 👀
- more expensive to build than normal dorms 👀 👀 👀
@UofCalifornia needs to (and can) do better
1/
 Pictures from CA Environmental Quality Act report at files.ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/271362-2/attac… giant floor plan divided in...aerial site photo showing s...a very large 11-story beige... As the saying goes, the most important things in real estate are Location, Location, Location. The cube plans to put 1 out of every 6 UCSB students next to the County of Santa Barbara Community Hazardous Waste Collection Center. At least there's a fire station next door also. 2/ google aerial photo with Do...
Sep 20, 2021 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
8 months to the 2022 California Primary: Here are 10 progressive candidates to watch! While district lines are likely to change with redistricting, it's interesting to see three geographic clusters - inland California, the Southeast Bay, and LA County. Map of California labeled "california June 7 2022 prima Let's start with the Southeast Bay. Stretching from downtown San Jose up through South and East Alameda County and home to many immigrant communities, this is one of California's fastest changing, fastest growing, and most politically exciting places.
Sep 17, 2021 • 13 tweets • 7 min read
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:
sites.google.com/view/alfredtwu… 1/ Diagram showing how SB9 can... #SB9 takes effect on 1/1/2022. Want to use it to build homes? First, check if your lot is eligible:
- SB9 only applies to lots that are zoned for 1 house. If your lot is zoned for more than 1 home, use #AB803 2/
Jun 10, 2021 • 30 tweets • 7 min read
wrote a picture book on California housing - "Rhena the House Makes New Friends" read it in the thread or at the link! sites.google.com/view/alfredtwu… 1/ Rhena the House Makes New Friends - A California Housing Sto For those who believe that our best days are still to come...

...and that wherever the country is headed,
California will get there first.
2/ Story and Art by Alfred Twu Published by Alfred Twu in Berk
Jun 8, 2021 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Enjoying the warm summer weather and the beautiful hills without eucalyptus trees. #euclife Walnut Creek has been building lots of housing around the BART station in the last few years. Quite a variety of styles.
Jun 8, 2021 • 27 tweets • 16 min read
California's legislature started 2021 with over 100 housing bills. About half are still active. The rest may return next year, or in rare cases, later this year as a gut-and-amend of an unrelated bill. Details in thread & at alfredtwu.medium.com/2021-californi… PDF at dropbox.com/s/zdhhg3qf495c… Please visit tinyurl.com/2021housingbills for the text versi Wildfires and earthquake preparedness: the direction we're going in is hardening existing buildings, and tougher codes for new buildings. SB12, SB63, and AB1329 are still active.
Jun 1, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
you laugh, but China basically borrowed California's flawed property tax system and dialed it up to 11 - taxes are based on original purchase price, homeowners pay nothing at all. Trying to change it is now a major headache for the government. researchgate.net/publication/32… Commercial property gets taxed at "1.2% of 70-90% of original value" which is almost the same as California property tax of 1% of purchase price. Private residential houses aren't taxed at all. what could go wrong?
researchgate.net/publication/32… Image
Apr 2, 2021 • 14 tweets • 4 min read
It’s time to go all in on growth. We got to build lots of wind & solar, etc. When we get to 100% clean energy, will we shut down what will then be the country’s largest industry, or will we keep building and grow incomes & the economy 7.5% a year to 4 times its current size? 1/ A person stands in a Statue of Liberty style position holdin Renewable energy is different from fossil fuels in that most of the work is done up front. While a constant sized fossil fuel workforce equals constant (or shrinking) energy production, a constant sized renewable workforce equals continuous energy growth. 2/ Energy Efficiency and Renewable Power — 3.6 million jo
Apr 2, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Today in vaccine eligibility expansion: Alabama announces April 5 as the day when everyone 16 and up can sign up for vaccines. Additional counties opening up in Hawaii as well. 1/ With the state expecting a 50% increase in doses delivered, Alabama - which had already opened eligibility to more than half the state - set Monday as the day the rest are eligible. wsfa.com/2021/04/02/ala…