Issue No. 40Week ending Sunday, October 4, 2026803 episodes · 3,510 write-ups
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Why Building a Crosswalk in LA Is Kafkaesque

With Joe Weisenthal, Tracy Alloway, Bill McBride, Zach Lasry · Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Recorded live at the Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles, hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway speak with housing analyst Bill McBride and real estate developer Zach Lasry. The panel explores the shifting economics of commercial and residential real estate, the regulatory hurdles of building municipal infrastructure like crosswalks, zoning and parking constraints, and how autonomous vehicles could reshape city architecture.

Key takeaways

  • Bill McBride points out that accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in California are clogging neighborhood streets by adding density without adding off-street parking spots. Read more →
  • Real estate developer Zach Lasry models tenant curation on film distributor A24, seeking out independent chefs and artists rather than safe corporate chains like Shake Shack. Read more →
  • Getting approval for a single crosswalk at the intersection of Clinton and Western in Los Angeles took multiple years, only for the city to inform the developer that construction would still take "a few years or more." Read more →

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