Writer. Trends, tech, economics & policy shaping cities. Bylines: New York Times, Bloomberg CityLab, MIT Tech Review, Bisnow, Fast Company. patsisson at gmail dot com.
For Commercial Observer, I looked at how Nithya Raman seeks to remake how LA does development, and why some in CRE see her as the right choice for LA mayor commercialobserver.com/2026/07/la-n...
How Nithya Raman Would Speed Housing Development in Los AngelesThe mayoral hopeful offers a blueprint for more, faster housing development.commercialobserver.comA new math equation for school districts: figuring out the right formula for affordable housing development on their property to pencil. My latest for @nytimes.com looks at attempts to develop workforce housing for teachers www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/b...
To Recruit Teachers, School Districts Are Building HomesThe nation’s housing shortage has made it challenging for some essential workers like educators to live where they work. An increasing number of school districts are trying to change that.www.nytimes.comIn farms fields across the Midwest, a new kind of automation if helping farmers deal with labor shortages. Sabanto sells kits to turn any old tractor into an automated vehicle, and the firm is growing fast. My latest for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91579524/thi...
This automation tech turns old tractors into self-driving farming machinesSabanto Tractors retrofits old machines to make them futuristic automated devices, helping farmers overcome staffing shortages.www.fastcompany.comAs the battery energy storage space booms across the US due to an insatiable appetites for electricity, investors see new ways to invest in BESS. My latest for Bisnow www.bisnow.com/national/new...
Battery Storage Is Real Estate's Supercharged New Asset ClassThe market for batteries and their storage facilities is becoming commercial real estate’s newest emerging asset class.www.bisnow.comSuddenly, things are happening at Oceanwide Plaza in LA — I listened to the hearing yesterday, published this update today, and got a press release that graffiti abatement starts in less then 24 hours commercialobserver.com/2026/07/ocea...
Oceanwide Plaza Sale Set to Advance After L.A. Drops ObjectionsAs part of the deal, a federal judge gives the buyers 90 days to scrub and remediate the ‘Graffiti Towers.’commercialobserver.comNot to be pedantic, but if I wrote a story & deliberately w/o credit copied someone’s work/ideas, I’d not only be in trouble but would face severe career consequences. If a large enough company does the same w/entire books & bodies of work, they pay a one-time fee? www.reuters.com/world/us-jud...
US judge approves Anthropic's $1.5 billion settlement of copyright lawsuitA federal judge in San Francisco on Monday signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accus...www.reuters.comIt’s a new kind of forever home: For @fastcompany.com I looked at the rise in longevity architecture, a focus on enhancing the health of a home that seems to have an expensive, very literal definition of what a “machine for living“ is. www.fastcompany.com/91576716/wan...
Want to live forever? There’s a house for thatOver-optimization is coming to your home—if you can afford it.www.fastcompany.comFor @theguardian.com Design a Better World Series, I looked at agrivoltaics, the practice of planting amid and below solar panels. Farmers get more revenue, shade and water savings, with panels creating microclimates that boost crops in a changing climate www.theguardian.com/environment/...
On a Colorado farm, solar panels bring shade for plants, power – and cash: in picturesMore than 3,000 solar panels power Jack’s Solar Garden, cool the land and help it turn a profitThe Guardian receives support for visual climate coverage from the Outrider Foundation. The Guardian’s co...www.theguardian.comIn Colorado, the practice of agrivoltaics—planting amid solar panels so the same land supplies food and power—is helping a farm generate income, vary crops, and be a more sustainable steward amid climate change. My latest for @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/environment/...
On a Colorado farm, solar panels bring shade for plants, power – and cash: in picturesMore than 3,000 solar panels power Jack’s Solar Garden, cool the land and help it turn a profitThe Guardian receives support for visual climate coverage from the Outrider Foundation. The Guardian’s co...www.theguardian.comCan a megaevelopment solve downtown LA’s woes? Fourth & Central alone can’t do it, but the massive $2 billion project certainly shows how the neighborhood may be moving in the right direction commercialobserver.com/2026/07/los-...
Downtown L.A.’s Fourth & Central Could Change the Area’s TrajectoryThe 7.6-acre project includes 1,500 housing units as well as almost 550,000 square feet of office and retail space.commercialobserver.comI’ve seen a few articles about the real estate spending expected from the AI IPO class — any articles yet about their philanthropy plans? www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
SpaceX and AI startup wealth fuels demand for private jetsAviation lawyer Amanda Applegate skipped her annual vacation last month as a surge of wealth from AI startups and SpaceX sent a wave of tech investors shopping for private jets, burying her in paper...www.reuters.comWhile investigators still examine the causes of the Boyle Heights cold storage warehouse fire, one thing is certain: mega warehouses have growing fire risks. For Bisnow, I looked at how big boxes “set the stage for larger more destructive fires” www.bisnow.com/national/new...
Industrial’s Fire Problem: Warehouses Are Bigger, Colder, Harder To SaveToday’s bigger, more technologically advanced warehouses, especially those outfitted for cold storage, are at greater risk for fire.www.bisnow.comAs flying taxis get closer to takeoff, the effort to make urban air mobility and eVTOLs really fly needs to make things work on the ground. For @bloomberg.com I looked at the push for landing sites, and challenges with cities, zoning and noise www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
As Flying Taxis Approach, Cities Are Making RoomElectric vehicles that offer ‘advanced air mobility’ have promised a transportation revolution for cities like LA and NYC. But plenty of tall hurdles loom.www.bloomberg.comLaw firms are leasing loads of space, as the legal industry rides a wave of chaos and regulatory uncertainty to create a race for talent. For Bisnow, I look at how the industry is taking advantage of a week office market to expand nationwide www.bisnow.com/national/new...
Law Firms Load Up On Office Space To Handle AI Surge, Regulatory ChaosLaw firms leased 4.6M SF of offices in the first quarter, continuing a record streak.www.bisnow.comThe AI IPO surge is already impacting SF real estate; here are the trends (wellness, security, even closets for humanoid robots) newly minted millionaires might enlist when upgrading their homes, for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91563748/min...
How newly minted millionaires could reshape San Francisco home designHammams, circadian lighting, and enhanced security are just a few of the in-demand amenities for a new generation of wealthy homeowners.www.fastcompany.comVital @awalkerinla.bsky.social reporting on LA‘s park crisis — right as they’re becoming a place to welcome the world for the world cup, LA’s parks are being forgotten when it comes to proper and needed funding www.torched.la/r/e6f3da77?m...
As LA's parks host the World Cup, the city votes to defund themWe always knew these megaevents weren't going to fix our public spaces, but we didn't expect our councilmembers to abandon them as wellwww.torched.laOne word: Plastics. Contemporary construction has increasingly utilized plastics in building apartments and other buildings. The oil crisis is showing the potential for price jumps if the impasse and supply shock continue. My latest for Bisnow www.bisnow.com/national/new...
Oil Crisis Highlights Plastics' Hidden Costs For ConstructionThe spike in oil prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East has offered a difficult lesson in the reliance that building has on plastics.www.bisnow.com