It's tax return filing season in the United States, and the anticompetitive tax preparation companies are being less than helpful as usual. If you trade stocks and bonds in the markets (or more wisely just use a roboadvisor like Wealthfront or Betterment), you may be scratching your head when it comes to reporting tax-exempt income … Continue reading Handling Tax-Exempt Investment Income with H&R Block
What Roles Can Planners Play?
So you’ve developed an interest in urban planning, started pursuing higher education to become a certified planner, or just want to know how you can get more involved in your local community’s planning decisions? The good news is that there is a wide range of possible roles for aspiring urban planners – but for those … Continue reading What Roles Can Planners Play?
On Quiet Quitting
As someone who has thought a lot about worker productivity & engagement over the years, watching the #QuietQuitting trend unfold across the globe over the past few months has been fascinating. https://youtu.be/iVLiRWD3gAM From what I can tell, “quiet quitting” is actually a confluence of several macro trends, listed here in order of short- to long-term: … Continue reading On Quiet Quitting
Consulting vs. Public Sector Jobs in Planning
As someone new to the urban planning profession, I was often curious about the various types of jobs available to planners and asked extensively about this during my informational interviews with practitioners in the field. I learned that planners generally work either in government (public sector), consulting firms (private sector), or non-profit (advocacy) organizations. I … Continue reading Consulting vs. Public Sector Jobs in Planning
Reflections on Career Change
Around two years ago, I finally committed to a decision that I had been contemplating for the better part of a decade beforehand. I would retire from the tech industry and pursue a brand-new career in urban planning, a field that had piqued my interest ever since high school. (Yes, I did stereotypically play a … Continue reading Reflections on Career Change
The Tragedy of Lowell High School
Across the United States, few high schools attract as much national controversy as Lowell High School. This elite magnet school in San Francisco is famous for its academic rigor, competitive culture, and demographically skewed student body (57% Asian as of this writing). "This is what alumni get to brag about" -- Ian Wang Throughout California, … Continue reading The Tragedy of Lowell High School
Conclusions from the Tech Remote Work Survey
This is the final post in a series about a study on the post-pandemic travel patterns of remote tech workers. See the original research proposal, a set of early findings, or the deeper statistical analysis that led to these takeaways and conclusions. You could also just watch a 3-minute condensed presentation of all of this, … Continue reading Conclusions from the Tech Remote Work Survey
Further Analysis from the Tech Remote Work Survey
Building on the early findings from a survey of over 900 tech industry employees, five key insights have been derived through a series of regression-based analyses. They answer long-standing questions such as "what will make workers finally return to the office?" and "is there really a mass exodus happening from Silicon Valley?". Warning: this post … Continue reading Further Analysis from the Tech Remote Work Survey
Roll out the red carpet for transit
Our best answer to the looming traffic congestion crisis Note: This op-ed won Honorable Mention in the Martin Wachs Memorial Essay Contest hosted by the Eno Center for Transportation. See the original published version as well as a brief summary video here: https://youtu.be/AZyzL13psFc As cities across the United States recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and … Continue reading Roll out the red carpet for transit
Early Findings from the Tech Remote Work Survey
Last month, I launched a survey for employees in the tech sector designed to illuminate trends in travel patterns during this era of widespread remote work. It asked participants to share details about their work and non-work trips, as well as potential interest in relocation. Here I will share some early findings, though keep in … Continue reading Early Findings from the Tech Remote Work Survey
Brisk Mobility 