Image by the author.

The Nats won the World Series! WAAHOOOOOOO! And now, ever on-watch for the urbanist angle to a story, GGWash is here to shamelessly embed all of the mocking tweets the DC Council’s Twitter account posted about Houston’s zoning during the World Series.

Houston, for those not in on the joke, is the largest American city without traditional zoning. It’s generally legal there to build a skyscraper much closer to low-density houses than in other US cities. And while it’s true that zoning has serious downsides, and that Houston has other regulations that often work in similar ways, it’s also true that this is great policy wonk joke fodder.

So here you go, beginning with this first tweet from the night the Astros beat the Yankees in the final game of the ALCS:

Not everyone thinks that’s a fight worth staying in. But this is no time for debate. This is a time for puns.

Whoever runs the council twitter account liked that one so much they posted it twice.

And then, for a few unfortunate days, they put a moratorium on the zoning jokes. And the Nats lost three straight games. Finally as the World Series was set to return to Houston, @CouncilOfDC owned up to it having caused the Nationals’ setback, and brought back the puns.

By the 29th they had to stretch for a pair of ancillary puns.

After exacting a win in Game 6, they were all-in for Game 7.

And it worked! The proof is in the PUDding!

Thanks @CouncilOfDC, and thanks to the Washington Nationals!

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Tagged: dc, houston, washington nationals, world series, zoning

Dan Malouff is a transportation planner for Arlington and an adjunct professor at George Washington University. He has a degree in urban planning from the University of Colorado and lives in Trinidad, DC. He runs BeyondDC and contributes to the Washington Post. Dan blogs to express personal views, and does not take part in GGWash's political endorsement decisions.