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A city limited to buildings 5-7 stories tall can get moderately bigger than a city with buildings 1-2 stories tall, but the model will fall down if it becomes t

A city limited to buildings 5-7 stories tall can get moderately bigger than a city with buildings 1-2 stories tall, but the model will fall down if it becomes too popular. Ultimately, NIMBYism and these sorts of height restrictions are a result of the city deciding that it doesn't want new people moving in past a certain point. I won't moralize that choice, but it is certainly different than the set of choices that led to a city like New York becoming so special.

krschultz 10y ago
Most of NYC is 5-7 stories tall. There are pockets of residences taller than that, but large swaths of Manhattan are about that height. Brooklyn & Queens are almost entirely that height.
- oconnore 10y ago
  Yes and it's essentially impossible ($$$) to live with a short commute to where you work, even with one of the better transport systems. Also, I think it's very unlikely that NYC would be where it is had they restricted buildings to 5-7 stories. As it is they don't have enough density.
- astrodust 10y ago
  Paris is also moderate density across the entire city, but there's also very little wasted space in comparison to most American suburbs. One of the biggest differences in these types of cities is parking is very limited or located underground, the buildings push very close to the streets, there's no excess road or empty front yards, and the buildings are mixed retail/residential. Those things make for consistently more livable environments. There's no long trek across an empty parking lot and a big lawn just to get from point A to point B.
  - WildUtah 10y ago
    Paris is moderate density? It's denser than London or New York. Similarly dense to Hong Kong. Twice as dense as Tokyo or Mexico City or Seoul. And four times as dense as the city and county San Francisco, not including surrounding sprawl.
    - astrodust 10y ago
      What I mean is the buildings themselves achieve higher density not through height but through aggressively crowding mid-rise buildings together. It also has a fairly uniform density compared to New York where you have skyscrapers in some parts and detached family homes in others. Staten Island pulls down the density average in a huge way. The result is it doesn't feel nearly as dense as it actually is. This is in contrast to Hong Kong, São Paulo, and other cities that achieve density through high-rise buildings. You're intimately aware you're in a big city when you're in the built-up cores of these.
hx87 10y ago
I'm comfortable with that choice, as long as the NIMBYism is applied to business investment and money as well as people so that people don't have to move in to take jobs. If you don't want me, then you shouldn't get my money.
Mithaldu 10y ago
If the 5-7 model fell down inevitably, then Berlin and almost all german cities would be post-apocalyptic wastelands by now.

krschultz 10y ago

Most of NYC is 5-7 stories tall. There are pockets of residences taller than that, but large swaths of Manhattan are about that height. Brooklyn & Queens are almost entirely that height.

oconnore 10y ago
Yes and it's essentially impossible ($$$) to live with a short commute to where you work, even with one of the better transport systems. Also, I think it's very unlikely that NYC would be where it is had they restricted buildings to 5-7 stories. As it is they don't have enough density.
astrodust 10y ago
Paris is also moderate density across the entire city, but there's also very little wasted space in comparison to most American suburbs. One of the biggest differences in these types of cities is parking is very limited or located underground, the buildings push very close to the streets, there's no excess road or empty front yards, and the buildings are mixed retail/residential. Those things make for consistently more livable environments. There's no long trek across an empty parking lot and a big lawn just to get from point A to point B.
- WildUtah 10y ago
  Paris is moderate density? It's denser than London or New York. Similarly dense to Hong Kong. Twice as dense as Tokyo or Mexico City or Seoul. And four times as dense as the city and county San Francisco, not including surrounding sprawl.
  - astrodust 10y ago
    What I mean is the buildings themselves achieve higher density not through height but through aggressively crowding mid-rise buildings together. It also has a fairly uniform density compared to New York where you have skyscrapers in some parts and detached family homes in others. Staten Island pulls down the density average in a huge way. The result is it doesn't feel nearly as dense as it actually is. This is in contrast to Hong Kong, São Paulo, and other cities that achieve density through high-rise buildings. You're intimately aware you're in a big city when you're in the built-up cores of these.

hx87 10y ago

I'm comfortable with that choice, as long as the NIMBYism is applied to business investment and money as well as people so that people don't have to move in to take jobs. If you don't want me, then you shouldn't get my money.

Mithaldu 10y ago

If the 5-7 model fell down inevitably, then Berlin and almost all german cities would be post-apocalyptic wastelands by now.