4 ms·

This article more or less explains what I've been saying to people for years. Part of the reason cost of living is cheaper in other countries (developing/3rd wo

This article more or less explains what I've been saying to people for years. Part of the reason cost of living is cheaper in other countries (developing/3rd world for example) is because most of the cheaper ways are illegal in our country. Repeal the laws and we can live inexpensively and similarly to other less developed nations.

Animats 10y ago
America needs more slums! The suburbs of today must become the favelas of tomorrow!
- dalke 10y ago
  maerF0x0's comment includes allowing secondary suites, a practice which was once more common (think Fonzie living over the Cunningham's garage or Tim O'Hara and his 'Uncle' Martin in Lorelei Brown's garage apartment), but which, quoting from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_suite#Legal_considerations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_suite#Legal_consider... : > In many North American municipalities, secondary suites are illegal because they do not conform to the zoning or land use district the property is in, they have been developed without the proper permits, or they do not meet the local building code. However, some localities only prohibit the renting out of secondary suites, and allow occupation by a relative or guest, leading to the use of the term "mother-in-law" house or apartment. Local jurisdictions may have rules regarding allowing certain relatives to live there and rules about what, if any, rent may be charged. and from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_apartment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_apartment : > The idea of integrating garage apartments into urban planning is a key aspect of new urbanism, although many jurisdictions in the U.S. prohibit new construction of or occupancy of ADUs except for relatives. These, obviously, are not favelas.
- Mz 10y ago
  Homelessness is on the rise. There are a lot of people who would be better off in a favela than sleeping under a bridge or behind a dumpster. But, surely, America can find some happy medium where we build actually affordable housing that is decent as well. I see no reason why it has to be slum housing.
davidw 10y ago
There is tons of low-hanging fruit too - it's not like you have to axe safety laws. Stop outlawing taller buildings, parking minimums, let businesses be built near housing, and so on.
- GFischer 10y ago
  I saw an article about Portland and how smaller houses and outbuildings are forbidden in the U.S. Also, people in the U.S. have ridiculously large houses (except in S.F. and New York). 800 square foot is huge, the average 2-bedroom apartment here in Montevideo is about 600 square feet, and serves a family of four more often than not. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/style/portland-affordable-housing-solutions-tiny-homes.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/style/portland-affordable-...
  - princeb 10y ago
    you don't even have to go that small. in Singapore the typical hdb flat for a family is 2-3 br which is between 900 to 1100 sqft (but goes up to 4 brs at 1600 sqft). and on a habitable land basis it is one of the densest cities in the world. so yes you can provide liveable spaces to a lot of people and have them all in the same area at once. but they also have a state admin that controls a large proportion of residential land supply and is willing to sacrifice property prices as the main method of wealth creation (which imo is a good thing, because firstly one can never fully unlock that kind of equity in his life as long as he needs a place to stay, and second because it pulls capital away from productive sectors)
    - r00fus 10y ago
      > one can never fully unlock that kind of equity in his life as long as he needs a place to stay This is untrue. A reverse-mortgage or HELOC can easily unlock the equity while keeping your ownership stake at a safe level and allowing you to continue residing.
      - mattmcknight 10y ago

Animats 10y ago

America needs more slums! The suburbs of today must become the favelas of tomorrow!

dalke 10y ago
maerF0x0's comment includes allowing secondary suites, a practice which was once more common (think Fonzie living over the Cunningham's garage or Tim O'Hara and his 'Uncle' Martin in Lorelei Brown's garage apartment), but which, quoting from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_suite#Legal_considerations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_suite#Legal_consider... : > In many North American municipalities, secondary suites are illegal because they do not conform to the zoning or land use district the property is in, they have been developed without the proper permits, or they do not meet the local building code. However, some localities only prohibit the renting out of secondary suites, and allow occupation by a relative or guest, leading to the use of the term "mother-in-law" house or apartment. Local jurisdictions may have rules regarding allowing certain relatives to live there and rules about what, if any, rent may be charged. and from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_apartment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_apartment : > The idea of integrating garage apartments into urban planning is a key aspect of new urbanism, although many jurisdictions in the U.S. prohibit new construction of or occupancy of ADUs except for relatives. These, obviously, are not favelas.
Mz 10y ago
Homelessness is on the rise. There are a lot of people who would be better off in a favela than sleeping under a bridge or behind a dumpster. But, surely, America can find some happy medium where we build actually affordable housing that is decent as well. I see no reason why it has to be slum housing.

davidw 10y ago

There is tons of low-hanging fruit too - it's not like you have to axe safety laws. Stop outlawing taller buildings, parking minimums, let businesses be built near housing, and so on.

GFischer 10y ago
I saw an article about Portland and how smaller houses and outbuildings are forbidden in the U.S. Also, people in the U.S. have ridiculously large houses (except in S.F. and New York). 800 square foot is huge, the average 2-bedroom apartment here in Montevideo is about 600 square feet, and serves a family of four more often than not. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/style/portland-affordable-housing-solutions-tiny-homes.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/style/portland-affordable-...
- princeb 10y ago
  you don't even have to go that small. in Singapore the typical hdb flat for a family is 2-3 br which is between 900 to 1100 sqft (but goes up to 4 brs at 1600 sqft). and on a habitable land basis it is one of the densest cities in the world. so yes you can provide liveable spaces to a lot of people and have them all in the same area at once. but they also have a state admin that controls a large proportion of residential land supply and is willing to sacrifice property prices as the main method of wealth creation (which imo is a good thing, because firstly one can never fully unlock that kind of equity in his life as long as he needs a place to stay, and second because it pulls capital away from productive sectors)
  - r00fus 10y ago
    > one can never fully unlock that kind of equity in his life as long as he needs a place to stay This is untrue. A reverse-mortgage or HELOC can easily unlock the equity while keeping your ownership stake at a safe level and allowing you to continue residing.
    - mattmcknight 10y ago