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I'm getting off-topic here but can you share some resources on how low density developments are much more destructive? I'm usually very pro low density housing

by iaskwhy 10y ago

I'm getting off-topic here but can you share some resources on how low density developments are much more destructive? I'm usually very pro low density housing (and also very anti high density housing) so I'd like to have some new perspectives on this. Thanks.

vidarh 10y ago
Consider this: My local road takes up ~40,000 square metres of space all in (road, front yards, houses, back yards). That houses 660 families. Near the local train station they'll be housing that same amount in <2,000 square metres of high density housing. So to handle twice the population, we could either free up ~2,000 square metres, or re-develop the entire road two have twice the density, leading to the loss of most of the single dwelling houses and private gardens. It's not so much that low density is bad, as that not having high density takes choice away once there's no more space and you have to start increasing density anyway, often in all kinds of suboptimal ways.
- etatoby 10y ago
  Maybe city planners should borrow some ideas from CS, namely how to handle destructive operations while maintaining O(1) average cost. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_array https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_array
- iaskwhy 10y ago
  Why can't we consider expanding to new non-developed areas in this scenario? The main reason I'm anti high density areas is it's unhealthy: people are stressed, there's no sense of community, commerce space is scarce and extremely expensive to rent so { banks, supermarkets, estate agents } take all of them making any new commercial idea almost impossible to put through thus less employment too. I don't know much about this though, it's just my thoughts after living in very different areas and cities and how I feel about it.
  - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
    >people are stressed You ever asked us? >there's no sense of community Says who? Ronald Reagan? >commerce space is scarce and extremely expensive to rent so { banks, supermarkets, estate agents } take all of them making any new commercial idea almost impossible to put through thus less employment too I guess I'll go tell all the shops and such in Davis Square that they don't exist.
  - vidarh 10y ago
    > Why can't we consider expanding to new non-developed areas in this scenario? Because a lot of people want to keep relatively untouched nature too. > people are stressed I don't see any evidence that this is caused by high density living. > there's no sense of community Most suburban areas, in my experience, have little sense of community. Maybe small villages are different, but in the suburban areas I've lived, at most I knew my immediate neighbours. People often tend to drive too and from the places where they are involved in community activities. If anything, I feel more connected to communities that form separate from the residential areas, and there tend to be more of them in high density city centres. > commerce space is scarce Is it? Near me, the densest areas have plenty of available commercial units cheaply available. More importantly: Building densely allow for far more flexibility with the rest of the space.

by iaskwhy 10y ago

vidarh 10y ago

Consider this: My local road takes up ~40,000 square metres of space all in (road, front yards, houses, back yards). That houses 660 families. Near the local train station they'll be housing that same amount in <2,000 square metres of high density housing. So to handle twice the population, we could either free up ~2,000 square metres, or re-develop the entire road two have twice the density, leading to the loss of most of the single dwelling houses and private gardens. It's not so much that low density is bad, as that not having high density takes choice away once there's no more space and you have to start increasing density anyway, often in all kinds of suboptimal ways.

etatoby 10y ago
Maybe city planners should borrow some ideas from CS, namely how to handle destructive operations while maintaining O(1) average cost. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_array https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_array
iaskwhy 10y ago
Why can't we consider expanding to new non-developed areas in this scenario? The main reason I'm anti high density areas is it's unhealthy: people are stressed, there's no sense of community, commerce space is scarce and extremely expensive to rent so { banks, supermarkets, estate agents } take all of them making any new commercial idea almost impossible to put through thus less employment too. I don't know much about this though, it's just my thoughts after living in very different areas and cities and how I feel about it.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago
  >people are stressed You ever asked us? >there's no sense of community Says who? Ronald Reagan? >commerce space is scarce and extremely expensive to rent so { banks, supermarkets, estate agents } take all of them making any new commercial idea almost impossible to put through thus less employment too I guess I'll go tell all the shops and such in Davis Square that they don't exist.
- vidarh 10y ago
  > Why can't we consider expanding to new non-developed areas in this scenario? Because a lot of people want to keep relatively untouched nature too. > people are stressed I don't see any evidence that this is caused by high density living. > there's no sense of community Most suburban areas, in my experience, have little sense of community. Maybe small villages are different, but in the suburban areas I've lived, at most I knew my immediate neighbours. People often tend to drive too and from the places where they are involved in community activities. If anything, I feel more connected to communities that form separate from the residential areas, and there tend to be more of them in high density city centres. > commerce space is scarce Is it? Near me, the densest areas have plenty of available commercial units cheaply available. More importantly: Building densely allow for far more flexibility with the rest of the space.