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> Can we blame income inequality? Supposedly it was higher 100 years ago and poor people were able to afford crummy houses back then. Zoning is a huge factor h
by the_watcher 9y ago
> Can we blame income inequality? Supposedly it was higher 100 years ago and poor people were able to afford crummy houses back then.
Zoning is a huge factor here - many of the "crummy" dwellings 100 years ago were in buildings/conditions that would today be illegal. Whether that's a good or bad thing (and what to do about it) is a separate question, but it shouldn't be ignored.
- Bartweiss 9y agoMy "favorite" statistic about this is that Somerville, MA has 80,000 inhabitants, but only 22 legal-today residential buildings. To be sure, a lot of Somerville is steep-staired, not-handicapped-accessible, and so on. But the most punishing regulations are also the silliest: high floorspace-to-inhabitant ratios, mandatory closets in bedrooms, punitive frontage and lawn space requirements. At a certain point this doesn't look like a mystery: redeveloping in cities is inherently expensive, and conforming to elaborate regulations means only luxury housing (or sometimes, no housing at all) can turn a profit.
- smileysteve 9y agorelevent https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/hookworm-lowndes-county-alabama-water-waste-treatment-poverty https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/hookworm-low...