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In many cases this idea is illegal under local zoning laws which is....unfortunate.
by harryh 9y ago
In many cases this idea is illegal under local zoning laws which is....unfortunate.
- joering2 9y agosame goes with going underground. Nothing stops us from having -100 stores underground in NYC or LA or SF. We know how to lay water pipes, AC, deliver air, supplies, create emergency plans, etc... the only problem --- zoning laws :( edit: was referring to places where you cannot build up anymore, such as sky scrapers in NYC
- ufo 9y agoBuilding underground is much more expensive than building up.
- harryh 9y agoI lived in NYC until very recently and was kinda sorta apartment shopping. One place I looked at had the common areas on the ground floor, the bedrooms on floor -1 (with small windows that looked up to grates through holes in the ground) and then a windowless basement on floor -2. It was kind of neat actually and pretty cheap (relative to similarly sized places in the neighborhood) due to being on the ground floor and below.
- cgb223 9y agoIsn't there some kind of law against a living space without access to windows? I'm all for the idea, but I don't get claustrophobic very easy
- icebraining 9y agoYes, in the NYC administrative code: Lighting Requirements: All bedrooms must have at least one window that opens to a street, yard, or court on the same lot. The window may also open to a balcony that opens on a street, yard, or court. The total area of the windows in the room must at least be one-tenth the floor area of the room. All required windows must be at least twelve square feet in area.
- icebraining 9y agoSo, making underground excavations in one of the most built up pieces of land on Earth. Doing that safely would cost a pretty good penny, so you'd have to sell them as "luxury" condos, but who in their right mind would spend that kind of money on a windowless hole, rather than living a bit further on a regular condo? I'd bet zoning is not the only thing keeping that from happening.
- cc439 9y agoThe water table is a pretty obvious barrier to that in all 3 cities you mentioned.
- smsm42 9y ago> -100 stores underground in NYC or LA or SF I don't know about NYC but California is an earthquake-prone area. Making underground housing that can withstand a serious quake would be quite a challenge. And imagine trying to rescue people from -100th floor after one...
- junkscience2017 9y ago"In-law" units are now being fast-tracked in many communities, which is a variant of this.