4 ms·
> Too much density decreases the quality of life. Too much of anything decreases quality of life. Everyone has their own taste, but generally speaking, if eve
by crispyambulance 9y ago
> Too much density decreases the quality of life.
Too much of anything decreases quality of life.
Everyone has their own taste, but generally speaking, if every journey out of your home has to begin and end with a parking space because you live in a pedestrian-hostile environment, that will certainly damage quality of life and the social fabric of that place as a "town".
- closeparen 9y agoThe strength of the social fabric / level of community engagement in suburbs is way higher. Not even close.
- tabeth 9y agoAny data to back that up? I'd be curious to know what the ideal density is.
- oftenwrong 9y agoThere is some debate on that point: https://books.google.com/books?id=Xk06al1sAmUC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA172#v=onepage&q&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=Xk06al1sAmUC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA... Passage begins on page 171 but I can't link to it via Google Books.
- jimmaswell 9y agoWhat do you mean by the social fabric of the town? It doesn't sound like something I'd care much about. I just go to work and sometimes the grocery store, maybe a restaurant once in a while.
- crispyambulance 9y ago> It doesn't sound like something I'd care much about. That's OK. It's a free country you can live where and how you want. But recognize that many, especially increasing numbers of millennials, feel differently and this is now reshaping the demographics of cities.
- jimmaswell 9y agoI want to know what it's supposed to amount to. Talking to people randomly on the street or on the bus?
- trgn 9y agoPretty much like a Normal Rockwell painting. A community near to you and all the advantages that come with it. - The ability to just stop by a neighbor for a drink or a chat - Somebody to give your house keys to while you're on vacation, without inconveniencing them since they live so close - Being able to call your doctor off hours in an emergency because you have a personal relation beyond your yearly visit - The grapevine that will let you know if somebody saw your kid hang-out with the trashy teenagers - Ability for your kids to walk to school, so you're not wasting your time driving them. Same for your parents, they walk for their daily groceries, instead of whining about how they no longer can drive and making you feel guilty for not chauffeuring them around - Ability to use your neighbor's car when yours is in the shop, because he doesn't need it since he generally bikes to work Basically, supreme convenience. A small town has everything you need for daily life, at your fingertips. There's redundancy and fallbacks literally around every corner for life's little setbacks, because you have actual convivial relationships with your neighbors. Some people really don't care about that. Other people really do. In America, the second group is SOL. If they want that convenience, they'll pay dearly for it. In other countries, it's the other way around. The norm is the walkable town, and the exception is the sprawling burbs.
- chc 9y agoThis seems to imply that most people in the US don't already have many neighbors within walking distance. I don't think that's the case at all, even in the sprawliest of suburbs. For most people, if you don't stop by your neighbor's house for a drink or a chat, or you don't have anyone nearby you can give your house keys to, it's because of lack of interest on one or both of your parts — not because you can't conveniently reach their door. Changing street layouts won't fix a problem that doesn't stem from street layouts.