4 ms·

In Seattle the “Ride Free Zone” caused the busses to be used as makeshift homeless shelters. This lead to a common sentiment that busses were smelly, unsafe pl

In Seattle the “Ride Free Zone” caused the busses to be used as makeshift homeless shelters. This lead to a common sentiment that busses were smelly, unsafe places, and it was eventually scraped. (Germany seems to have less of a homeless population than West Coast cities, so perhaps this won’t be an issue for them.)

goalieca 9y ago
So instead of fixing the problem of homelessness, Seattle decided to compromise on transportation. Is this ideological or pathological or both??
- ams6110 9y ago
  Since nobody anywhere has ever "fixed" homelessness, not really fair to criticize Seattle for not doing it.
  - eeZah7Ux 9y ago
    On the contrary, when comparing the percentage of homeless people with the average income and wealth in a city, many cities in US, including San Francisco and Seattle, stand out for their striking inequality. Many cities in other developed countries are doing much better.
  - pgeorgi 9y ago
    That sounds to me like https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819576527 https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-na... Seattle has ~3x as many homeless per population than the US average. The US has ~3x as many homeless per population than Germany. That's about one decimal magnitude of difference (at a somewhat comparable climate - San Francisco likes to claim that they have to deal with so many homeless people because of the accomodating weather) Whatever is going on in Seattle, there's likely room to improve.
    - jdminhbg 9y ago
      Not having a problem is not the same as having fixed a problem. Did Germany have a prior homeless problem that they fixed?
      - pgeorgi 9y ago
        > Did Germany have a prior homeless problem that they fixed? Do millions of displaced people after a sizable war count?
conanbatt 9y ago
Id say they are unrelated topics. Germany does not have the homelessness issue Seattle has.

goalieca 9y ago

So instead of fixing the problem of homelessness, Seattle decided to compromise on transportation. Is this ideological or pathological or both??

ams6110 9y ago
Since nobody anywhere has ever "fixed" homelessness, not really fair to criticize Seattle for not doing it.
- eeZah7Ux 9y ago
  On the contrary, when comparing the percentage of homeless people with the average income and wealth in a city, many cities in US, including San Francisco and Seattle, stand out for their striking inequality. Many cities in other developed countries are doing much better.
- pgeorgi 9y ago
  That sounds to me like https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819576527 https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-na... Seattle has ~3x as many homeless per population than the US average. The US has ~3x as many homeless per population than Germany. That's about one decimal magnitude of difference (at a somewhat comparable climate - San Francisco likes to claim that they have to deal with so many homeless people because of the accomodating weather) Whatever is going on in Seattle, there's likely room to improve.
  - jdminhbg 9y ago
    Not having a problem is not the same as having fixed a problem. Did Germany have a prior homeless problem that they fixed?
    - pgeorgi 9y ago
      > Did Germany have a prior homeless problem that they fixed? Do millions of displaced people after a sizable war count?

conanbatt 9y ago

Id say they are unrelated topics. Germany does not have the homelessness issue Seattle has.