3 ms·

You're describing a chain of events that happened, but doesn't necessarily had to occur. Firstly, the mechanism you describe where people bid up housing near tr

You're describing a chain of events that happened, but doesn't necessarily had to occur. Firstly, the mechanism you describe where people bid up housing near transit corridors also happens near highways and traffic corridors, though it is more dispersed. This effect can and has been mitigated by combining rail transit with buses or trams leading to rail stations. It is of course more effective in less suburbanized areas where density is higher. That's not to say that there's something inherently wrong with the American suburban model, it just doesn't scale well. So much space is wasted on parking lots for vehicles that stand empty most of the day. And rush hour traffic is just not fixable beyond a certain point, no matter how many lanes are added to the highways. It's just flat-out wrong to claim that non-car commutes only benefit the affluent. That's entirely dependent on how the economics of the community are set up. If there's a will to have everyone commute by public transit, there are many ways to achieve it.

KozmoNau7 8y ago
>"So much space is wasted on parking lots for vehicles that stand empty most of the day" Don't forget that these stretches of black asphalt act as giant heat accumulators, soaking up the sun during the day and keeping temperatures uncomfortably high after the sun goes down.
- yellowapple 8y ago
  That can be fixed with some trees (or better yet: captalized upon with solar panels). Parking garages are another option for more space-efficient parking
  - KozmoNau7 8y ago
    Parking garages are much superior to flat parking lots, especially if you put them underground, underneath the buildings in question. Keep the eyesores hidden. The best option would be to make neighborhoods walkable/bikeable, implement good public transit as much as possible, and offer an affordable delivery service for bigger items. Going further, it would be beneficial to abolish megastores and return to more human-sized retail outlets.
    - yellowapple 8y ago
      "Parking garages are much superior to flat parking lots, especially if you put them underground, underneath the buildings in question. Keep the eyesores hidden." Indeed. A lot of this sort of infrastructure can and should be built below-ground. Parking garages, warehouses/storage, utilities, the works. "Going further, it would be beneficial to abolish megastores and return to more human-sized retail outlets." Not sure if I follow. Megastores are nice as one-stop shops, reducing the need to drive around town to get everything. I am in favor of making them more modularized/sectionalized, such that they can be rearranged vertically (whether above-ground or below-ground) and reduce the horizontal footprint. Their similarly-sprawling parking lots also can and should be replaced with underground parking garages.
      - KozmoNau7 8y ago
        My point regarding megastores is that they squeeze out neighborhood stores, which they can do because corporate is willing to burn money to take over markets. Sterile charmless megastores are a symbol of unrestrained corporatism. I don't mind department stores, but I do have a problem with Walmart and their ilk.
        yellowapple 8y ago
        Wal-Mart as a specific example also happens to be readily affordable and available to lower-class (let alone middle-class) Americans 24-hours a day and 7 days a week. Very few neighborhood or even department stores offer that, nor do most grocers (Safeway being a notable exception). It's for that reason that I tend to appreciate Wal-Mart's existence; yeah, it certainly ain't the best employer, and I know I personally prefer shopping at the mom-and-pop stores, but I also recognize that most Americans don't have the privilege of being choosy about those sorts of things. As an additional bonus, most Wal-Marts (in my observation) will let you park your car there overnight, no questions asked. For someone who's homeless and living out of one's car, or for someone who's traveling and can't afford lodging, that's a pretty huge help.

KozmoNau7 8y ago

>"So much space is wasted on parking lots for vehicles that stand empty most of the day" Don't forget that these stretches of black asphalt act as giant heat accumulators, soaking up the sun during the day and keeping temperatures uncomfortably high after the sun goes down.

yellowapple 8y ago
That can be fixed with some trees (or better yet: captalized upon with solar panels). Parking garages are another option for more space-efficient parking
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  Parking garages are much superior to flat parking lots, especially if you put them underground, underneath the buildings in question. Keep the eyesores hidden. The best option would be to make neighborhoods walkable/bikeable, implement good public transit as much as possible, and offer an affordable delivery service for bigger items. Going further, it would be beneficial to abolish megastores and return to more human-sized retail outlets.
  - yellowapple 8y ago
    "Parking garages are much superior to flat parking lots, especially if you put them underground, underneath the buildings in question. Keep the eyesores hidden." Indeed. A lot of this sort of infrastructure can and should be built below-ground. Parking garages, warehouses/storage, utilities, the works. "Going further, it would be beneficial to abolish megastores and return to more human-sized retail outlets." Not sure if I follow. Megastores are nice as one-stop shops, reducing the need to drive around town to get everything. I am in favor of making them more modularized/sectionalized, such that they can be rearranged vertically (whether above-ground or below-ground) and reduce the horizontal footprint. Their similarly-sprawling parking lots also can and should be replaced with underground parking garages.
    - KozmoNau7 8y ago
      My point regarding megastores is that they squeeze out neighborhood stores, which they can do because corporate is willing to burn money to take over markets. Sterile charmless megastores are a symbol of unrestrained corporatism. I don't mind department stores, but I do have a problem with Walmart and their ilk.
      - yellowapple 8y ago
        Wal-Mart as a specific example also happens to be readily affordable and available to lower-class (let alone middle-class) Americans 24-hours a day and 7 days a week. Very few neighborhood or even department stores offer that, nor do most grocers (Safeway being a notable exception). It's for that reason that I tend to appreciate Wal-Mart's existence; yeah, it certainly ain't the best employer, and I know I personally prefer shopping at the mom-and-pop stores, but I also recognize that most Americans don't have the privilege of being choosy about those sorts of things. As an additional bonus, most Wal-Marts (in my observation) will let you park your car there overnight, no questions asked. For someone who's homeless and living out of one's car, or for someone who's traveling and can't afford lodging, that's a pretty huge help.