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Why are all western societies like this? East Asia doesn't hesitate to build dense apartments from Jakarta to Seoul. I don't buy the "cultural homogeneity peace

by zanny 7y ago

Why are all western societies like this? East Asia doesn't hesitate to build dense apartments from Jakarta to Seoul. I don't buy the "cultural homogeneity peaceful society" argument because the amount of cultural diversity across the half the human population living in that area is colossal. But without fail almost everywhere in the Americas and Europe is structurally against density in any form and systemically fights it.

UnFleshedOne 7y ago
It might be because west can (or could) afford to prefer low density (for a portion of people significant enough to affect laws and zoning). All those other places never could afford suburbs.
ChuckNorris89 7y ago
Easy, I live in Western Europe and they absolutely hate high density living as it's seen as eye-sore sardine housing for the poor and lower class and nobody wants to live in or around such buildings/neighborhoods as it'll turn into slums so it's a real hot potato.
TrackerFF 7y ago
There's also this quirky thought many medium-sized cities in Europe have: They want to upsides of being a "big city", but they don't want to identify as a "big city". This means: no big ugly blocks, skyscrapers, etc. People want to have spacious homes and living areas, and beautiful neighborhoods. They basically want to be suburbs, but 5 min walk from everything important, and max 30 min drive from work.
- ChuckNorris89 7y ago
  Which European medium-sized city are you referring to? I also live in a one that's quite wealthy and constantly expanding by engulfing nearby suburbs and you're right that people there want everything from suburban lifestyle with city perks but the huge downside is the commute times since the city got so wide and there's no underground, if you want to get from on side to another you're in for some hour+ commutes which in a big city would take 20 min by underground. Basically if you don't live close to your job, you're kinda screwed. Students love it since if you live in the city center you can commute by bike or foot anywhere important within minutes, but as a working adult, the work commutes are killer since most tech companies can't afford inner city rents which are mostly taken by cafes, fashion shops, architects, doctors, lawyers, banks and real estate agencies.

by zanny 7y ago

UnFleshedOne 7y ago

It might be because west can (or could) afford to prefer low density (for a portion of people significant enough to affect laws and zoning). All those other places never could afford suburbs.

ChuckNorris89 7y ago

Easy, I live in Western Europe and they absolutely hate high density living as it's seen as eye-sore sardine housing for the poor and lower class and nobody wants to live in or around such buildings/neighborhoods as it'll turn into slums so it's a real hot potato.

TrackerFF 7y ago

There's also this quirky thought many medium-sized cities in Europe have: They want to upsides of being a "big city", but they don't want to identify as a "big city". This means: no big ugly blocks, skyscrapers, etc. People want to have spacious homes and living areas, and beautiful neighborhoods. They basically want to be suburbs, but 5 min walk from everything important, and max 30 min drive from work.

ChuckNorris89 7y ago
Which European medium-sized city are you referring to? I also live in a one that's quite wealthy and constantly expanding by engulfing nearby suburbs and you're right that people there want everything from suburban lifestyle with city perks but the huge downside is the commute times since the city got so wide and there's no underground, if you want to get from on side to another you're in for some hour+ commutes which in a big city would take 20 min by underground. Basically if you don't live close to your job, you're kinda screwed. Students love it since if you live in the city center you can commute by bike or foot anywhere important within minutes, but as a working adult, the work commutes are killer since most tech companies can't afford inner city rents which are mostly taken by cafes, fashion shops, architects, doctors, lawyers, banks and real estate agencies.