5 ms·

Fight for just housing/zoning policies and against NIMBYism Join orgs supporting the homeless and fighting against the criminalization of homelessness. Buy fr

Fight for just housing/zoning policies and against NIMBYism Join orgs supporting the homeless and fighting against the criminalization of homelessness. Buy from locally-owned businesses that treat their employees well. Not the gentrifying upscale cafes and restaurants and boutiques

VLM 6y ago
That stuff is nice, but in the context of OPs original request, how would any of that lower the rape rate in OPs city? Or the murder rate?
- mc10 6y ago
  Improving the quality of life for a significant proportion of the population can have major effects on violent crime. A great example is Medellín, Columbia: see this reddit post[1] for a good summary. [1]: https://np.reddit.com/r/neoliberal/comments/ib6eh2/a_tale_of_two_cities_how_medellin_transformed/ https://np.reddit.com/r/neoliberal/comments/ib6eh2/a_tale_of... (I would turn off subreddit style for now)
- mcv 6y ago
  I think the idea is that people are less likely to rape and murder each other in a city that is well-run, where people know each other, and nobody is in a desperate situation where they feel they have nothing left to lose. I think there are two big factors that drive people to crime: desperation and lack of accountability. Lack of accountability can also come from the anonymity that comes with different demographics not knowing each other. Desperation can come from poverty or extreme social inequality.
- cj 6y ago
  My guess is that violence rates increase in areas without much economic opportunity (which also incentivizes illegal means of supporting oneself financially). If that’s the case, this seems like a sensible suggestion from the GP: > Buy from locally-owned businesses that treat their employees well. Similarly, is the rate of violence connected with the affordability / availability of decent housing? If so, zoning / affordable housing initiatives as suggested by the GP may be relevant.
cactus2093 6y ago
> Fight for just housing/zoning policies and against NIMBYism With you on that one. But this is a problem of successful, growing cities and it sounds like OP is in a city in the opposite situation that is lacking in economic opportunities. > Join orgs supporting the homeless and fighting against the criminalization of homelessness. When most people complain about homelessness, they're talking about the homeless on the streets, and particularly the ones on drugs who accost the people walking by. Criminalization of homelessness might be bad for moral reasons, but letting an unlimited number of homeless people live on streets indefinitely is exactly the opposite of what almost everybody wants. We need to focus on getting them off the streets into shelters and housing, and then everybody wins because they are also not being arrested anymore. Just focusing on the "criminalization" aspect and ignoring everything else is just making the problem worse in other ways. > Buy from locally-owned businesses that treat their employees well. Not the gentrifying upscale cafes and restaurants and boutiques This one is where you've really lost me.... who do you think provides good paying jobs and can afford to treat their employees well? Businesses that are making money, such as upscale cafes and restaurants and boutiques. These are also often locally-owned.
- uberman 6y ago
  I have to concur. In general, gentrification is the clearest path to improving neighborhoods that have probably suffered as a result of "NIMBYism" elsewhere in a city. Being opposed to gentrification is a form of "NIMBYism". Gentrification is not the enemy of affordable housing.
  - throwaway0a5e 6y ago
    Is the goal to improve the neighborhood or improve the lives of the people who live there via improving the neighborhood? Gentrification kicks out whoever is already there. If they are dependent on local friends/family for support that makes their lives worse.
  - skrtskrt 6y ago
    Gentrification kicks out the people who lived there and the local business there by jacking up rents. And this is not just a pure market dynamic - cities subsidize the developers that do these projects. You won't care how "great" the new neighborhood is with its SoulCycle classes if you cannot afford to live there anymore.

VLM 6y ago

That stuff is nice, but in the context of OPs original request, how would any of that lower the rape rate in OPs city? Or the murder rate?

mc10 6y ago
Improving the quality of life for a significant proportion of the population can have major effects on violent crime. A great example is Medellín, Columbia: see this reddit post[1] for a good summary. [1]: https://np.reddit.com/r/neoliberal/comments/ib6eh2/a_tale_of_two_cities_how_medellin_transformed/ https://np.reddit.com/r/neoliberal/comments/ib6eh2/a_tale_of... (I would turn off subreddit style for now)
mcv 6y ago
I think the idea is that people are less likely to rape and murder each other in a city that is well-run, where people know each other, and nobody is in a desperate situation where they feel they have nothing left to lose. I think there are two big factors that drive people to crime: desperation and lack of accountability. Lack of accountability can also come from the anonymity that comes with different demographics not knowing each other. Desperation can come from poverty or extreme social inequality.
cj 6y ago
My guess is that violence rates increase in areas without much economic opportunity (which also incentivizes illegal means of supporting oneself financially). If that’s the case, this seems like a sensible suggestion from the GP: > Buy from locally-owned businesses that treat their employees well. Similarly, is the rate of violence connected with the affordability / availability of decent housing? If so, zoning / affordable housing initiatives as suggested by the GP may be relevant.

cactus2093 6y ago

> Fight for just housing/zoning policies and against NIMBYism With you on that one. But this is a problem of successful, growing cities and it sounds like OP is in a city in the opposite situation that is lacking in economic opportunities. > Join orgs supporting the homeless and fighting against the criminalization of homelessness. When most people complain about homelessness, they're talking about the homeless on the streets, and particularly the ones on drugs who accost the people walking by. Criminalization of homelessness might be bad for moral reasons, but letting an unlimited number of homeless people live on streets indefinitely is exactly the opposite of what almost everybody wants. We need to focus on getting them off the streets into shelters and housing, and then everybody wins because they are also not being arrested anymore. Just focusing on the "criminalization" aspect and ignoring everything else is just making the problem worse in other ways. > Buy from locally-owned businesses that treat their employees well. Not the gentrifying upscale cafes and restaurants and boutiques This one is where you've really lost me.... who do you think provides good paying jobs and can afford to treat their employees well? Businesses that are making money, such as upscale cafes and restaurants and boutiques. These are also often locally-owned.

uberman 6y ago
I have to concur. In general, gentrification is the clearest path to improving neighborhoods that have probably suffered as a result of "NIMBYism" elsewhere in a city. Being opposed to gentrification is a form of "NIMBYism". Gentrification is not the enemy of affordable housing.
- throwaway0a5e 6y ago
  Is the goal to improve the neighborhood or improve the lives of the people who live there via improving the neighborhood? Gentrification kicks out whoever is already there. If they are dependent on local friends/family for support that makes their lives worse.
- skrtskrt 6y ago
  Gentrification kicks out the people who lived there and the local business there by jacking up rents. And this is not just a pure market dynamic - cities subsidize the developers that do these projects. You won't care how "great" the new neighborhood is with its SoulCycle classes if you cannot afford to live there anymore.