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What else do you call it when a bunch of people who don't live somewhere think they know better than the people who do? I grew up in a semi-rural area with an

What else do you call it when a bunch of people who don't live somewhere think they know better than the people who do? I grew up in a semi-rural area with an exploding population. When one farmer retires and builds a neighborhood that's not that different from the existing houses, it's not a big deal. When a property developer wants to steamroll the city's zoning and put 200 apartments sharing a fence with people who've maintained the community and lived for decades with 1 or 2 neighbors, that is a big deal. When a bunch of people from out of state decide they know what a random city should look like (ahem, strongtowns), that's colonialism.

outworlder 6y ago
This, folks, is the root of so many problems. > When a property developer wants to steamroll the city's zoning and put 200 apartments sharing a fence with people who've maintained the community and lived for decades with 1 or 2 neighbors, that is a big deal. You and your neighbors own the land you have purchased. Nothing more. You don't get to dictate what others can or cannot do on land that doesn't belong to you. If someone wants to build 200 apartments, it's likely that there is expected demand for those 200 apartments. That's 200 families. So what if they are going to share a fence with you. Buy a bigger plot of land to create a buffer then. Places change and evolve. You can try to delay things as much as you want, but it's only that, a delay. And ultimately, not up to you.
- nitrogen 6y ago
  HN loves to talk about uncosted externalities, except when those externalities are imposed on someone they don't like. Drastic changes to the character of a place are an enormous burden on the people who made the place desirable in the first place. If not for the existing residents paying taxes to build infrastructure, there wouldn't be land worth developing.
JPKab 6y ago
What I love about these arguments is how arbitrary they are as to when the location has reached it's pinnacle of awesomeness and should be frozen in time from then on. "Manhattan was once a Dutch colony. Those horrible gentrifiers in Harlem need to get the fuck out, now! Harlem is for the Dutch! Colonialism!!!" The lack of self-awareness is thoroughly amusing. Racist white people in city centers could have made the exact same complaint as their neighborhoods gradually shifted to more and more minority occupants. At the end of the day, your just Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York. "Keep the invading hordes out! This is OUR land!"
- nitrogen 6y ago
  The lack of self-awareness is thoroughly amusing. The feeling is mutual, I assure you. I've lived in suburbs, city centers, rural areas, deserts, inland, coastal. I put my money where my mouth is and rented in high density new builds in downtown SF for 3 years. It was utter crap. There's no community, no shared story, and literal crap on the streets. I've also seen what happens when urbanites move out to the country; they don't know how to respect the space of others. They build monuments to anti-Native American racism right up to the edge of their property line, when they have 10 acres they could have used to gap out like everyone else. The ethos of a place is provided by the people who've lived there for a long time. That ethos can only be preserved when growth is carefully considered, and doesn't screw over the people who've cooperated for a very long time to make the place what it is.

outworlder 6y ago

This, folks, is the root of so many problems. > When a property developer wants to steamroll the city's zoning and put 200 apartments sharing a fence with people who've maintained the community and lived for decades with 1 or 2 neighbors, that is a big deal. You and your neighbors own the land you have purchased. Nothing more. You don't get to dictate what others can or cannot do on land that doesn't belong to you. If someone wants to build 200 apartments, it's likely that there is expected demand for those 200 apartments. That's 200 families. So what if they are going to share a fence with you. Buy a bigger plot of land to create a buffer then. Places change and evolve. You can try to delay things as much as you want, but it's only that, a delay. And ultimately, not up to you.

nitrogen 6y ago
HN loves to talk about uncosted externalities, except when those externalities are imposed on someone they don't like. Drastic changes to the character of a place are an enormous burden on the people who made the place desirable in the first place. If not for the existing residents paying taxes to build infrastructure, there wouldn't be land worth developing.

JPKab 6y ago

What I love about these arguments is how arbitrary they are as to when the location has reached it's pinnacle of awesomeness and should be frozen in time from then on. "Manhattan was once a Dutch colony. Those horrible gentrifiers in Harlem need to get the fuck out, now! Harlem is for the Dutch! Colonialism!!!" The lack of self-awareness is thoroughly amusing. Racist white people in city centers could have made the exact same complaint as their neighborhoods gradually shifted to more and more minority occupants. At the end of the day, your just Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York. "Keep the invading hordes out! This is OUR land!"

nitrogen 6y ago
The lack of self-awareness is thoroughly amusing. The feeling is mutual, I assure you. I've lived in suburbs, city centers, rural areas, deserts, inland, coastal. I put my money where my mouth is and rented in high density new builds in downtown SF for 3 years. It was utter crap. There's no community, no shared story, and literal crap on the streets. I've also seen what happens when urbanites move out to the country; they don't know how to respect the space of others. They build monuments to anti-Native American racism right up to the edge of their property line, when they have 10 acres they could have used to gap out like everyone else. The ethos of a place is provided by the people who've lived there for a long time. That ethos can only be preserved when growth is carefully considered, and doesn't screw over the people who've cooperated for a very long time to make the place what it is.