4 ms·

I love my kansas city sprawl. It's not for everyone, but it certainty isn't sad in my eyes, or that of my friends.

cambalache 6y ago
But it is pretty sad for the rest of the world. In Latin-America our oldest cities are European-style cities, totally walkable. The new developments (say last 50-60) are mostly American-style suburban hell.
- RobRivera 6y ago
  I think you are missing my point. Beauty is in the eye if the beholder
  - tolbish 6y ago
    Did you grow up with suburban car culture? How do you know your frame of reference isn't biased?
    - waterhouse 6y ago
      Did you grow up without it? Are you biased as a result of that? Bias is practically impossible to eliminate here. (You could try to find people who moved from one place to another, and ideally limit it to those whose reason for moving had nothing to do with their preferences... and poll them. I don't know how possible that is. It likely also makes a difference at what age they moved.)
      - pdpi 6y ago
        I grew up in a car-centric country with fairly poor public transport, and have since moved to London. Here it’s genuinely faster to take public transport to most places than it is to drive. I occasionally wish I had a car (say for a weekend getaway) but it’s rare enough that I’m happy to live with rentals for those occasions.
Jommi 6y ago
Great that you like it. Your health, and the world's, however, does not. Shame about that.
- RobRivera 6y ago
  If your implication is that suburbia is a blite on mine and the globe's health.... [C I T A T I O N N E E D E D] I enjoy an hours walk with the dog daily, solid lifting program, about 20 miles a week of cardio, and a vegan diet. Doctor thinks I'm the picture of health.
  - alsetmusic 6y ago
    I think it’s pretty clear what the responder intended, but sure. Here’s a citation: https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-t...
    - RobRivera 6y ago
      No it really isn't clear what the responder intended, and the contextless data point about vehicle emissions says nothing about the implications of a suburban style city on the health of the planet.
  - Jommi 6y ago
    I don't understand how you can be so oblivious, but maybe you really just don't get it. Let me spell it out for you: Suburbia means that every trip out of the house will require a car. This is a not a living style that we can afford for everyone. Great that you enjoy it, but enabling it for everyone is simply unsustainable. Right now you are offloading it's cost externalities elsewhere: Cost on Your Health: More driving = less walking = decreased life-expectancy. More driving = more air polution = decreased life-expectancy Cost on the planet: More driving = more greenhouse gases = global warming. If you want to learn more: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/812199726/why-sprawl-could-be-the-next-big-climate-change-battle https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/812199726/why-sprawl-could-be... https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reducing-street-sprawl-could-help-combat-climate-change/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reducing-street-s...

But it is pretty sad for the rest of the world. In Latin-America our oldest cities are European-style cities, totally walkable. The new developments (say last 50-60) are mostly American-style suburban hell.

RobRivera 6y ago
I think you are missing my point. Beauty is in the eye if the beholder
- tolbish 6y ago
  Did you grow up with suburban car culture? How do you know your frame of reference isn't biased?
  - waterhouse 6y ago
    Did you grow up without it? Are you biased as a result of that? Bias is practically impossible to eliminate here. (You could try to find people who moved from one place to another, and ideally limit it to those whose reason for moving had nothing to do with their preferences... and poll them. I don't know how possible that is. It likely also makes a difference at what age they moved.)
    - pdpi 6y ago
      I grew up in a car-centric country with fairly poor public transport, and have since moved to London. Here it’s genuinely faster to take public transport to most places than it is to drive. I occasionally wish I had a car (say for a weekend getaway) but it’s rare enough that I’m happy to live with rentals for those occasions.

Jommi 6y ago

Great that you like it. Your health, and the world's, however, does not. Shame about that.

RobRivera 6y ago
If your implication is that suburbia is a blite on mine and the globe's health.... [C I T A T I O N N E E D E D] I enjoy an hours walk with the dog daily, solid lifting program, about 20 miles a week of cardio, and a vegan diet. Doctor thinks I'm the picture of health.
- alsetmusic 6y ago
  I think it’s pretty clear what the responder intended, but sure. Here’s a citation: https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-t...
  - RobRivera 6y ago
    No it really isn't clear what the responder intended, and the contextless data point about vehicle emissions says nothing about the implications of a suburban style city on the health of the planet.
- Jommi 6y ago
  I don't understand how you can be so oblivious, but maybe you really just don't get it. Let me spell it out for you: Suburbia means that every trip out of the house will require a car. This is a not a living style that we can afford for everyone. Great that you enjoy it, but enabling it for everyone is simply unsustainable. Right now you are offloading it's cost externalities elsewhere: Cost on Your Health: More driving = less walking = decreased life-expectancy. More driving = more air polution = decreased life-expectancy Cost on the planet: More driving = more greenhouse gases = global warming. If you want to learn more: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/812199726/why-sprawl-could-be-the-next-big-climate-change-battle https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/812199726/why-sprawl-could-be... https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reducing-street-sprawl-could-help-combat-climate-change/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reducing-street-s...