4 ms·

Would cities be more desirable for a lot of people if they were only made up of college-educated (or college-viable) people? I think for a lot of suburban dwell

Would cities be more desirable for a lot of people if they were only made up of college-educated (or college-viable) people? I think for a lot of suburban dwellers, their main concern is quality of the public schools. Enable them and their kids to be surrounded by other highly educated people who place high value on schooling, and they'll come back in droves.

lotsofpulp 6y ago
Being able to discriminate against residents is the reason colleges can have the high density walkable neighborhoods they do. Much of the value proposition in moving to spaced out neighborhoods requiring cars is that you filter out people who can’t afford cars or driving longer distances.
- DubiousPusher 6y ago
  I see this levelled a lot, especially by urban dwellers but I've never met this person that moved to the suburbs so they wouldn't have to see a pedestrian. Most people I'm aware of move out because they have some innate claustrophobia, like a little more nature, want to have a garden, want to have a workshop. Is there some low key xenophobia prevailing in the burbs? For sure. Are a lot of them bothered seeing homeless people because they're no longer used to it? For sure. Do a lot of them vote against policy that might alleviate poverty because it's easier to judge the empoverished from a distance? For sure. But I really don't think that's the fundamental motivator for people to move. Everyone needs an Oasis. Some people find it in the stacks at the library, some in their own bedroom and some on 1/4 acres of manicured lawn and bushes.
  - lotsofpulp 6y ago
    > But I really don't think that's the fundamental motivator for people to move. It’s not xenophobia, or any other ideological hate for others. It’s simply the result of optimizing for your own kids’ outcome. The country dismantled mental health care facilities and the law doesn’t allow for involuntary committals. The country’s drug policies and lack of economic opportunities created addicts who may not be able to be helped. Overall, we don’t have the stomach for the necessary wealth transfer needed to fix broken families (providing poor parents with sufficient wages and time off and healthcare so they still have time to be at home with their kids). As an individual, there isn’t much you can do to in the timeframe of raising your kids to solve these issues. So you do the next best thing (if you can afford it). You run away from the problem as much as you can. Which also helps exacerbate the issues. And it’s all part and parcel of the increasingly wide wealth/income/opportunity gaps.
SulfurHexaFluri 6y ago
Do private schools not exist in your area? In my city in Australia there is a public city school which is perfectly fine but contains people of all backgrounds and then there are a few private schools if you want your kids to only associate with people of a similar background.
thescriptkiddie 6y ago
Efficiency and progress is ours once more Now that we have the Neutron bomb It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done Away with excess enemy But no less value to property

lotsofpulp 6y ago

Being able to discriminate against residents is the reason colleges can have the high density walkable neighborhoods they do. Much of the value proposition in moving to spaced out neighborhoods requiring cars is that you filter out people who can’t afford cars or driving longer distances.

DubiousPusher 6y ago
I see this levelled a lot, especially by urban dwellers but I've never met this person that moved to the suburbs so they wouldn't have to see a pedestrian. Most people I'm aware of move out because they have some innate claustrophobia, like a little more nature, want to have a garden, want to have a workshop. Is there some low key xenophobia prevailing in the burbs? For sure. Are a lot of them bothered seeing homeless people because they're no longer used to it? For sure. Do a lot of them vote against policy that might alleviate poverty because it's easier to judge the empoverished from a distance? For sure. But I really don't think that's the fundamental motivator for people to move. Everyone needs an Oasis. Some people find it in the stacks at the library, some in their own bedroom and some on 1/4 acres of manicured lawn and bushes.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  > But I really don't think that's the fundamental motivator for people to move. It’s not xenophobia, or any other ideological hate for others. It’s simply the result of optimizing for your own kids’ outcome. The country dismantled mental health care facilities and the law doesn’t allow for involuntary committals. The country’s drug policies and lack of economic opportunities created addicts who may not be able to be helped. Overall, we don’t have the stomach for the necessary wealth transfer needed to fix broken families (providing poor parents with sufficient wages and time off and healthcare so they still have time to be at home with their kids). As an individual, there isn’t much you can do to in the timeframe of raising your kids to solve these issues. So you do the next best thing (if you can afford it). You run away from the problem as much as you can. Which also helps exacerbate the issues. And it’s all part and parcel of the increasingly wide wealth/income/opportunity gaps.

SulfurHexaFluri 6y ago

Do private schools not exist in your area? In my city in Australia there is a public city school which is perfectly fine but contains people of all backgrounds and then there are a few private schools if you want your kids to only associate with people of a similar background.

thescriptkiddie 6y ago

Efficiency and progress is ours once more Now that we have the Neutron bomb It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done Away with excess enemy But no less value to property