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> 12 floors is huge. I live 40 stories up, surrounded by a lot of green spaces because the city doesn't need to mow down natural habitats for population growth

> 12 floors is huge. I live 40 stories up, surrounded by a lot of green spaces because the city doesn't need to mow down natural habitats for population growth. 6 floors seems quaint and archaic, all it's going to cause is endless depressing urban sprawl. > There will never be enough supply in some place We can always build higher, construction techniques are only getting better. I don't see why 60 floor buildings can't be a norm in most supply constrained cities.

biztos 5y ago
I’m also on 40 (out of 76) and while we’ll probably all die if there’s an earthquake, that’s true in a lot of NIMBYtowns too. I could see whole cities of mostly >50 stories, but then unblockable views start to get immensely valuable right? So as the city fills up and you discover which locations have more durable views, you need to start tearing down those skyscrapers to replace them with more luxurious ones. Not sure if that’s dystopian, but I do quite like the view from up here.
bobthepanda 5y ago
The main constraint on taller buildings is elevators. The taller a building is, the more elevators it needs, and the more elevator shafts there are the lower the percentage of square footage available for other, paying uses. The sweet spot for residential in Hong Kong is about 30-40 stories.
tarsinge 5y ago
> We can always build higher, construction techniques are only getting better. I don't see why 60 floor buildings can't be a norm in most supply constrained cities. Because there is no way we can make infrastructure follow in the short term. Public transports are already saturated here, we could remove cars, but there is still a limit in how many people can be on the ground in streets, parcs, shops...
bluefirebrand 5y ago
I find appropriately planned urban sprawl a whole lot less depressing than living in a cube 40 stories up. Different strokes I guess.
- stjohnswarts 5y ago
  I think some people won't be happy until we're all constrained to 10x10x8' rooms in 80 story buildings to satiate their desire for density and efficiency. Maybe we should just kind of be happy with 7 billion people.
  - wolverine876 5y ago
    Perhaps people like living in smaller quarters in cities - the market seems to indicate that, based on the price per square foot people are willing to pay for urban apartments compared with ... anyplace else in the world.
  - carpedimebagjoe 5y ago
    Lolwut. Who? Ne'er-do-wells, haters, or rent-seeking bastards? (I'm in a 1400 sq ft / 130 m^2 2/2 apt in ATX.)
- carpedimebagjoe 5y ago
  Urban sprawl is awful if there's only single-occupant vehicles, bad roads, and no reliable public transport anyone wants to use ... basically, you get Los Angeles. Terrible, crime-ridden, and horizontally dystopian.
  - bluefirebrand 5y ago
    As opposed to urban densification where everyone lives in the sky and the city is crowded, polluted, noisy, crime ridden and dystopian?

biztos 5y ago

I’m also on 40 (out of 76) and while we’ll probably all die if there’s an earthquake, that’s true in a lot of NIMBYtowns too. I could see whole cities of mostly >50 stories, but then unblockable views start to get immensely valuable right? So as the city fills up and you discover which locations have more durable views, you need to start tearing down those skyscrapers to replace them with more luxurious ones. Not sure if that’s dystopian, but I do quite like the view from up here.

bobthepanda 5y ago

The main constraint on taller buildings is elevators. The taller a building is, the more elevators it needs, and the more elevator shafts there are the lower the percentage of square footage available for other, paying uses. The sweet spot for residential in Hong Kong is about 30-40 stories.

tarsinge 5y ago

> We can always build higher, construction techniques are only getting better. I don't see why 60 floor buildings can't be a norm in most supply constrained cities. Because there is no way we can make infrastructure follow in the short term. Public transports are already saturated here, we could remove cars, but there is still a limit in how many people can be on the ground in streets, parcs, shops...

bluefirebrand 5y ago

I find appropriately planned urban sprawl a whole lot less depressing than living in a cube 40 stories up. Different strokes I guess.

stjohnswarts 5y ago
I think some people won't be happy until we're all constrained to 10x10x8' rooms in 80 story buildings to satiate their desire for density and efficiency. Maybe we should just kind of be happy with 7 billion people.
- wolverine876 5y ago
  Perhaps people like living in smaller quarters in cities - the market seems to indicate that, based on the price per square foot people are willing to pay for urban apartments compared with ... anyplace else in the world.
- carpedimebagjoe 5y ago
  Lolwut. Who? Ne'er-do-wells, haters, or rent-seeking bastards? (I'm in a 1400 sq ft / 130 m^2 2/2 apt in ATX.)
carpedimebagjoe 5y ago
Urban sprawl is awful if there's only single-occupant vehicles, bad roads, and no reliable public transport anyone wants to use ... basically, you get Los Angeles. Terrible, crime-ridden, and horizontally dystopian.
- bluefirebrand 5y ago
  As opposed to urban densification where everyone lives in the sky and the city is crowded, polluted, noisy, crime ridden and dystopian?