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> Depending on the steepness, it’s either inconvenient, or entirely impossible to use sloped areas for building things, walking, driving, or even as open spaces
by rob74 5y ago
> Depending on the steepness, it’s either inconvenient, or entirely impossible to use sloped areas for building things, walking, driving, or even as open spaces like parks. In dense urban areas, real estate comes at a premium, so it doesn’t make sense to waste valuable land on slopes. Where space is limited, it often makes sense to avoid this disadvantage by using a retaining wall to support soil vertically.
As someone born in a completely flat city and now living in another completely flat city (600 m higher, but still flat), I always kinda liked slopes, especially sloped house plots - they force architects to come up with creative solutions instead of cookie-cutter boredom. But I didn't realise how far people's dislike for slopes can go until I saw this monstrosity near Nice (France) while on holiday there: https://goo.gl/maps/zf5H1jSA855bSa4XA https://goo.gl/maps/zf5H1jSA855bSa4XA (you can take a better look in the 3D view). That's right, they must have excavated a whole lot of rock there, and are putting up with a ~ 20 m sheer rock face right next to their houses, just so they can have nice flat plots of land! Ok, it's rock, so probably more stable than a retaining wall holding back dirt, but I would still be worried living next to that precipice (either above or below) - if not for my immediate safety, then for the long term value of my property...
- orthecreedence 5y agoI live on a hill, and the driveway ends below the house, so when we need to haul up materials (gravel, lumber, etc) for various projects, it's walking up a bunch of steps and slippery/muddy hills. I don't mind slopes on their own, and in fact quite like the exercise for every day use, but when you're hauling buckets of gravel or a cord of firewood, it sure would be nice if you could just load up a utility cart and walk it over to where it needs to be (or hell, drive your truck across the yard). It's not possible where we live because of the hill. So I can absolutely relate to why people don't like to live on a hill. And for hanging out outside with friends, you can't beat flat areas. That said, the view is really incredible (we live in the woods) and we don't get water pooling in our place or flooding or anything like that thanks to some well-designed drainage, so, you know, pros and cons.
- jefftk 5y agoWhat makes you think it was excavated from a continuous slope instead of naturally being a near-cliff?
- rob74 5y agoIf you look at the area in the 3D view in Google Maps, it's pretty obvious - the plots left and right of this small neighbourhood are on a slope, just there the terrain is almost horizontal...