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My reference on the 40 Acres comment is clearly off base and not what I intended, thanks for correcting. I thought it was primarily an American Dream relating t

My reference on the 40 Acres comment is clearly off base and not what I intended, thanks for correcting. I thought it was primarily an American Dream relating to Manifest Destiny, but per the wiki it was a lie presented to African Americans after the American Civil War. I am, however, aware of the scale of what I am proposing. A lot of the land to be controlled ends up being junk land, be it hazardous flood plain or otherwise challenging to develop, but it creates large buffer zones that constrains private development effort. Farmland is relatively expensive land because it has economic output. But that fine, call it $3000/acre. Dont buy high value farmland. Do buy un-farmable floodplain or wetlands. A lot of the land gets donated or conveyed via easement. Bigger cities will have bigger budgets to work with. You dont have to buy all the land, just strategic lands that apply pressure and create value in other forms, namely that a state park is available for all to use, a ranch is available for none. It is not laughable, it is currently being done in many cities. Probably not viable in major cities, if your frame of mind is NYC or SFO, this process will not make as much sense because its too late.

dpark 5y ago
> My reference.. No worries. I assumed you must have meant something like that. > I am, however, aware of the scale of what I am proposing… For smaller cities I could see how this might work if it’s done before they really develop. I was thinking in terms of existing large cities, where it seems intractable in part due to the existing sprawl. I can’t imagine how this would play out in Seattle (where I live) because the sprawl is already well outside the control of the city. Even if Seattle wanted to do this, all of the land is under the control of the surrounding towns (Bellevue, Kirkland, Shoreline, etc.) at this point.
runnerup 5y ago
> My reference on the 40 Acres comment is clearly off base and not what I intended, thanks for correcting. I thought it was primarily an American Dream relating to Manifest Destiny, but per the wiki it was a lie presented to African Americans after the American Civil War. I had this exact same misconception as well until a few weeks ago. I wonder how common it is! And where it comes from. Also worth noting that UT-Austin has a "40 acres scholarship" as their ultimate tier of endowment, which is a reference to UT-Austin originally receiving 40 acres on which to found their University (from the government as a land grant).

dpark 5y ago

> My reference.. No worries. I assumed you must have meant something like that. > I am, however, aware of the scale of what I am proposing… For smaller cities I could see how this might work if it’s done before they really develop. I was thinking in terms of existing large cities, where it seems intractable in part due to the existing sprawl. I can’t imagine how this would play out in Seattle (where I live) because the sprawl is already well outside the control of the city. Even if Seattle wanted to do this, all of the land is under the control of the surrounding towns (Bellevue, Kirkland, Shoreline, etc.) at this point.

runnerup 5y ago

> My reference on the 40 Acres comment is clearly off base and not what I intended, thanks for correcting. I thought it was primarily an American Dream relating to Manifest Destiny, but per the wiki it was a lie presented to African Americans after the American Civil War. I had this exact same misconception as well until a few weeks ago. I wonder how common it is! And where it comes from. Also worth noting that UT-Austin has a "40 acres scholarship" as their ultimate tier of endowment, which is a reference to UT-Austin originally receiving 40 acres on which to found their University (from the government as a land grant).