4 ms·

Cities don't need to grow far upwards if they just throw out cars. 3-5 floors are plenty

by Abekkus 5y ago

thetinguy 5y ago
Tell that to delivery drivers
- paranoidrobot 5y ago
  When talking about "throwing out cars" I suspect what most would mean is re-architecting cities to be less car-dependent. Walkable cities with well integrated public transit and mixed retail, restaurants/cafes and residential, so that you don't need a car to go and do your grocery shopping, get a coffee or even most regular purchases. Many (most?) European cities are like this to a greater or lesser degree - you still get deliveries, but you can walk, or ride a bike, or catch a bus/tram/metro to most places you want to go. You don't eliminate cars, but driving a car isn't the default option because it's more convenient not to. But if you need a car for something, well, that's still an option.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - davidw 5y ago
    > Many (most?) European cities are like this to a greater or lesser degree - you still get deliveries, but you can walk, or ride a bike, or catch a bus/tram/metro to most places you want to go Yes! Where we lived in Padova, Italy, transportation was a 'right tool for the job' situation. We did have a car, and used it from time to time, but we also walked, biked and took transit, depending on what we needed to do.
thereisnospork 5y ago
Agreed 3-5 is plenty; one of the worst parts about these sorts of overly-onerous regulations is that the regulatory overhead and expense is per project and not per floor or per dwelling. This makes it all the more difficult for 'modest' or 'common-sense' upward development.
davidw 5y ago
I've always loved this article comparing different kinds of growth in the real world: https://www.sightline.org/2017/09/21/yes-you-can-build-your-way-to-affordable-housing/ https://www.sightline.org/2017/09/21/yes-you-can-build-your-... I'm a 'Montreal' guy, and you sound like one too from your comment, but everyone has different tastes.
ciphol 5y ago
Very little of California is 3-5 floors, it's mostly 1-2. This "environmental" law is preventing the construction of 3-5 floor buildings.

Cities don't need to grow far upwards if they just throw out cars. 3-5 floors are plenty

thetinguy 5y ago

Tell that to delivery drivers

paranoidrobot 5y ago
When talking about "throwing out cars" I suspect what most would mean is re-architecting cities to be less car-dependent. Walkable cities with well integrated public transit and mixed retail, restaurants/cafes and residential, so that you don't need a car to go and do your grocery shopping, get a coffee or even most regular purchases. Many (most?) European cities are like this to a greater or lesser degree - you still get deliveries, but you can walk, or ride a bike, or catch a bus/tram/metro to most places you want to go. You don't eliminate cars, but driving a car isn't the default option because it's more convenient not to. But if you need a car for something, well, that's still an option.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- davidw 5y ago
  > Many (most?) European cities are like this to a greater or lesser degree - you still get deliveries, but you can walk, or ride a bike, or catch a bus/tram/metro to most places you want to go Yes! Where we lived in Padova, Italy, transportation was a 'right tool for the job' situation. We did have a car, and used it from time to time, but we also walked, biked and took transit, depending on what we needed to do.

thereisnospork 5y ago

Agreed 3-5 is plenty; one of the worst parts about these sorts of overly-onerous regulations is that the regulatory overhead and expense is per project and not per floor or per dwelling. This makes it all the more difficult for 'modest' or 'common-sense' upward development.

davidw 5y ago

I've always loved this article comparing different kinds of growth in the real world: https://www.sightline.org/2017/09/21/yes-you-can-build-your-way-to-affordable-housing/ https://www.sightline.org/2017/09/21/yes-you-can-build-your-... I'm a 'Montreal' guy, and you sound like one too from your comment, but everyone has different tastes.

ciphol 5y ago

Very little of California is 3-5 floors, it's mostly 1-2. This "environmental" law is preventing the construction of 3-5 floor buildings.