4 ms·

The Netherlands are tiny and flat. A single city in the US (NYC) has half the population of the entire country of Netherlands. You don't need a car in NYC, so

by ars 4y ago

The Netherlands are tiny and flat. A single city in the US (NYC) has half the population of the entire country of Netherlands. You don't need a car in NYC, so --- been there done that I guess! But the rest of the US is setup differently, and people like it that way. People who want to live NYC move to NYC, people who don't, live in places with more space.

deleted 4y ago
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airza 4y ago
>people like it that way. Even if that was true (which it does not seem to be, given that the real estate values in neighborhoods most closely resembling the netherlands in the US are among the most expensive in the country) it seems like a moot point. The cities that are built this way aren't financially sustainable and that much car usage is basically incompatible with future life on earth.
- RHSeeger 4y ago
  > which it does not seem to be, given that the real estate values in neighborhoods most closely resembling the netherlands in the US are among the most expensive in the country That statement assume "people like it that way" applies to all people. Even if 80% of the people preferred the suburbs/rural experience, the fact that city layouts are only available on a small portion of the land means that it will cost more.
thawaya3113 4y ago
I don’t understand your point. You appear to be claiming that Netherlands can achieve car free living because it’s tiny and flat, and yet you point to a U.S. city that has made car free living possible despite being nearly half the size of the entire country of Netherlands, and therefore massively bigger than any Dutch city. So which is it? Is being tiny an advantage or is it a disadvantage? Most US urban areas can easily achieve car free living the way the Dutch did. Obviously the suburbs cannot, but that does not prevent American cities from trying.
wildrhythms 4y ago
>people like it that way Have they been exposed to anything else? Be honest. I was raised in the rural midwest where there wasn't even the concept of public transportation; now I live in NYC with no car, and I've never been happier or healthier.
- RHSeeger 4y ago
  Don't assume that, because you prefer living in a city, that anyone who doesn't is ignorant. There are lots of people that know exactly what living in a city is like and far prefer to not do so (and vice versa).
  - feet 4y ago
    The majority of people I've personally met who didn't like cities didn't like them because they didn't feel like they were safe. They're literally scared of people
    - RHSeeger 4y ago
      Not a single person I've spoken to (that doesn't want to live in a city) has cited safety as a concern. That's probably because we've all worked in a city and know there are good areas and bad.
- throwaway0a5e 4y ago
  >Have they been exposed to anything else? Most city suburbs are chock full of people who used to live further in.
  - pempem 4y ago
    They often leave bc they can't afford to be further in, or the schools aren't good, white flight, or the love of a green grass yard (also btw not long for this world) Not because they dont like the density.
- nvrspyx 4y ago
icedistilled 4y ago
>and people like it that way It's nearly impossible to have an objective opinion on something that one has no example or experience of. Medieval peasants would want supermarkets and modern living if they were given the change to experience it.
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by ars 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

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airza 4y ago

>people like it that way. Even if that was true (which it does not seem to be, given that the real estate values in neighborhoods most closely resembling the netherlands in the US are among the most expensive in the country) it seems like a moot point. The cities that are built this way aren't financially sustainable and that much car usage is basically incompatible with future life on earth.

RHSeeger 4y ago
> which it does not seem to be, given that the real estate values in neighborhoods most closely resembling the netherlands in the US are among the most expensive in the country That statement assume "people like it that way" applies to all people. Even if 80% of the people preferred the suburbs/rural experience, the fact that city layouts are only available on a small portion of the land means that it will cost more.

thawaya3113 4y ago

I don’t understand your point. You appear to be claiming that Netherlands can achieve car free living because it’s tiny and flat, and yet you point to a U.S. city that has made car free living possible despite being nearly half the size of the entire country of Netherlands, and therefore massively bigger than any Dutch city. So which is it? Is being tiny an advantage or is it a disadvantage? Most US urban areas can easily achieve car free living the way the Dutch did. Obviously the suburbs cannot, but that does not prevent American cities from trying.

wildrhythms 4y ago

>people like it that way Have they been exposed to anything else? Be honest. I was raised in the rural midwest where there wasn't even the concept of public transportation; now I live in NYC with no car, and I've never been happier or healthier.

RHSeeger 4y ago
Don't assume that, because you prefer living in a city, that anyone who doesn't is ignorant. There are lots of people that know exactly what living in a city is like and far prefer to not do so (and vice versa).
- feet 4y ago
  The majority of people I've personally met who didn't like cities didn't like them because they didn't feel like they were safe. They're literally scared of people
  - RHSeeger 4y ago
    Not a single person I've spoken to (that doesn't want to live in a city) has cited safety as a concern. That's probably because we've all worked in a city and know there are good areas and bad.
throwaway0a5e 4y ago
>Have they been exposed to anything else? Most city suburbs are chock full of people who used to live further in.
- pempem 4y ago
  They often leave bc they can't afford to be further in, or the schools aren't good, white flight, or the love of a green grass yard (also btw not long for this world) Not because they dont like the density.
nvrspyx 4y ago

icedistilled 4y ago

>and people like it that way It's nearly impossible to have an objective opinion on something that one has no example or experience of. Medieval peasants would want supermarkets and modern living if they were given the change to experience it.

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