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> cities of course do that all in the name of public parking no matter the opportunity cost Cities do not give away public parking. Either you have to pay for

> cities of course do that all in the name of public parking no matter the opportunity cost Cities do not give away public parking. Either you have to pay for it (metered parking), it's provided "free" to customers only (i.e. paid for by the profit margin on goods and services), or it's only available to people who live in an area (i.e. those people paid property tax, either as owners or renters). > everything but housing will do, presumably Housing doesn't solve rampant drug addiction, theft, mental illness, and laziness. The article in the OP literally cites trash accumulating, rats running rampant, and vehicle fires spontaneously occurring. That is not the environment that a rational person occupies.

stefan_ 4y ago
If you think any of these things can pay for the equivalent square feet housing cost, I have a bridge to sell you. Parking is a fantastically inefficient use of space and obviously only remains when propped up artificially. I guess you just lack imagination and or empathy. That's one way to look at it but it so far has a zero success track record at solving these problems.
- thepasswordis 4y ago
  Those square feet are basically worthless without the city around them. So yeah, actually I think they probably could pay for the square footage they take up.
- ceeplusplus 4y ago
  Even in Shanghai and Shenzhen, which have much higher density than NYC and the best public transit system in the world, people still use cars and like having parking space. The product you're selling - public transit and high density walkable neighborhoods - isn't very appealing to most people. Public transit is slow, dirty, and dangerous. Neighborhoods without enough parking just force people to Uber everywhere or take public transit, raising the cost of living and wasting people's time. Smaller, hyperlocal grocery stores have inferior selection, higher prices, and worse quality than places like Costco. And these aren't problems you can fix with more funding. Public transit is slow because NIMBYs block trains from running at high speed in most neighborhoods. It's dirty and dangerous because there is no political will to screen riders or to arrest vagrants. Smaller grocery stores suffer from inferior economies of scale, so they never will compete with places like Costco in price. The price of basic goods like bananas in a bodega type store is triple what it would be at Costco. $1.29-1.99/lb for bananas vs. $0.50-0.70/lb at Costco. And the Costco bananas will be bigger and in better condition than the ones at the bodega. Make the comparison with baked goods like muffins or croissants and it's no contest.
  - mbg721 4y ago
    Public transit isn't slow, dirty, or dangerous in Tokyo. The problem is, you have to be culturally Tokyo to make that happen.

stefan_ 4y ago

If you think any of these things can pay for the equivalent square feet housing cost, I have a bridge to sell you. Parking is a fantastically inefficient use of space and obviously only remains when propped up artificially. I guess you just lack imagination and or empathy. That's one way to look at it but it so far has a zero success track record at solving these problems.

thepasswordis 4y ago
Those square feet are basically worthless without the city around them. So yeah, actually I think they probably could pay for the square footage they take up.
ceeplusplus 4y ago
Even in Shanghai and Shenzhen, which have much higher density than NYC and the best public transit system in the world, people still use cars and like having parking space. The product you're selling - public transit and high density walkable neighborhoods - isn't very appealing to most people. Public transit is slow, dirty, and dangerous. Neighborhoods without enough parking just force people to Uber everywhere or take public transit, raising the cost of living and wasting people's time. Smaller, hyperlocal grocery stores have inferior selection, higher prices, and worse quality than places like Costco. And these aren't problems you can fix with more funding. Public transit is slow because NIMBYs block trains from running at high speed in most neighborhoods. It's dirty and dangerous because there is no political will to screen riders or to arrest vagrants. Smaller grocery stores suffer from inferior economies of scale, so they never will compete with places like Costco in price. The price of basic goods like bananas in a bodega type store is triple what it would be at Costco. $1.29-1.99/lb for bananas vs. $0.50-0.70/lb at Costco. And the Costco bananas will be bigger and in better condition than the ones at the bodega. Make the comparison with baked goods like muffins or croissants and it's no contest.
- mbg721 4y ago
  Public transit isn't slow, dirty, or dangerous in Tokyo. The problem is, you have to be culturally Tokyo to make that happen.