4 ms·

The story of how Irvine went from a 93000 acre ranch in the 1960s to one of the largest cities in California is fascinating. Donald Bren, the sole owner of the

by Vonter 3y ago

The story of how Irvine went from a 93000 acre ranch in the 1960s to one of the largest cities in California is fascinating. Donald Bren, the sole owner of the Irvine Company, is now the wealthiest real estate developer in the US. It might have some parallels with how Solano county will evolve, assuming this plan goes through. The Big Plan: History of Irvine and UCI, From Ranch to Global Community https://youtube.com/watch?v=aCROhdTBZ70 https://youtube.com/watch?v=aCROhdTBZ70

vecinu 3y ago
Isn't Irvine full of strip malls, copy/paste corporate restaurants / chains and lack identity or urban planning (With public transit, lots of parks, walk-ability)? I fail to see why we would hail Irvine as a great city when it's just a money maker for the Irvine company as a generic suburb. They just happened to develop land that was in high demand due to its proximity to the coast, what else does it have going for it?
- RestlessMind 3y ago
  > full of strip malls, copy/paste corporate restaurants / chains and lack identity or urban planning (With public transit, lots of parks, walk-ability)? That sounds like ideal American suburb which a lot of Americans seem to prefer. If not, by now we would have seen it getting decayed. > as a generic suburb What's wrong with generic suburbs? > They just happened to develop land that was in high demand due to its proximity to the coast Seems to fit description of this new place too (proximity to SV and SF)
  - ProfessorLayton 3y ago
    A lot of what's wrong with generic suburbs is that they're not paying enough to cover their expenses (Prop 13 in CA) and the infrastructure that supports them is indeed decaying. Of course a lot of people prefer their expenses get subsidized.
- VirusNewbie 3y ago
  Irvine decided to put a 'strip mall' next to every major development so almost any house in irvine is a 10 minute walk from a grocery store and a handful of fast casual restaurants. They've also created a very popular 'urban-esque' area by the Irvine Spectrum, where numerous automotive HQs are, Amazon has a large presence, all within walking distance of a huge number of mid rise apartments. >I fail to see why we would hail Irvine as a great city It's one of the most popular places right now to move to. It may not be your preference, but it seems it's popular enough to have prices go through the roof.
  - vecinu 3y ago
    > almost any house in irvine is a 10 minute walk from a grocery store and a handful of fast casual restaurants. How many people actually walk in Irvine? Based on the number of highways and lanes through Irvine, you will have a very difficult time convincing me it's different from most suburbs where you leave your house and jump into a car to do anything. Putting a "grocery store" or a "handful" of restaurants near a home is useless is they don't want to use that store or restaurant. I end up having to drive 15-30 minutes RT to get to a TJ's or ALDI because the Ralph's where I live is incredibly overpriced and has horrible selection of fresh fruits and veggies. > It's one of the most popular places right now to move to Where is the data for this claim? The data I see doesn't list OC as growing. [1] The only articles saying Irvine is one of the fastest growing cities is usually local Irvine news sites and they don't even cite any data for the last year. [2] [1] https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-04-05/here-are-californias-fastest-growing-and-shrinking-counties https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-04-05/here-are... [2] https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/inside-the-issues/2022/01/13/irvine-is-one-of-fastest-growing-cities-in-the-country https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/inside-the-issues...
    - VirusNewbie 3y ago
      >Where is the data for this claim? The data I see doesn't list OC as growing. Home prices are a good indicator. I'm talking Irvine specifically, home prices have skyrocketed in the last 15 years.
dingosity 3y ago
Meh. We almost got arrested when we walked into a movie together holding hands in Irvine. After 10 minutes of harassment by the mall-cops they eventually let us go. Word of warning, Irving is not a safe space for queer folk.
- dingosity 3y ago
  lol. I think I typed "Irving" when I meant "Irvine". You would think that Irving (in the heart of the D/FW metroplex) would be a place you would encounter homophobia, given the popular opinion of Texas. But people there seemed to not care who I was holding hands with.

by Vonter 3y ago

vecinu 3y ago

Isn't Irvine full of strip malls, copy/paste corporate restaurants / chains and lack identity or urban planning (With public transit, lots of parks, walk-ability)? I fail to see why we would hail Irvine as a great city when it's just a money maker for the Irvine company as a generic suburb. They just happened to develop land that was in high demand due to its proximity to the coast, what else does it have going for it?

RestlessMind 3y ago
> full of strip malls, copy/paste corporate restaurants / chains and lack identity or urban planning (With public transit, lots of parks, walk-ability)? That sounds like ideal American suburb which a lot of Americans seem to prefer. If not, by now we would have seen it getting decayed. > as a generic suburb What's wrong with generic suburbs? > They just happened to develop land that was in high demand due to its proximity to the coast Seems to fit description of this new place too (proximity to SV and SF)
- ProfessorLayton 3y ago
  A lot of what's wrong with generic suburbs is that they're not paying enough to cover their expenses (Prop 13 in CA) and the infrastructure that supports them is indeed decaying. Of course a lot of people prefer their expenses get subsidized.
VirusNewbie 3y ago
Irvine decided to put a 'strip mall' next to every major development so almost any house in irvine is a 10 minute walk from a grocery store and a handful of fast casual restaurants. They've also created a very popular 'urban-esque' area by the Irvine Spectrum, where numerous automotive HQs are, Amazon has a large presence, all within walking distance of a huge number of mid rise apartments. >I fail to see why we would hail Irvine as a great city It's one of the most popular places right now to move to. It may not be your preference, but it seems it's popular enough to have prices go through the roof.
- vecinu 3y ago
  > almost any house in irvine is a 10 minute walk from a grocery store and a handful of fast casual restaurants. How many people actually walk in Irvine? Based on the number of highways and lanes through Irvine, you will have a very difficult time convincing me it's different from most suburbs where you leave your house and jump into a car to do anything. Putting a "grocery store" or a "handful" of restaurants near a home is useless is they don't want to use that store or restaurant. I end up having to drive 15-30 minutes RT to get to a TJ's or ALDI because the Ralph's where I live is incredibly overpriced and has horrible selection of fresh fruits and veggies. > It's one of the most popular places right now to move to Where is the data for this claim? The data I see doesn't list OC as growing. [1] The only articles saying Irvine is one of the fastest growing cities is usually local Irvine news sites and they don't even cite any data for the last year. [2] [1] https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-04-05/here-are-californias-fastest-growing-and-shrinking-counties https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-04-05/here-are... [2] https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/inside-the-issues/2022/01/13/irvine-is-one-of-fastest-growing-cities-in-the-country https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/inside-the-issues...
  - VirusNewbie 3y ago
    >Where is the data for this claim? The data I see doesn't list OC as growing. Home prices are a good indicator. I'm talking Irvine specifically, home prices have skyrocketed in the last 15 years.

dingosity 3y ago

Meh. We almost got arrested when we walked into a movie together holding hands in Irvine. After 10 minutes of harassment by the mall-cops they eventually let us go. Word of warning, Irving is not a safe space for queer folk.

dingosity 3y ago
lol. I think I typed "Irving" when I meant "Irvine". You would think that Irving (in the heart of the D/FW metroplex) would be a place you would encounter homophobia, given the popular opinion of Texas. But people there seemed to not care who I was holding hands with.