5 ms·

The official soundtrack of Houston, TX. The noise is so ubiquitous it is almost noteworthy when you can’t hear it. Paradoxically, the better the neighborhood,

by pbj1968 3y ago

The official soundtrack of Houston, TX. The noise is so ubiquitous it is almost noteworthy when you can’t hear it. Paradoxically, the better the neighborhood, the worse the noise.

varelse 3y ago
[dead]
smolder 3y ago
Maybe it's worth rethinking what a "better neighborhood" is to exclude their use. Do appraisers put extra value in manicured lawns having pesticides in them and the leaves blown off? When someone says you can't have X on your property or you need Y there to maximize the value of a property, that's all the excuse people need to act like assholes sometimes, imposing stupid HOA rules or, in this case maybe, polluting & making a racket. Edit: Seems like I wasn't far off. Stopping homeowners from making bad choices will need to include real estate agents not playing into the idea that a leaf-free, poison sprayed lawn is more valuable. > Lawn care specialists have claimed for years this strategy leads to better lawns, but it would only work if customers are willing to accept a change to the manicured status quo, a look that real estate agents and landscapers claim boosts home values and that some homeowners associations require in their bylaws.
- 1letterunixname 3y ago
  There actual is a way to define "better neighborhood" (property value or desirability) with data independent of human occupancy and qualitative appearance: count of large trees.
petermcneeley 3y ago
"Paradoxically"
1letterunixname 3y ago
It's the same wasteful, inane absurdity of Irvine, CA over-manicured emerald lawns. My late grandparents were adherents of Orientalism landscaping and interior decorating and on this train of 19th century French aristocracy subsumed by Americana. Visit somewhere like the quieter residential neighborhoods in Palo Alto where native plants and the natural look is less effort, cheaper, more efficient, and less noisy.

The official soundtrack of Houston, TX. The noise is so ubiquitous it is almost noteworthy when you can’t hear it. Paradoxically, the better the neighborhood, the worse the noise.

varelse 3y ago

[dead]

smolder 3y ago

Maybe it's worth rethinking what a "better neighborhood" is to exclude their use. Do appraisers put extra value in manicured lawns having pesticides in them and the leaves blown off? When someone says you can't have X on your property or you need Y there to maximize the value of a property, that's all the excuse people need to act like assholes sometimes, imposing stupid HOA rules or, in this case maybe, polluting & making a racket. Edit: Seems like I wasn't far off. Stopping homeowners from making bad choices will need to include real estate agents not playing into the idea that a leaf-free, poison sprayed lawn is more valuable. > Lawn care specialists have claimed for years this strategy leads to better lawns, but it would only work if customers are willing to accept a change to the manicured status quo, a look that real estate agents and landscapers claim boosts home values and that some homeowners associations require in their bylaws.

1letterunixname 3y ago
There actual is a way to define "better neighborhood" (property value or desirability) with data independent of human occupancy and qualitative appearance: count of large trees.

petermcneeley 3y ago

"Paradoxically"

1letterunixname 3y ago

It's the same wasteful, inane absurdity of Irvine, CA over-manicured emerald lawns. My late grandparents were adherents of Orientalism landscaping and interior decorating and on this train of 19th century French aristocracy subsumed by Americana. Visit somewhere like the quieter residential neighborhoods in Palo Alto where native plants and the natural look is less effort, cheaper, more efficient, and less noisy.