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> If you built the ornate street lamps today, even if it was in style, it would likely be decried as "unnessecary spending". I think this is one of the author'

> If you built the ornate street lamps today, even if it was in style, it would likely be decried as "unnessecary spending". I think this is one of the author's weaker points because ornate street lamps are still built and installed pretty regularly today. They're pretty common in the more pedestrian-focused parts of cities where people are actually looking at the street lamps, while the purely functional ones go in car-centric spaces.

mfb 2y ago
Yes, I've seen some brand new ornate/decorative lighting, usually on pedestrian- and bicycle-focused construction projects with grant funding, as it's expensive. Without those grants from regional/state agencies, a cash-strapped town could otherwise use the cheapest available option for lighting..
- doctorpangloss 2y ago
  The built environment is a bad example. Because Victorians are cute and twee, you can't renovate or demolish them without exorbitant costs and delays. Because brutalist structures are not cute twee, despite being more rare and historically important, you can do whatever the fuck you want to them. So if I were building a home today, and I wanted to ensure that the buyer of this land would get the most value of it, I'd hope that the architecture of my home is just interesting enough to bring me and my community joy, but not so distinct that someone new coming into the community isn't bogged down by B.S. If the author was more serious about this thread, maybe investigate why people don't have as many pictures of their family hanging on the walls as they used to. Sentimentality, not "decoration," is the thing we lost.
- ageitgey 2y ago
  My part of London has an interesting solution to this problem - the government will install new "normal" streetlights unless the residents of the street want to pay for ornate Victorian street lights. The street can vote and pay for it however they want. https://www.richmond.gov.uk/services/roads_and_transport/street_lights/replacement_street_lights/apply_for_heritage_street_lights https://www.richmond.gov.uk/services/roads_and_transport/str...

mfb 2y ago

Yes, I've seen some brand new ornate/decorative lighting, usually on pedestrian- and bicycle-focused construction projects with grant funding, as it's expensive. Without those grants from regional/state agencies, a cash-strapped town could otherwise use the cheapest available option for lighting..

doctorpangloss 2y ago
The built environment is a bad example. Because Victorians are cute and twee, you can't renovate or demolish them without exorbitant costs and delays. Because brutalist structures are not cute twee, despite being more rare and historically important, you can do whatever the fuck you want to them. So if I were building a home today, and I wanted to ensure that the buyer of this land would get the most value of it, I'd hope that the architecture of my home is just interesting enough to bring me and my community joy, but not so distinct that someone new coming into the community isn't bogged down by B.S. If the author was more serious about this thread, maybe investigate why people don't have as many pictures of their family hanging on the walls as they used to. Sentimentality, not "decoration," is the thing we lost.
ageitgey 2y ago
My part of London has an interesting solution to this problem - the government will install new "normal" streetlights unless the residents of the street want to pay for ornate Victorian street lights. The street can vote and pay for it however they want. https://www.richmond.gov.uk/services/roads_and_transport/street_lights/replacement_street_lights/apply_for_heritage_street_lights https://www.richmond.gov.uk/services/roads_and_transport/str...