4 ms·
Yes, and it's out of control. There are at least three different, huge co-working spaces that have popped up near my place. All were formerly businesses that
by timr 13y ago
Yes, and it's out of control. There are at least three different, huge co-working spaces that have popped up near my place. All were formerly businesses that were interesting and useful. Now they're just deadzones of douchebaggery.
Not only are these places generally providers of really lame office space (the people who congregate at co-working spaces are often the worst kind of wantrepreneur -- all talk and "hustle" and zero ability to produce anything of value), they drive up the rents for everyone else, drive out street-level retail and other businesses that help make a neighborhood livable, take up parking spaces during the day, and cause an urban flight problem, wherein everyone leaves the neighborhood when the sun goes down.
IMO, the city needs to change the zoning laws to make these sorts of office desk sublets harder to produce.
- beambot 13y agoHow can people "talk to customers" when they're packed in so closely? The proximity of those desks looks like phone calls would be awful for nearby developers' productivity. Well, it would kill my concentration -- headphones just don't cut it. Even movement in my peripheral vision is distracting (thankfully our cats sleep most of the time!).
- timr 13y ago"How can people "talk to customers" when they're packed in so closely?" Heheh. They're busy talking to you, potential customer and incidental coworker! Seriously: hate these places. Hate.
- forrestthewoods 13y ago"IMO, the city needs to change the zoning laws to make these sorts of office desk sublets harder to produce." The only reason these types of facilities exist is due to outrageous real estate prices caused by extreme regulation. The solution to regulation induced issues is rarely more tiers of regulation.
- timr 13y ago"The only reason these types of facilities exist is due to outrageous real estate prices caused by extreme regulation." Yeah, I was wondering how long it would take before someone corrected me that San Francisco's real estate prices were due to our zoning laws. Kudos to you for not disappointing me. Now that you mention it, I'm sure that our real estate prices are indeed a byproduct of the evil, evil guv'ment, and have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that this is one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
- simonebrunozzi 13y agoRents are a result of demand and offer. San Francisco has seen an incredible raise in rent costs, because more and more people (with money, evidently) want to move to SF (from elsewhere in the country, or from the South Bay).
- jpatokal 13y agoNo, it's not, and in fact it's not even close. Wikipedia quotes SF at 17,800 people per sq.mi. There are tons of cities that are double that, while Mumbai tops 80,000 and Dhaka, Bangladesh squeezes in 115,000: http://www.newgeography.com/content/002808-world-urban-areas-population-and-density-a-2012-update http://www.newgeography.com/content/002808-world-urban-areas... Not that I'm saying SF should aspire to Dhaka standards of housing, but there's way more to it than just population density, or lack thereof.
- timr 13y agoYes, of course. Because it's absolutely fair to compare prices in a city in a first-world country to ones in third-world countries, based on population density alone. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that approach. But as long as we're staring intently at the bark on the trees, you should tell me: how much more expensive is co-working space in Mumbai than in rural India? Do you get a discount if you bring your own water?
- jpatokal 13y ago