4 ms·

Which is essentially the underlying plot of City of God. And which was based on a true story in the Brazilian favelas. It's just hipster hubris. If someone sug

Which is essentially the underlying plot of City of God. And which was based on a true story in the Brazilian favelas. It's just hipster hubris. If someone suggested building apartment blocks with the same square footage as those twee little houses, they would be accused of trying to warehouse the homeless, but it's actually a much better idea.

adekok 12y ago
Don't underestimate the power of green space. Having small homes in the middle of lawn, trees, and plants is much better than having small apartments in a dense apartment building. There's still the problem of services / jobs, of course. But that's a bit separate.
- normloman 12y ago
  What preserves greenspace more: 1000 people living in a tower block, or 1000 people, each with their own homes and lawns, sprawling across an entire suburban neighborhood? Of course, it's not as simple as that. Greenspace is important, which is why cities have parks.
- nilkn 12y ago
  A lot of suburban neighborhoods are surprisingly not actually all that green: small yards, no trees (because they were all bulldozed and the residents, having exhausted themselves to buy the McMansion, can't really afford to re-do the landscaping from scratch), small backyards, houses crammed next to each other. And don't forget the very large paved roads to accommodate lines of parked vehicles on the side of the road (because naturally once you have a garage you just hoard crap in it and then park your three cars on the street) and all the armored tank SUVs passing between them.
- WalterSear 12y ago
  I recommend you check out City of God to see what happens when people are housed away from economic centers - a necessity for suburban lawns, trees and plants. Moreover, these things take time to care for, and money - something that is missing, or we wouldn't be having this conversation. It's ridiculous to suggest that services/jobs don't hinge on high population densities and efficient use of space.
ams6110 12y ago
Warehousing people you don't want to deal with doesn't work either. See Cabrini Green, or other public housing disasters.
- fr0sty 12y ago
  I'm pretty sure there is at least one stopping place between 35 residents (one of the 'villages' from the article' and the 16,000 of Cabrini-Green.
- WalterSear 12y ago
  That wasn't my point. My point was that this was a worse idea than that.

adekok 12y ago

Don't underestimate the power of green space. Having small homes in the middle of lawn, trees, and plants is much better than having small apartments in a dense apartment building. There's still the problem of services / jobs, of course. But that's a bit separate.

normloman 12y ago
What preserves greenspace more: 1000 people living in a tower block, or 1000 people, each with their own homes and lawns, sprawling across an entire suburban neighborhood? Of course, it's not as simple as that. Greenspace is important, which is why cities have parks.
nilkn 12y ago
A lot of suburban neighborhoods are surprisingly not actually all that green: small yards, no trees (because they were all bulldozed and the residents, having exhausted themselves to buy the McMansion, can't really afford to re-do the landscaping from scratch), small backyards, houses crammed next to each other. And don't forget the very large paved roads to accommodate lines of parked vehicles on the side of the road (because naturally once you have a garage you just hoard crap in it and then park your three cars on the street) and all the armored tank SUVs passing between them.
WalterSear 12y ago
I recommend you check out City of God to see what happens when people are housed away from economic centers - a necessity for suburban lawns, trees and plants. Moreover, these things take time to care for, and money - something that is missing, or we wouldn't be having this conversation. It's ridiculous to suggest that services/jobs don't hinge on high population densities and efficient use of space.

ams6110 12y ago

Warehousing people you don't want to deal with doesn't work either. See Cabrini Green, or other public housing disasters.

fr0sty 12y ago
I'm pretty sure there is at least one stopping place between 35 residents (one of the 'villages' from the article' and the 16,000 of Cabrini-Green.
WalterSear 12y ago
That wasn't my point. My point was that this was a worse idea than that.