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"Aren't cars awesome?" "Sure are!" "Now you can drive to the store!" "Awesome!" "And now you HAVE to drive to the store!" "Uh..." "And now you have to drive pretty much everywhere to get anywhere!" "Stahp..." "FOREVER!"

@PanGalacticGargoyleBlaster

2 жыл бұрын

"dont cars make travel so much quicker??" "sure do yay!!" "You can travel so much farther!" "Yeah nice!!" "work and shopping can be so much farther away from where you live!" "that's true" "everything is so so spread out now!" "uh.." "its more affordable to live an hour from work! and there's traffic and parking to worry about!! AND its not even POSSIBLE to do a small grocery shop without driving because it's no longer walkable and there's no public transport!!" "please no" "oh and there's basically no other option other than to drive if you want to go anywhere ever!!!!"

@XMANIAFLYYY

2 жыл бұрын

@@PanGalacticGargoyleBlaster yeah, in America.

@malcolmzellars8803

2 жыл бұрын

And drive away from people that don't look like you. In other words, you can easily be xenophobic.

@edwardmiessner6502

2 жыл бұрын

@@PanGalacticGargoyleBlaster 😱 *"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!"* 😫

@mjbset93

2 жыл бұрын

Pretty much. We idiots here in America.

A friend of mine from Germany came to Miami, he specializes in walkable cities, when we were driving he asked me: are the people in Miami paranoid, violent and suffering from anxiety? and I said yes! how do you know? He said: because I do not see anybody walking in the streets, the sidewalks are full of obstacles and here you are in a box, get on another box to go to another box, there is no human interaction, you can spend an entire month or even a year without knowing someone new. That sort of isolation develops anxiety, reduces social skills, people get angrier easier and develops sexual frustration too.

@T1ddlywinks

2 жыл бұрын

You just described why I masturbate at least 20x a day.

@mmhoss

2 жыл бұрын

I'm gonna give a TED talk on the restrictive urban planning --> furries pipeline; during which I'll promote my book on how The Manhattan Project contributed the creation of hentai.

@Monsterpala

2 жыл бұрын

@@mmhoss I d love to hear that

@JR-of5hp

2 жыл бұрын

@@T1ddlywinks I do it 25 times a day. First lier don’t stand a chance lol

@gooble69

2 жыл бұрын

I think there is a video on this, the psychological effect of a car-oriented city vs walking. With cars you have to have more big roads, which makes it harder to walk anywhere and isolates people socially. You also need big horrible car parks, and garages and gas stations which are all inhospitable places etc. When you walk your local neighborhood you encounter strangers regularly and learn to deal with that and it breaks down barriers and builds communities. In a car you can never socialize with another car user, so it quite often turns into hating them for going slow/cutting you off/taking your park etc. It creates more barriers. The impact of cars on would be truly horrific if you did a thorough analysis. I'm not anti-car, I own one too, but our cities should be designed for humans first, not cars first.

I'm an American and I had no idea what he was referring to whenever he said 'other options' until he listed examples. Made me realize I only thought there were two options for housing: a single family home or an apartment. Like, just the idea of any alternatives or in-betweens is foreign to me, and I know its foreign to a lot of my family too.

Here in Germany, basically the whole city center is compromised of my favorite kind of house (at least for the city): Shop, with 1-3 floors of apartments above. Perfect example of the walkable neighborhood, where it's literally closer to go into the shop, compared to going to your car.

@MichelleNovalee

Жыл бұрын

Yes, I miss living in Hamburg, Germany.

@masha8770

Жыл бұрын

While I was a student, I lived in an apartment building in a pedestrian shopping street, directly above an ice cream store. The daily temptation...

Growing up in Scotland, I was SO confused the first time I ever played the Sims as a child because I had literally no idea that entire neighbourhoods made up of single family homes on their own lots was a thing elsewhere. I was devastated that I couldn't build my parents place, which is in a wee terrace of flats. Now I live in suburban Winnipeg and I feel like I'm stuck in the Sims and can't escape!

@NotJustBikes

3 жыл бұрын

Hah. I like suburban Winnipeg described as "stuck in the Sims" 😂

@max_208

3 жыл бұрын

same kind of confusion happened to me when i first tried city skyline

@gordonwalford2983

3 жыл бұрын

@@NotJustBikes Not just in aesthetic, but the fact that you have to drive across bland, featureless suburbia to do literally anything outside of your home feels like waiting on a loading screen. Except that if you don't concentrate on that loading screen you crash the car and die. Fun times!

@collan580

3 жыл бұрын

@@max_208 Yeah it was so strange. Where i live most 4 story buildings have shops on the ground floor and in the suburbs we have small grocery stores, pubs etc. scattered around the neigborhood

@grietjepietje1

3 жыл бұрын

Omg same confusion and disappointment here!

As a European who has lived in the States, there is a strange difference that I have noticed but never understood until these videos. namely that in the US poor people tend to be in the center of cities and better off people in the suburbs (hence the term "inner-city") but in Europe it's the other way around, wealthy people live in the city cores, middle class in the close suburbs and the poor people in the far suburbs.

@marcowen1506

3 жыл бұрын

Not all cities. Manchester (UK) has poor suburbs nearer the city centre and most of the wealthier suburbs are near the edge of the city. If you are really rich, you live in a one of the neigbouring towns to the south.

@panzerkami2381

3 жыл бұрын

@@marcowen1506 No, not all, that's why I wrote "tend to be".

@rcmrcm3370

3 жыл бұрын

@@panzerkami2381 What, you expect people to read your comment exactly as you wrote it?

@paxundpeace9970

3 жыл бұрын

Quite accurate. Yes expensive mixed used residential in the center. Then midsized to singel homes in the core area around the city center built often post WW2 sometimes before. Then midrise affordable housing along the corridors and in the outskirts.

@xanadu8468

3 жыл бұрын

@@marcowen1506 That goes for all of the English speaking world, including Britain and Ireland, the reverse situation only concerns 'continental' Europe...

I never really questioned why I never saw European style homes in Canada, just sorely noticed it. I would never have imagined it is illegal to build though. Its so depressing when you're driving in, say, Alberta, and the first thing you see of a city are acres and acres of the same, single family, house with one massive grocery store in the shape of a warehouse in the middle of it.

@pointillism7426

2 жыл бұрын

Montreal ?

@BirdmanDeuce26

Жыл бұрын

you could name any major city in Canada at the moment, sadly. I was going through a walk in a neighbourhood near my place in Mississauga, and had the weirdest sense of deja vu passing by a house that had a pool in the back. I later realized that their setup was *exactly* the same as a friend's house all the way over in _Oakville_ down to the layout.

@EliteEpicGamerz

Жыл бұрын

Me when i drive through Calgary and i enter the bowl. That view is actually disturbing. I even noted to my brother that there wasnt a SINGLE store in sight except for ONE costco near the end

@CBR-650R

Жыл бұрын

As a Central European I can only say be careful what you wish for. One reason I love to visit the US and Canada is the amount of single-family homes built and owned. It's something I will never be able to achieve in Germany. I have to live in a small condo complex with neighbors right behind my walls and sunrays entering only one side of it through 1 window forever. This doesn't feel like a home but more like a prison. Every time I step into a single-family home I never wanna leave.

@qamilfoatov

Жыл бұрын

@@CBR-650R it’s sad you have to live somewhere you call a prison. didn’t you mind to move somewhere if the illumination and noise cancellation are important to you?

I didn't realize you couldn't just walk out to a small store to grab something in most places in North America. I lived in Indonesia for 12 years and currently live in Germany and both here and there, I can walk 5-10 mins out my door and grab a bag of flour, a carton of milk, and most other necessities.

@harrys2331

Жыл бұрын

If you are lucky you can. Otherwise it’s a 5-10 minute drive

@lisaahmari7199

Жыл бұрын

The problem is actually even worse than that. Many of us have little stores near us....sort of like 7-11's....but with healthier food choices. However; they charge you for the convenience of being able to walk there. All prices are marked up by one to three dollars. Just a stab in the back to those too poor to have a car. A bus will take you to the big grocery store.....but it will be a 30 min ride with two changes to het there and another 30 min back. Would be nice if the government could max prices on bread, milk, and a few other necessities so these little neighborhood stores would have to cap those. Very few of them carry fruits and veggies, which also sucks.

@harrys2331

Жыл бұрын

@@lisaahmari7199 In Hungary, all small towns have a small convenience store that is sized relatively the same as the ones in the US, however they also carry veggies and meat. The snacks and stuff are not as plentiful but all the badic stuff is covered plus more.

@RellikReyalp

Жыл бұрын

@@lisaahmari7199 thats the case for many small stores everywhere regardless of country. Maybe not a markup of 3 dollars but definatly a markup. Because they cant buy big enough bulk to lower the prices from the suppliers.

@lisaahmari7199

Жыл бұрын

@@RellikReyalp ah! That does make sense.

Here in Japan, it is normal to live in area with mix of different types of housing options. My neighborhood has apartments, townhomes, single family homes and convenience stores all mixed together.

@yumasquires

3 жыл бұрын

Japan is definitely a very pedestrian-friendly country

@mikei6605

3 жыл бұрын

There are "suburbia" inspired neighbourhoods in Japan though, especially in the countryside and near farms. But they are much more naturally formed than the creepy American ones and tend to be close to several pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods too.

@carstarsarstenstesenn

3 жыл бұрын

@@mikei6605 there's nothing wrong with having suburbs but the US went overboard. that's why people call it "suburbia" or "suburban hellhole"

@Stoffmonster467

2 жыл бұрын

Usually it is mixed, besides in the villages , to mix rich and poor and not to have ghettos, and in city design you care for the needs of the quarter, too: school, doctor, community center, shops...

@Biden_is_demented

2 жыл бұрын

@@Stoffmonster467 There is another factor that hasn´t been talked about, which is the wood construction nature of these suburbia. With houses made of wood, it isn´t just the street that has to be repaired after 20 years. With brick and mortar houses, you slap a coat of paint and the house is ready for the next 20 years. With wood houses, chances are the house needs to be razed. Things like wood mites, water infiltration, fire hazzards, and other things that destroy the wood, and turn a 500.000 dollar house into a pile of firewood. That´s something i never understood. Why build out of wood? It´s not like they are cheaper, you have to pay a lot more in maintenance, and heat.

Fun fact: most mid-rise buildings like the ones at 5:09 are under 5 stories tall because if you build above 5 stories, you have to include an elevator in the building, wich would be expensive

@KoenPrins

3 жыл бұрын

hah, I came here to comment this!

@jlandheer

3 жыл бұрын

It used to be like that but nowadays it is 4 floors or more has that requirement. This is valid for new buildings only current buildings do not have to be changed for this. (Article 4.24 bouwbesluit in The Netherlands)

@petitkruger2175

3 жыл бұрын

wow that reminds me of the soviet blocks where most are 5 stories or less to not have to buy a lift edit 1: yes i have watched thee city beuatiful video, is very good

@obi-wankenobi4056

3 жыл бұрын

@@petitkruger2175 yeah this guy mixed up mid high byildings with commieblock buildings lol

@Tristanimator_

3 жыл бұрын

@@obi-wankenobi4056 i did not mix them up

There’s been one huge change since this video was published and that is at single-family zoning does not exist in California anymore. The state legislature has effectively said that communities have not managed their housing well and so the state came in and eliminated single family housing zoning.

I love how the angry American comments just prove his point... I have lived in a semi-detached house half of my life, in a detached house the other half, and yes the American way of building housing is very limited. That's a very American thing to think that proposing more choices (in this case, housing) is an attack on their "individual freedom". Is freedom living in neighborhoods whose houses are literally copied and paste? Nothing wrong with single-family detached house, I love them too, but at least in Europe there are more variations.

That last set of houses where the garages completely dominate the front elevation must be the some of the most depressing homes I've ever seen.

@mimikal7548

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah I thought the exact same thing. No view at all except for the small back yard.

@borp6912

3 жыл бұрын

And the entire home looks into the one next to it. Are those at least sky lights lining the roof?

@ryanscott6578

3 жыл бұрын

And Americans defend that. It's insane.

@driver8703

3 жыл бұрын

There is a neighborhood just outside of Memphis where there is a row of 7 houses just like that, exact same shape as those, garages offset and everything. They are just different bright colors.

@ItsmeDee777

3 жыл бұрын

Welcome to cookie cutter housing, it's commonplace.

it's a little ironic how limiting "the land of the free" is when it comes to building codes, and zoning 🤔

@FireStormOOO_

3 жыл бұрын

The smallest little feifdoms with the least real power are the worst tyrants. The tiny injustices that don't cause easily measured harm often go unchallenged, at least until long after they're entrenched.

@lzh4950

3 жыл бұрын

The more authoritarian countries might thus smell blood I guess

@borp6912

3 жыл бұрын

...Almost like propaganda...

@joriankell1983

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, and look at the nations that don't have codes like that. They're shit. Zoning laws suck in general but they have their purpose

@ska042

3 жыл бұрын

@@joriankell1983 Like most western european countries? They have zoning laws, just less limiting ones.

The line he said "Car-dependent suburbia with asphalt as far as the eye can see" is so true, everytime I go to places like that it just feels awful, barely any trees, and it just feels depressing to be in. Why cant we have a alternative...

@nataliekhanyola5669

2 жыл бұрын

Yup!!!!

And every time the missing middle pops up, the demand for it is so high, the property values make it unattainable as low income housing. So people continue to think it doesn't solve the problem because "it's not any cheaper than the other houses, but it's smaller!" It's expensive because it's scarce! Build more and it will be an option for people!

@Panetierre_

2 жыл бұрын

It also sounds like economic pressure to do more of that, since there's obvious demand and it's more profit per lot for the developer, and it's more efficient maintenance per resident for the city. It's wild how this problem ever came about.

@Mantisman6233

Жыл бұрын

Developers don't want to sell for less. They want to make as much profit as possible off every project. They are incentivized to keep inventory as low as possible and demand (and thus, prices) high to maximize profit.

@Panetierre_

Жыл бұрын

@@Mantisman6233 That's only possible when there's essentially a cartel. Otherwise, you make more money selling more units for a long time, and each individual developer has an incentive to sell 10 units rather than 1; sure, it's a little less profit per unit, but you made it 10 times. Maybe the developers are acting as a cartel. But the difficulty securing authorization to develop do the same thing. If they aren't allowed to build 10, then the 1 they can build had better have the best margins available. So what I found wild is that cities (and each level of government) would let it get so difficult to build housing. Particularly, the kinds of developments that are cheaper for the city to service.

What the "I don't want to live in a concrete box in the sky" crowd doesn't understand is that allowing middle housing lets their dream house become cheaper, because less sprawl frees up all kinds of land on the outskirts.

@taekatanahu635

3 жыл бұрын

Also if an area is designed with a variety of housing options from the get-go, you can have fundamentally the same suburb with same population size but with considerably more free space! Which can be used for recreational areas and such. All that just because the population is distributed _slightly_ differently. I understand not everyone likes density, but the way American suburbs are planned makes them more crammed than they need to be.

@jborrego2406

2 жыл бұрын

But that mean more ppl be able to buy an some ppl don’t want to live next different ppl

@questioner1596

2 жыл бұрын

@@jborrego2406, that's unfortunate but probably true for some people. A diverse community helps to see others' points of view, and avoid bigotry through understanding.

@evegreenification

2 жыл бұрын

@@jborrego2406 we shouldn’t all need to suffer for the comfort of haters

@SantaFishes101

2 жыл бұрын

that makes me feel a little better about it, because no one is gonna pay me to live in a fucking apartment with people who can start fires and unsafe regulations.

As someone that lives in one of thee "new" neighborhoods (with 25% single-family, 35% apartments, 35% quad-/duplex, 5% assisted-senior), it sorta sucks. Not because of the people and housing: that part is great. But like most European things the USA tries to adopt, they forget an important part of the recipe. There are no local business to walk to, even if there are plenty of walking paths and parks. So everyone needs a car, and most households need more than one. There isn't enough parking, because they used the 'reduced parking' guidelines that only work for mixed-use neighborhoods. So it's all the disadvantages of living in the suburbs, with all the taxes and other problems of living in the city. At least it's closer to work.

@NotJustBikes

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I see the same thing in Canada. The original draft of this video had some stacked townhouses built in Oakville, Ontario. But they were built at the very, very, very far edge of town with nothing around them. So it's all the downsides of dense housing without any of the benefits.

@paxundpeace9970

3 жыл бұрын

Without mixed use development it sucks .

@josecampos7157

3 жыл бұрын

Do you also have a homeowner's association? Because that is the worst. A government in itself that is always an oligarchy.

@michaelcartmell7428

3 жыл бұрын

@@josecampos7157 There is an HOA. After several years of meetings, what I've learned is: most people never have a problem with the HOA, and a few (loud) people have constant conflicts with them. The main difference appears to be who actually read the restrictions before buying the house, and who only found out after breaking the rules (or wanting to). Maybe once per year at the meetings there is a legit complaint (The new speed bump is diverting water into my lawn and flooding it). Once per month there is a grey area that needs to be addressed (Should the local school be allowed to close a back street for an event, even though they aren't, technically, residents?). More often is where there is something that is out of scope for the HOA to address, but people want the HOA to take care of it anyway, and when it isn't addressed, they complain to the HOA, even though the HOA is powerless (The nearby road is being used as an impromptu drag-race track that makes a lot of noise). Most often is people complaining about very clear rules that they agreed to when they bough the house, and that they like everyone else following, but don't think should apply to themselves (I love looking at trees, but I want to cut down all of mine so I don't have to rake leaves). Included in that last group are a lot of people that think they're being clever trying to find loopholes (Technically, I'm not running a car body shop out of my garage. The official address is downtown, and I just happen to do most of the actual metalwork in the driveway.).

@RickJaeger

3 жыл бұрын

One of my favorite types of mixed use buildings I'm seeing slightly more now is apartments/flats on top and restaurants/shops on the bottom-most floor. When we can decentralize shopping somewhat, it will have a knock-on effect on housing, and vice versa.

Huh, wow, this really explains things. I watch a lot of videos of people going on walks in Japan (I find it relaxing), and was really surprised by how the cities were laid out. The same was true when I visited London a while back as well. I had just assumed they were the way they were because they were “older cities”, but the more I’ve watched the videos the more I’ve noticed that some of what I’m looking at is newer development… Being in the US has definitely skewed my perspective. I’ve spent so much time in this paradigm it simply never occurred to me that our strict zoning laws were having this kind of effect. And it’s funny because my wife and I have complained, quite often, about how we can never find apartments to suit our needs and how we don’t really want a house and about how it’s so hard to find “townhomes” in our area. But what was really strange to me, that made no sense until watching this video, was that these “in between” housing solutions didn’t exist _despite_ the fact I know several people who want them. I had thought maybe I was in some strange microcosm and magically surrounded by folks who all happened to be part of this weird fringe of folks who wanted “in between” housing. Apparently turns out that’s not true, the market demand is indeed there……… But now I know why we don’t see that kind of housing so much, it’s because our zoning laws are far stricter than I had previously realized. I’m so used to living in places with strict zoning laws that it simply never occurred to me that we could drop all that nonsense and just be more like Japan (and other urban areas not in NA). Well fun, I guess I have something new to be unreasonably annoyed with.

@jasonreed7522

2 жыл бұрын

I definitely think that zoning laws should be much looser in the us. Or atleast could be rephrased from "single family homes only" to "must fit the neighborhood and be ubder certain polution thresholds" (including noise and light polution) This way you can get more stuff in walking distance and let a mix of housing types exist in proximity without standing out. You can hide lots of things as basically a standard house by just having a nice facade and sticking to 3 stories or less. Also people need to realize that if you love a single family home in the countryside, that the best way to get more of them is to let people live in other housing types so they don't eat up the market you care about. (Its really simple and yet so many want to enforce their way of life on others harming themselves in the process).

@enjoyslearningandtravel7957

2 жыл бұрын

@@jasonreed7522 I wish I knew how to get a change from the streets zoning just single neighborhood houses.

@birdyandthebees3077

2 жыл бұрын

I literally joined the planning review commission of my town because I was tired of feeling annoyed about this! And I’m meeting people all throughout the county government (in a rural island archipelago north of Seattle) who also want to see things change in a more livable direction, especially as we have a major housing/affordability crisis and the highest economic disparity in the state. But it’s crazy to see how much beaurocratic red tape they have to go through to change a single zoning ordinance or building code! Also reason why I’m learning methods of natural building with my friends so we can just take home into our own hands 💪

@CarlosBronze

2 жыл бұрын

where does one go for videos of people going on walks in Japan?

@justmoritz

2 жыл бұрын

Fellow rambalac enthusiast? kzread.info

We recently bought the terraced home we’ve been living in for 5 years. We originally wanted to move to a single family home, but our kids have so many friends in our dense neighborhood that it just didn’t make sense to move… Our friends across town on a street with huge single family houses complain that there are no neighbor kids for their children to play with.

It's interesting how New York, the largest city and symbol of the US, is also the only city that doesn't follow classic American city layout, meaning that in a sense, by visiting the largest and most famous city in the US, you aren't truly experiencing the US with its terrifying unwalkable streets and ugly stroads.

@namenamename390

2 жыл бұрын

New York is an outlier in almost all categories, it's quite fascinating.

@MrParanoiaAgent

2 жыл бұрын

Calling the majority of the streets of New York walkable and implying they aren’t ugly is a bold claim.

@robertlock5501

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrParanoiaAgent Hahah - what i was thinking too XD

@TalussAthner

2 жыл бұрын

New York isn’t the only one, San Francisco doesn’t follow much of that layout either (except in certain pockets), but there’s not many besides those two.

@MrParanoiaAgent

2 жыл бұрын

@@TalussAthner I think older parts of most older American cities have a more traditional layout, but lots of older downtown areas also get bulldozed over time.

Older US cities tend to have more middle housing, I've noticed. For example, parts of Washington DC feel very much like a European city

@JessicaLescarbeault

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I live in Montreal in Canada and I also thought that this video didn’t really apply in terms of what it says North American cities look like…

@racsaman2

2 жыл бұрын

I was shocked on a return visit to DC where I grew up to see what has happened to all the old housing that had character. Now it all glass boxes along M street not far from Georgetown.

@annotter2150

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah in Philly there's row homes. My house is 100 years old. Small but big enough near a subway entrance. Many families with a couple kids live in these middle houses.

@creepydoll2872

2 жыл бұрын

Yes we have houses of all types like this in Baltimore, Maryland

@bray_1617

2 жыл бұрын

there’s quite a few in chicago iirc

Alot of the housing duplexes and middle sized apartments looked alot like the Canadian universities dorms and campuses where students have to walk and use transportation the most. Where you also see students be happier with less and feel alot more like a community

@elenachristian9860

2 жыл бұрын

I was so happy as a student. Worked two jobs and had no money but that was the best time of my life, and I spent it on a bicycle. It's my goal now to construct my life now to resemble the way I lived then.

@alvallac2171

2 жыл бұрын

*A lot Two words, not one. Think of it like this: a few, a little, a bunch, a _whole_ bunch, a lot, a _whole_ lot.

@hamingnu6610

2 жыл бұрын

I used to go to a college campus for my High School studies (still do, but where I live - we can't have face-to-face classes just yet). The massive amount of independence I had in that place was absolutely... Tear-jerking. I don't really come from a place that's as horrible to small-scale transport as American Suburbia, but I'm still in a place that's bad enough to let my parents justify a relative amount of isolation. This isn't really my parents' fault, this is truly a function of how possibly hostile the environment was to pedestrians, just outside our residential neighborhood. But, being able to congregate with a bunch of other students in that large campus where everybody walked everywhere was amazing. Needed to print something? It's a few minutes of walking away, but I didn't need to ask my mom to drive me around or something. I'd pass by the food outlets (thankfully we have those at our school) and a lot of the time, I'd buy things along the way. At the end of it all, I'd finish the trip satisfied. Then I had to go home later in the day, resorted to a bus that's going through traffic-full streets, full of cars - because most people here when given the option, will always easily resort to a car because the alternatives aren't reliable enough, unless you're simply unable to afford to drive. Some people also have the impression that cities with less car-oriented design principles would be worse for those who are; old, or physically disabled. But, a person with a wheelchair could go around our school just fine. There were a few steps here and there, but those were soon solved by the installation of well-designed ramps. There are cities that could be like this, but instead are car oriented and therefore the only solution for these people is to make sure they can afford someone to drive them around in a car. That's expensive, and that's not good. If need be, it's gonna be vastly much cheaper to hire a nurse who'll for example; Take my grandmother around, if she can't trust herself out in the city. That's only gonna be possible if the city isn't full of cars on roads that are too suggestively-'speedy' for their own good because of stroads, and the like. Within cities, walkability + a lesser emphasis on car dependency is crucial. I literally cannot say much more than that.

@raymondhsu6407

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah in much of the US your university is the last tightly-knit community you’ll live in until a retirement home

@Soraskysenpai

2 жыл бұрын

I currently live in a "college town" and we have so many different kinds of housing but we don't even have a train station to go to the nearest big city. Have to drive 25 mins to the train station to take the hour long train drive into the city 🙃

This would be a game changer! I’ve always wanted to live somewhere where you didn’t have to literally drive everywhere. Wanna go to the grocery store? Well that’ll be about a 30 minute walk. This also makes it harder to find public transportation. It’s almost like their setting it up against the poor/middle class 😕

@xu.

Жыл бұрын

30 minutes? That's insane. It takes me 5 minutes to walk to the nearest grocery store.

@MichelleNovalee

Жыл бұрын

I miss living in Hamburg, Germany. I had an Aldi across the corner and a Lidl a block away. And so many coffee shops and bakeries and produce stands on the street I lived on, Fulhsbüttler Straße. Never owned or needed a car when I lived there.

@anjabone9177

Жыл бұрын

@@MichelleNovalee Greetings from Hamburg!!!! I have multiple subway stations each 5-10 minutes away and bus stops closer, right outside my front door. I also have an edeka 5 minutes away, a lidl 7 munutes away, a penny 8 minutes away, and in the other direktion another edeka 10 minutes away. The streets around me have cafes and parks and make me feel so glad to have moved here after mostly growing up in suburbian virginia, usa

@stevenbass732

Жыл бұрын

Move to a city center.

@xu.

Жыл бұрын

@@stevenbass732 Kinda sad. I live in a small town in Norway and it only take me 5-7 mins to walk.

7:29 As a person who lives in Holland. This is the worst home lay-out I've ever seen.

@burgerpommes2001

3 жыл бұрын

No windows on 3 sides

@makke_ba4571

3 жыл бұрын

kinda looks like a barn

@yoavshati

3 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't call these homes... They look like their owners just get off-loaded inside for the night so they can drive again tomorrow

@yewnew

3 жыл бұрын

Lol, my comment is almost identical 😄

@dand5829

3 жыл бұрын

We Americans think it's asinine too. Builders build them because they're cheaper to build. People buy them because there's a housing crisis many parts of the country.

Man, I've lived in The Netherlands for all my life and never quite understood North American infrastructure, so these videos are massively helpful in understanding how getting around and housing in my daily life differs from what it's like in the US or Canada. Thank you for your hard work!

@brandonking1737

3 жыл бұрын

I've lived in Canada my whole life and I don't understand it either

@sleekoduck

3 жыл бұрын

You could come to visit for a few months when the pandemic is over. You would probably understand a lot after that. I would suggest a normal city, not something unusual like SF or NYC. Those two cities are unique.

@bob-ny6kn

3 жыл бұрын

The USA is +/- 250 years old. Your lot were still throwing shit out your windows, onto the streets at 250.

@boldvankaalen3896

3 жыл бұрын

@@bob-ny6kn Your writing is a bit cryptic, but are you suggesting that currently Europeans empty their toilets into the street?

@bob-ny6kn

3 жыл бұрын

@@boldvankaalen3896 Europe dumped sewage "out their window." Rome did their best to add plumbing to bring water and remove waste. You did not have The Plague because your houses were beautiful. My cryptic point was, a young country may need to age to get things "right." The US has their chosen style(s) of building.

There is a neighborhood in Houston that has all the same characteristics as the one in Toronto. The Heights is a very old neighborhood with small apartment buildings, neighborhood scale shopping, single family homes, and more recently mid-rise buildings, it’s a neighborhood that changed a lot in the last 10-20 years and nowadays is one of the most desirable places to live in Houston. It still has long ways to go, like creating bike lanes or improving public transportation, but I believe this will happen this decade. It would be so amazing to see a video studying The Heights in Houston.

@machtmann2881

2 жыл бұрын

People love walking around the area during Christmas for the lights in the Heights for a reason!

@Dasim6786

2 жыл бұрын

I’m surprised he didn’t mention houston. Townhouses are pretty much the only new construction homes inner loop and it’s been that way

@JasonFain

Жыл бұрын

He hates Houston, he even has a video about it. He points out a lot of bad aspects of Houston (though he briefly mentioned a few neighborhoods and bike lines in downtown). Most “urban planners” dislike Houston because without zoning you can’t “plan”. However the market approach shows that dense, walkable neighborhoods (the Heights, midtown , Montrose) will be (re)built and sustained when the market has demand for it.

@sunilshahani4890

Жыл бұрын

I live in clear lake and it’s suburban hell. The heights, montrose, upper Kirby are all way more desirable

@TeeTafoya87

Жыл бұрын

He already shit on Houston, but there was no mention of The Heights. I know that neighborhood and it is very desirable and like some other commentors mentioned, the people do seem happier and more in touch with their surroundings.

My soul cried out in ecstasy when the image of the cottage court set up was shown. I wish with every fiber of my being that those would become a much bigger thing here in the US!

Meanwhile in Ireland a mid-height building is called a skyscraper.

@fietsenOveral4650

3 жыл бұрын

Oh the term "skyscraper" is very in vogue in the US too to describe anything that's >2 stories - developers spend months litigating with "community interests" over a couple meters in height.

@barvdw

3 жыл бұрын

In many places. I mean, you could argue a 4-story apartment block would be out of place in a smallish village, but some think Dublin or Brussels or Frankfurt are villages, too, it would seem. I've heard people genuinely argue 3-story buildings are more than high enough in Brussels... Where 19th-century townhouses often had 4 to 5 stories...

@pssst66

3 жыл бұрын

Same thing in Norway unfortunately.

@gorg8882

3 жыл бұрын

Lmao true lad

@eoinbertwistle9972

3 жыл бұрын

The elysian😅

I recently moved into a 2 bedroom apt in Baltimore into a building similar to the ones shown in 4:20. Before this I grew up and lived the first 30 yrs of my life in the DC Suburbs. When I tell you my quality of life has never been better than it is now. 10 minute walk to the grocery store, 5 minute walk to the library, 3 world-class hospitals within a maximum 15 minute walk, and a 10 minute bus ride to downtown and the inner harbor. I have never known what it was like to truly live in a community until I moved to this city in this particular neighborhood. I don't know if I could ever go back to living in the suburbs.

@NotJustBikes

3 жыл бұрын

Yep. You've seen the light and now you can't go back.

@ME-hm7zm

3 жыл бұрын

I'm also wanting to move to Baltimore for much the same reasons. Love visiting.

@jnyerere

3 жыл бұрын

​@@ME-hm7zm You should definitely go for it. I love this city. It's really a hidden gem.

@ME-hm7zm

3 жыл бұрын

@@jnyerere Working on it; gotta get enough money to move, then land a job. Fortunately I'm in IT so it's probably not that hard to find something up there.

@frigginjerk

3 жыл бұрын

I visited Baltimore for the first time a couple years ago and enjoyed it. As a tourist, I only walked around and took a little public transit, and I had no problems getting around to what I wanted to see.

With modern city planning in Europe, it seems the idea of any major redevelopment is to ensure all services that residents need are within walking distance, or if something is unable to be within walking distance, public transport to get you to it must be a short walk away. This seems like the ideal way of doing things! I live in a small village, in a rural area of Somerset, England. Within walking distance, I have a supermarket, takeaways, pharmacy, a doctor's surgery, a dentist, post office, primary education, and parks. I also have a bus stop, which takes me to the next town over where there is secondary education, more shops etc, or I can go to the larger town still, where there's things like hospitals, higher education, links to the national rail network and airports etc... I'm 37, and as yet have not needed to own a car. Would make life a bit more convenient, sure, but I'd much prefer public transport be improved instead.

This really explains everything! I am a Turkish person living in Toronto, Canada and I was always feeling something is missing in the Canadian cities, I was telling myself and to my friends: “There isn’t enough walkable space and streets in the city, there isn’t something like La Rambla or Istiklal”. Now with this video it all makes sense. Now I have a comprehensive explanation. Thanks a lot and 100% approve!

@angelicajacobs584

Жыл бұрын

I agree...if you have lots of money you can have a walkable space ...I live in one of these buildings he described a low rise triplex in Toronto and there's nothing walkable in my area... No restaurants, bars, shopping cept for one bank, Timmies, starbys and no frills. There could be if people actually put businesses in instead of keeping land for profit.

You have to remember that the oil industry has a strong interest in building houses far spread out and miles apart from where people work.

@thekingoffailure9967

3 жыл бұрын

... I didnt even think about that

@TheLusianPopa

3 жыл бұрын

car builders too same for builders of roads, bridges viaducts etc they are all in on it

@Account.for.Comment

3 жыл бұрын

And the construction builders and home maintenance megastores. But most importantly the people. They want the suburbs thinking that it would raise their profile and safety. They voted for the zoning laws to stop it from being a mixed zone so that it is quiet and the price not to drop. Corporations create demands so that the people supply them with money. The core issue is the people themselves, work more to buy more to work more.

@ieatlemons288

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheLusianPopa No there not because the government makes the plans

@huntsbychainsaw5986

3 жыл бұрын

Some people just prefer a rural lifestyle too you know. Urbanization isn't a solution for all of us.

In the United States, controlling the supply of housing via zoning restrictions artificially keeps housing prices high, which is profitable for the few who can afford to buy homes. Zoning restrictions are why your rent goes up every year. Housing doesn't abide by Supply and Demand, because supply is intentionally kept low to make it worth more.

@rogerwilco2

2 жыл бұрын

Nearly every place has zoning restrictions. In the Netherlands zoning is actually quite restricted. But not car centric. It often even tries to promote liveable, walkable neighbourhoods. It does control the supply of houses probably even more than in the USA.

@scottanderson2871

2 жыл бұрын

The few? 65% of Americans own homes that isn’t a “few” that can afford homes.

@dougbrowning82

2 жыл бұрын

@@scottanderson2871 If you're still paying a mortgage, you don't own your home, your bank does.

@scottanderson2871

2 жыл бұрын

@@dougbrowning82 wow, if you live in a country where eminent domain exists or property taxes exist you don't own your house either. Why, because your property taxes can be raised at a moments notice and can be used to foreclose on your home by the state. It happened in the great depression. So by your totally failed logic nobody owns a home, even those with a note in hand.

@dougbrowning82

2 жыл бұрын

@@scottanderson2871 Under Eminent Domain laws they have to give you market value for your property, and they can't take your land just because somebody has a vendetta against you. It has to be for the betterment of the community. Here, in Winnipeg, taxes aren't that bad, and it's the price you pay to be in the community, and provides the public services people rely on every day. We don't even have a printed deed certificate anymore. Just a record in the city's data bank. Apparently, too many people were losing their papers.

This makes me appreciate Montreal as one of the few exceptions to that rule. Duplex, triplexes and quadruplexes are not an exception. I walk or cycle everywhere and often opt-in for public transport instead of using my car. TBH I can't picture myself living somewhere else. I had a short experience living in Washington, D.C. suburbs. I remember being stopped by the police as I decided to walk home from school. For context, I was 12, the area was super safe, and there were almost no sidewalks.

I grew up in Milwaukee, the Duplex Capital of the US, and it blows my mind that there are places where duplex’s just aren’t a thing. My street growing up had one of the smallest concentrations of duplexes in the neighborhood, only around 50% of the houses were two family homes, the rest were all single family.

@bighands69

2 жыл бұрын

Duplex exist in Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and UK. There is no one policy in the US as different states have different laws. America has a lot more space and money so it tends not to do townhouses or rows of houses.

@karenryder6317

2 жыл бұрын

I grew up in Schenectady ny which, until the suburban car culture/shopping centers came along, the vast majority of the housing was block upon block upon block of two-family residences. My Grandfather and his neighbors walked several miles each day to the GE plant. My Dad was the first to have a car and drive to work. Our house didn't even have a garage. I walked to school from K-12. Today what was a lovely middle class neighborhood with people of all ages is now a slum.

As a resident of San Jose, I’m really glad this city is getting the roasting it deserves.

@charlesbrown6581

3 жыл бұрын

The answer is to build more apartments and not this kind of stuff. IT is a terrible way to live.

@bapa6396

3 жыл бұрын

Don't forget about our uninspiring, boring down town. For the "capitol of silicon valley" we really aren't showing that with our downtown. Like what can you name? Oh theres the Adobe building... and Zoom I guess?

@TalussAthner

2 жыл бұрын

And San Francisco, while imperfect in other ways is a great example so close by of what different housing and business setups can do, it’s so much more enjoyable to walk around than San Jose.

@alexhaowenwong6122

2 жыл бұрын

The San Jose International Airport being close to Downtown means you can't build anything over 280 feet or so, which means the skyline will be puny.

@mk3a

2 жыл бұрын

Researched about the issue, turns out, local politicians are aware and are discussing options including eliminating single family zoning completely. Only thing that truly matters though is execution.

Norwegian here. I understand that one of the reasons why US cities sprawled so much was an abundance of available land, which wasn't really an option in Europe, especially continental Europe. Norway has quite a lot of available space that could be used for new developments, but there are strict regulations regarding land use. Thus, almost all new housing being built in the larger cities are city blocks surrounded by bike lanes and other types of multi-family housing. In Oslo there is a land boundary on the edge of the city, where the suburbs stop and the nature begins. No building is permitted outside of this boundary. Almost no single-family homes are built in the city anymore. The goal is to limit car dependence and create walkable neighborhoods, so Oslo is now one of the least car friendly cities. Lots of money is spent on increasing the capacity of public transport, such as the local trains and the metro, so you don't really need a car in the inner city anyway.

@CourtneySchwartz

2 жыл бұрын

Potentially dumb question… If you want to live rurally, does this mean you can’t go build a new cottage? Or maybe you can, but you have to do it X km away from Oslo…?

@NaumRusomarov

2 жыл бұрын

@@CourtneySchwartz not from norway, elsewhere in scandinavia. the local town can open new land for building houses and similar things nearby, this is done "as necessary", there's a queue and you might get land for fairly cheap. there are limitations what you can build there and stuff like that. lots of the land "near" cities is also owned by private people, they've got ranches and stuff, so some of them might want want to sell you land. there are small villages and "micro-towns" as well, you could buy land there or maybe an already built house. these aren't very far from the city centre, perhaps 20-50km or so.

@lilithgrrrl

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a wise use of land and preservation of precious natural space!

@alexanderweisz2375

2 жыл бұрын

@@CoryPrior999 The limit is only within the municipality of Oslo.

@skarbuskreska

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds great.

One of the things I love most about living in Scotland, after growing up in the US, is how *fantastic* tenements are to live in. I think the *word* 'tenement' still has a bad reputation from the days of 19th/20th-century overcrowding, but it's just a building style: low-rise apartment buildings (usually 3-4 storeys, with 2 apartments per floor), arranged into terraced blocks with one another. Since the backs all face each other, there's a large space in the centre of each residential block. In some, these have been divided off with fences so that each building has its own tiny back garden, but often you get a large, shared back green that basically functions like a medium-sized private park for all the residents on the block. The apartments themselves are typically considerably larger than their modern equivalents, with high ceilings and large windows because they were mostly built in the 1800s. It's among the most dense ways to house people in terms of land footprint, but it still feels spacious at the human scale.

It blows my mind that you can live in a city but can't walk to a shop or restaurant. What's the point?

This is my problem now as an entry-level career bachelor trying to find a bachelor apartment. Any existing bachelor apartments are unavailable, overly priced, or a room in a single-family home converted into a six-room-plus boarding house. But there's an overabundance of large and expensive condos and family homes. I lived in a 1DK in Tokyo for three years. It was easy to find, inexpensive rent, minimalist, and perfect for myself or anyone to live in on their own. Why does North America have to force us into nuclear-family homes straight out of college?

@echos5823

2 жыл бұрын

Incentives for breeding more people, more consumers, more cannonfodders.

@bannol1

2 жыл бұрын

@@echos5823 birth rates in the US are the same as in most other OECD countries. Most of America’s population growth is from immigration, people wanting to live there.

@peregrine63701

2 жыл бұрын

I live in Rogers Minnesota in an apartment “ close” to my work and shopping

@analogueapples

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah they assume that the whole population lives with their family which has kids. In reality, a huge percentage is single and there are lots of people, who never want kids or even a live in bf/gf. There are also couples whose kids are adult and who don't need so big house. I can't imagine what a young single person would do in a suburb, go gossiping with local housewives?

@misterjoey3384

2 жыл бұрын

You must breed the next generation of soldiers duh

This channel provides the vocabulary to think in terms of sustainable and enjoyable urban design..I literally never thought about half these things before

@NotJustBikes

3 жыл бұрын

I'm glad I could help. ;)

@JulianSloman

3 жыл бұрын

as someone who came from Europe to Vancouver, I have thought of these things long and hard before learning the vocabulary :D - just why? 1 family home for over 2 million bucks, because close to city... but it could house 10 people if it was just built slightly differently... or 20 if built a lot differently. we don't have to become Shanghai but there's a reason we have too many homeless and broke renters.

@dominiccasts

3 жыл бұрын

@@JulianSloman Ah, I take it you looked at the homes around Oak and 50th, then. I mean, just about everything west of Burrard street and south of Broadway is basically a mansion (a few friends of mine were renting a 2000 sq.ft. basement suite in one of those), and that's before you get into the really rich neighbourhoods like Point Grey. It's kinda funny, though, since everything east of Burrard, and especially east of Cambie is maybe big enough for 3 or 4 people, without much of a yard, so it makes talking about land use and pricing really hard across the Vancouver city suburbs, since there's such a variance in land use efficiency.

@bob-ny6kn

3 жыл бұрын

"Sustainable" a most pretentious, abused and misused word.

@Someone-cd7yi

3 жыл бұрын

you might also like the channel city beautiful.

We live in Seattle, and I think that this city is starting to change it's rules too. There are more and more 3-5 unit townhouses being built in traditional single-family home neighborhoods, as well ad 5-7 story apartment buildings and, since the pandemic, streets that emphasize pedestrians over cars. As well as that there are more and more bicycle lanes and dedicated paths/trails being created all the time. Add to that a decent - and improving - public transit system and It feels like Seattle is starting to take at least baby steps in the right direction.

I have lived in the U.S. south all of my life. Suburbs are pretty much the norm down here. We drive everywhere and I really never give it much thought because that is how I've always known it to be. However; when visiting New York a couple of years ago and getting over my initial tiredness that comes with walking several blocks to get to the subway and back to my hotel on day 1 of my trip, I highly enjoyed being able to walk short distances for a bite to eat or just to shop. I also started not even noticing how far I even walked due to all the sights and sounds of the city.

Design meeting for 7:25 What do homes need? CAR ACCESS. also door, maybe, just in case there's a fire Good talk, I'll take 8

@zilfondel

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, my family cannot even fathom the possibility of not being able to park you car less than 10 ft from your front door.

@xxwookey

3 жыл бұрын

@@zilfondel What do they say when you tell them that many families don't even _have_ a car because they don't need one? (we have actually got one and live in a single-family home) but it's hasn't moved since March last year (OK 2020 was a very odd year, but still 96% of our journeys are by bike so the car is hardly ever used and often sits around for months).

Omg those last American houses, the long rectangles, they had like 2 windows. Who the hell designs this shit?

@kempo_95

3 жыл бұрын

There are probably more windows on the side and back, but they do look very stupid from the front.

@jamalyogugaratee9170

3 жыл бұрын

@@kempo_95 ah yes, my neighbors bedroom wall. what a beautiful view. ooh and 3 ft of grass into a fence, might even get to see an insect or something in that jungle of a yard.

@57thorns

3 жыл бұрын

I used to think this was a bad idea: goo.gl/maps/Jom5H6v43T9aoV426 Small, completely walled in gardens. But those houses have windows in two directions and a small (not pitiful) garden. Except the person that took down their fence to turn it into a parking.

@Uaarkson

3 жыл бұрын

Houses designed by zoning laws and building codes, like any other house built these days

@gamebuster800

3 жыл бұрын

looks like the cheapest way to comply with the laws. Affordable housing :) We have ugly cheap housing in the netherlands too!

I like how they do things in Brazil. Just forget about regulations altogether and build your own home on a mountain. No need to pay taxes too.

Problem in the US is at the streets themselves or too car centric making it very unsafe for pedestrians.

I can't imagine having to jump immediately from my 14m2 student accomodations straight into either an expensive apartment, or an even more expensive family home. That's a huge financial gap. Variety means different income levels can still find affordable housing without major compromise. Every single video you put out on urban planning makes me feel slightly happier to be living where I am, thank you sir.

@paxundpeace9970

3 жыл бұрын

At least you do have to rent or by an intermediate option. On the backside sometime you will have to leave your student apartment

@treyshaffer

3 жыл бұрын

Wow reading your comment that describes my current life situation is painful... It's true, as an American, I can either live somewhere with walkable infrastructure but it's an expensive apartment, or I can live a long drive from anywhere I'd want to be, but that too is a large expensive home... Absolutely bonkers

@paxundpeace9970

3 жыл бұрын

@@treyshaffer 3. option live in a disgraceful neighborhood at the edge of downtown. In this case don't expect a lot

@hauntedshadowslegacy2826

3 жыл бұрын

@@paxundpeace9970 Option 4: half-rate apartments in the middle of town that burn down every few years due to another meth lab explosion. Oh, and not to mention the screaming neighbors as their partners physically assault them every night, the gang shoot-outs in the parking lot, the repeated raids by the DEA and FBI, the rat and roach infestations, the black mold, the penny-pinching landlords that try preventing their tenants from seeking legal recourse... The list goes on and on and on...

@SurpriseMeJT

3 жыл бұрын

Just stay in the lowest cost, safest possible housing solution until you save money and buy something. Don't waste money on rent.

The "Houses for everyone" idea was heavily promoted by the "banking industry" in order to increase the market for mortgage and loan products.

@lockettowl

2 жыл бұрын

Not everyone...

@austinpage4361

2 жыл бұрын

@@lockettowl not currently for sure. and the Clinton era relaxation on regulation s was used to sucker lower income and poor credit people into loans the industry knew wouldn't "hold water" leading to the housing crisis in the mid 2000's and allocation of a large amount of privately owned property becoming bank and state owned property. it's just like anything else in life. timing and luck go a long way towards everyone's life.

@mattportnoyTLV

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe but there are a LOT of positive correlations that come with home ownership. Rates of education, involvement in social/civic activities, and financial stability are all correlated to home ownership.

@lockettowl

2 жыл бұрын

@@mattportnoyTLV 1. This may be true, but correlation isn't causation. We can't assume that pushing people towards home ownership is *the* thing that's going to improve those metrics in their lives. Maybe those correlations exist because of other biases and injustices against renters. Maybe the same discriminatory forces that make certain segments of the population less likely to own their home are also contributing to those other metrics. If we offer home ownership as a panacea and pretend it's an equally available cure, we're shifting blame away from the potential real root issues and placing it on the shoulders of renters and not really solving anything. 2. The larger point I was making is that historically home ownership hasn't been available to everyone. State, local, and federal law and policies; community pressure; acts of violence; and economic disparities have all been used to limit access to home ownership for sizable chunks of the population. And, as @Austin Page alluded to, when those opportunities have been extended, they're often unequal in ways that have detrimental impact on the entire housing market and economy. The truth is, car-centric suburbanization and the over-emphasis of home ownership almost as a moral imperative are inextricably linked to our society's commitment to segregate and restrict wealth and opportunity.

@mattportnoyTLV

2 жыл бұрын

@@lockettowl wouldn’t point 2 be solved by making sure that opportunity exists for everyone to own a home? Point number 1 seems a little like a straw man argument. I agree with your last point, at least the first portion. The last half of that final point is pretty much made-up drivel. The barrier you described no longer exists.

I live in Sacramento - I used to live in Midtown for years and I loved it! It's a super walkable/bikeable city and you can bike from one side of the urban core to the other in like 15 minutes. There were also tons of old, big Victorian houses that were converted into either 2/3/4-plexes (like the one I used to live in) or even businesses, plus a mix of single-family detached homes and little apartment complexes. Even though Sacramento's cost of living has been skyrocketing in the past few years (mostly due to the large influx of Bay Area transplants who left SF, especially after the Pandemic hit), the rent within the urban core in the 2010s was pretty low compared to that of the other big cities in California and more on par with what you'd pay for in a big city in a cheaper state. And even the neighborhoods directly adjacent to the grid (Land Park and East Sac - both neighborhoods have MANSIONS worth over $1M) have businesses and "missing middle" homes in their neighborhoods. I'm definitely a fan of this type of layout and I think more cities should adopt it!

It is also important to remember that the U.S makes it perfectly legal to bribe politicians and parties by lobbying and that U.S lobbying often favors corporate interests, which means that anyone with a vested interest in maintaining car-centric urban planning, like oil companies and car manufacturers, will be able to push back against anyone trying to change the law. Edit: My comment has been amended to account for a misconception about how widespread lobbying is. I still maintain that the practice is fundamentally unethical and comperable to bribery, especially in the U.S where corporate lobbyists have a pattern of winning their goals while lobbyists with public interests often fail.

@kamkam3457

2 жыл бұрын

i’m so tired

@blitzburn2871

2 жыл бұрын

@@jhoughjr1 If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, then odds are good it is indeed a duck. Bribing involves giving money to politicians or parties so they legislate based on your intreasts. Lobbying is giving money to pliticians or parties so they legislate based on your interests. There are indeed differences, but when you cut the shit and get to the core, they are the same thing.The only difference is that bribing typically occurs in secret while lobbying is out in the open for everyone to see. In the end however, the result is that people and coorporations influence and interfere with politics for their own gain at the expense of literally everyone else.

@blitzburn2871

2 жыл бұрын

@@jhoughjr1 Then please, explain why I am wrong about lobbying and why it is acceptable for a minority to influence politics in ways that goes against majority interests and votes. Just because something it has always been a thing does not mean it is something worth preserving. What makes lobbying distinct from bribing and what makes the practice acceptable?

@blitzburn2871

2 жыл бұрын

​@@jhoughjr1 On another note, why are you upset on the behalf of coorporations and the 1%?

@blitzburn2871

2 жыл бұрын

@@jhoughjr1 Still waiting

In germany some cities are discussing to stop giving out permits for new single family home, because they take up to much space per person

@paxundpeace9970

3 жыл бұрын

@@safe-keeper1042 norway?

@paxundpeace9970

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, they are even biggest efficiency standards pretty bad for the environment. What i am missing is the the classic German Doppelhaus. Literally two single-family houses attached with the option to have multiple flats in one or the other side.

@mindlessgreen

3 жыл бұрын

The prices of single homes are going to go through the roof!

@wimahlers

3 жыл бұрын

@@safe-keeper1042 Is that Bergen, Norway? I lived there for about half a year in the 1990s. I worked in Sandsli and used to cycle between Bergen and Sandsli using the old railroad track long time ago converted into a cycleway. Loved it. I have been in Bergen only once more since then as a tourist (summer, 2010). A nice city. I can only hope they have not screwed up since then by tearing down traditional housing and building boring concrete living blocks instead.

@paxundpeace9970

3 жыл бұрын

@@mindlessgreen how much is it?

This perfectly describes the challenge facing my small city. Right now there are 12 residential projects in my city of 12,000. 10 of those projects are suburban neighborhoods. Only 1 of them is for attached houses. The last project is an “affordable housing” project, but it’s really a misnamed low-income housing project for only a handful of homes that will be rented by the county to people who qualify based on income. I looked at buying a semi detached duplex for a retirement property (live in one side, rent the other), but they’re so hard to find where I live.

While I hate the idea of sharing my walls with neighbors (hence why I bought a Bungalow) I have to admit this KZreadr makes a really Strong case for Building Bungalows. I really wanted to build my next home up in Virginia City Nevada up in the mountains In an area called the Virginia Highlands. I was about to start closing on buying an acre lot but I found out the area was zoned only for houses 1200 ft² and above! I couldn't build my dream home which was a 1125 ft² 2 story home (which realistically takes up only 562.5 ft²) Because I "run the risk of devaluing my neighbor's homes, and Runs a risk of allowing builders to build smaller homes thus affecting Quality of life/living conditions"!!! Complete BS 🙄Of course I try to argue that I have no need of a home larger than 1200 ft² since its just me and my son, and that by building on a smaller space needed I'd be preserving all of the vegetation that grows on the property. (Which in my opinion makes the area that much more desirable to live in) Fingers crossed my appeal goes through

@Jay_Johnson

Жыл бұрын

You don’t even notice you are sharing a wall most of the time. The only time I notice is when post or a delivery arrives and next doors dogs go nuts.

@MissShembre

Жыл бұрын

I hope you get your home! Virginia City is a neat place

I never truly realised how alien the USA is to me, that even the streets and houses make me feel uncomfortable.

@ianfrasch3948

3 жыл бұрын

I live here and it makes me uncomfortable too lol.

@okidoki878

3 жыл бұрын

And than so may people that vote on a lunatic and scream that they are Christians with guns. They where a shame to all Christians in the rest off the world.

@leserdemun

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah no wonder theres so many sociopaths running around there

@dursty3226

3 жыл бұрын

born and raised in the usa, and have spent a grand total of less than 2 months of my life outside of it, but i agree that this place is utterly bizarre. there are so many things here that make no sense.

@inelouw

3 жыл бұрын

The only American place I've ever felt a bit comfortable was Brooklyn, NY. Lots of middle housing, shops within walking distance, and streets that you can actually cross on foot.

It’s funny that now that everyone is leaving the cities cause of the pandemic, we’re finally seeing the consequences of these lack of housing options. The housing market is abysmal and there are no other decent options. I’d love to own a cottage home or townhouse. I don’t mind living in the vicinity of a couple people. It’s just when they’re above me below me and around me it gets a bit much, but a family to the left and maybe the right. I’m fine with, especially since it would be much more affordable and still give me that sense of home ownership.

@kdawgmaster

2 жыл бұрын

In my city people were complaining about it before the pandemic. Most apartment building here are to rent and Condo townhomes have skyrocketed in price to the point you end up paying just as much with a mortgage and condo fees as you would be paying for a single family home thats 100-200K more. My parents bought their townhouse 20-25 years ago for 60-70K and now they can get upwards of 300K Cad if its well updated, the condo fees for these places are over $300 Cad. What was once a fantastic starter home is now out of reach for so many people.

@Beetless

2 жыл бұрын

I might be below you very very far below you

@Evirthewarrior

2 жыл бұрын

You say you would like to live in a townhouse, until you buy one, for the same cost as a stand alone house and are attached to people that make a ton of noise. It is like an apartment, but far more expensive.

@Preservestlandry

2 жыл бұрын

@@Evirthewarrior I love my townhouse. It was cheaper than detached houses in the neighborhood, and a thick firewall between townhomes is the key to eliminating noise. We never hear our attached neighbors. Quieter than detached houses that are close together, with nothing to block the noise.

@Evirthewarrior

2 жыл бұрын

@@Preservestlandry Key point: In the neighborhood, also a lot of places do not have the thickened walls, it is just drywall and a bit of insulation.

This is really painful in Australia and I so wish it wasn't the case. I think a lot of people get a taste of something else in university and that's why there's a lot of nostalgia for it. College campuses are mostly car-free, have a tonne of amenities and cyclability, and a great community atmosphere with community eating spaces and medium density accommodation. It's like a dream. I experienced that in Singapore in exchange, but now I've come back I have not been able to find anything that is not hyper-dense, busy, loud, car-filled nature-less city, or mindless suburbia. There are some middle of the road inner-city areas, but from what I've seen they are very expensive due to lack of supply and they are still predominantly single family suburbs, built around a main road of higher density accommodation where the real fun is. I'm so tired of it, and if anyone has any suggestions of how to get out of this in Australia I'm all ears! That said, I'd much rather be here than the suburbs of America. My god.

just gotta say I live in a small borough 5 minutes outside of Philadelphia called Narberth. Because we are a borough we have all of these things!!! Theres a train station to the city and further into pa in the heart of town, shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, bakeries, a lil market, and movie theater. There are apartments on top of businesses, apartment buildings, big homes that were turned into multifamily homes (2-6ish units), old churches that are now single or multi-family homes or businesses, row homes, twin houses, and single family homes!! Everything is walkable. there are fewer cars in the town because most people walk. I didn't realize how rare of an experience it was growing up in the states until I got older

Ahhh, so this is why skylines has no medium density!

@lauridscm1

3 жыл бұрын

You can do this by designating historical high density buildings

@dvderek

2 жыл бұрын

@@lauridscm1 or we could build high density buildings

@tylerl3578

2 жыл бұрын

high density with skyscraper ban policy :)

@pangiokuhli512

2 жыл бұрын

cities skylines was made by finnish people no?

@Brent-jj6qi

2 жыл бұрын

@@GamesWorld03 I think he was saying how to have mid level in cities skylines

"Cottage courts" what a lovely concept I hope to see more of!

@M33f3r

2 жыл бұрын

Yards are great but a pain to upkeep.

@darkdragonsoul99

2 жыл бұрын

@@M33f3r That's why I have a field not a yard screw grass

@room34

2 жыл бұрын

When I saw that I immediately thought of Milwaukee Ave. here in Minneapolis. It's a historic district built somewhat this way… a stretch of 2 or 3 blocks where the "street" is actually just a footpath lined on both sides with Victorian-era houses. There's a parking lot at the end, facing out to the adjacent street, where all of the residents keep their cars. Sadly it's the only place like this in the city, and even with the new zoning changes I don't think we'll ever see anything new like this cropping up. We have a ton of new 1+5's everywhere though.

@Elizabeth-rq1vi

2 жыл бұрын

I agree! While the neighbour from hell would alter the charm, they actually are in the minority...the small part of minority.

@Azel247

2 жыл бұрын

There are a lot of those where I live in Penticton, BC, Canada. Everyone in the court pays a small monthly fee and the court will take care of gardening, snow removal, cleaning roads.

I would love to see you make a video about Montreal because it seems like it is an exception in this regard (for a Canadian city) as it is known for its duplexes and triplexes, the main neighborhoods of the city are very walkable and bike paths are everywhere

1:56 "hey that looks like Kansas City" *looks in the bottom left corner* "oh"

7:25 that's got to be a computer rendering. For the sake of my sanity, please tell me it's not real.

@NotJustBikes

3 жыл бұрын

Sorry to break it to you, but many people live in garages with a small house attached. 😬

@Tinky1rs

3 жыл бұрын

@@NotJustBikes But...why?

@2009heyhow

3 жыл бұрын

Not even windows in the roof? What are the bedrooms like in these houses? Or is that all attic and are all bedrooms on the first floor?

@redditstop1653

3 жыл бұрын

@@Tinky1rs cause they need space for there 4 cars ofc.

@paxundpeace9970

3 жыл бұрын

This doesn't look like a rendering to me. People in those homes: i feel save glad we don't have socialism and nobody has the same house ..... way stop....

I remember some American streamer playing Geoguesr and found himself in a Irish neighbourhood with terraced houses. He actually wondered what they were. Which suprised me.

@NotJustBikes

3 жыл бұрын

Oh man, that's funny. Not surprising, though!

@xthomas7621

3 жыл бұрын

can you share the stream? Sounds fun

@dennis7913

3 жыл бұрын

@@xthomas7621 I think he's talking about a guy called Ludwig, in the video he describes what he is seeing and the guy he's playing with has to guess based on his description of the area.

@2009heyhow

3 жыл бұрын

@@xthomas7621 Video title: Ludwig plays Geoguessr with Geowizard!! I can't share links on YT sadly. The part when he asks about the houses is around 1:19:50

@ME-hm7zm

3 жыл бұрын

I mean, we definitely have them. I own one, even. I'm in it right now...

ITS GOTTEN SO BAD HERE IN AMERICA! As I’ve gotten older I’m realizing so many things are so messed up here it’s so depressing! I would absolutely love to live in Amsterdam where the neighborhoods are walkable and I could ride my bike every where that would be my dream.😍😍😍😍😍

The reason Americans prefer sprawled out city design and despite public transportation is because even Americans can't stand being around other Americans.

I can say I’ve seen you record some of the scenes in this video because of the livestream, it’s nice to see you’ve used them here.

@NotJustBikes

3 жыл бұрын

I liked doing that "behind the scenes" livestream. I will definitely do more in the future. Link to the livestream, for those who haven't seen it: kzread.info/dash/bejne/a6iJzMiwlMLOlrQ.html

@elijaha773

3 жыл бұрын

@@NotJustBikes Cool! Kinda like JoeHills. It's nice to see more KZreadrs taking that type of early access approach.

Personally, I never want to live in anything other than a single family home with a decent yard but forcing people to build a certain type of neighbourhood of houses probably doesn't make for healthy infrastructure. While I want a car, I don't want everyone to be forced to use a car to get to the grocery store.

@gigaus0

2 жыл бұрын

All well and good, but here's the bigger issue that wasn't covered here; The same laws that more or less enforce Single Detatcheds [the above] also prevents different styles of houses entirely. Ever notice when an area has nothing but Cape Cods, and literally nothing else? Or ranches? Or cotts? Yeah, that's because that zone has an express law outlawing the building of select styles of houses. So you can go to one zone, find nothing but Cods; Next zone, nothing but Ranches; next zone, ect. Even if you undo the laws stating 'you must build single detached', it still will likely outlaw anything but a specific style of single. Or commercial stores for that matter.

@sircrapalot9954

2 жыл бұрын

The residents in those areas also overwhelmingly oppose any zoning changes to allow multi-family housing developments out of fears it will drop their property values. NIMBYs

@SentaDuck

2 жыл бұрын

There is what you would prefer and what you can afford. Since money is the biggest factor for many people, only providing the most expensive type of housing is a problem.

@burkles4456

2 жыл бұрын

@@sircrapalot9954 wealth and inter-generational wealth is heavily tied to real estate in the US and it is some peoples only asset. Cant be mad at people for being afraid to lose a better quality of life for their kids or themselves. I’m sure every multi-family building you’ve seen has been beautiful.

@rigatoni144

2 жыл бұрын

@@burkles4456 I absolutely can be mad at people who restrict the free-market just so their property values sky-rocket at the expense of everyone else.

When I moved from a small town from mexico to a city in north tx in 1998, it was a cultural shock not see anybody walking on the streets.

I'm glad you touched, albeit briefly, on some of the racism and classism that plays into the issue in North America. We have, frankly, more houses than people, but it's not the kind of housing people can afford, as you pointed out, and prices are Completely Insane(tm) due to a lack of regulation on landlords, airbnbs, and any number of other issues. I'm personally working multiple jobs just to keep my family in a modestly sized 3bed 2bath house in a nice town... oh, and so is my dad, who is a high-ranking military worker, and my mom, who's a retired emergency room nurse. All of us together pool our resources and struggle just to stay afloat, meanwhile the above-the-shops apartments in town (a delightful historical relic, as you pointed out), are almost entirely airbnbs instead of houses where the owners of those same shops could once live.

@spnyp33

Жыл бұрын

I believe your claim that in North America, there are "more houses than people", is not factual, by a large margin. I assume you mean in the US... but I would guess the numbers become less in your favor when you include ALL of North America. I do agree, though, that affordable housing is a thing of the past.

I lived in the city of Chicago in the 50s. Our apartment complex was a 2-story L shape building with 8 apartments, there was a matching complex across the street. The rest of the neighborhood were Bungalows. It was very walkable and in the summer the parents gathered on each other's front 'stoops' and all the kids played under watchful eyes. In those days neighborhoods were communities you could trust.

@inkajoo

2 жыл бұрын

We need to go back to that

@charliestuff3684

2 жыл бұрын

It’s still like that!

@bitchface235

2 жыл бұрын

No they weren't because in the 50s Chicago was full to the brim with corrupt cops and politicians and mobsters literally eager to break someone legs or commit brutal torture and murder.

@oand10

2 жыл бұрын

@@bitchface235 still is. Always has been. Soul of the city unfortunately lol

@samd1405

2 жыл бұрын

@@oand10 omg please, I grew up in Chicago and lived there half my life. That is not what it's like at all. I've lived all over this country in rural and urban areas and every single place had a similar level of crime and corruption. Chicago is a great city with wonderful livable neighborhoods and architecture.

I'm Colombian our cities are very chaotic but are more european than north american. I remember when i went to florida for vacation we were literally on the other side of the highway of a mall. But there were no way to walk across. Were if there is no light you will find a peatonal bridge. There we were 15 minutes by car..

I live in a college town in America and I never really thought about the variety of housing we have here, but it turns out we have almost all of the housing options mentioned

You have said it over and over. We should build our cities for people, not for cars. The only thing zoning should do, is prevent a mix of heavy industrial activity and housing for humans. All kinds of retail should be possible in a housing zone. And most (small) office and service commercial activity should be allowed. Air pollution, noise pollution, heavy equipment and large logistical equipment should be banned from housing zones. Zoning should not interfear with building regulations. That is a whole different department in my opinion.

The most hilarious thing is there are cities in the US that match what you call a good city, and they are SUPER desirable to live in, so much so that average rent in them is around $3-4000 a month... 🤦‍♂️

@AdwinLauYuTan

2 жыл бұрын

Where?

@ShionWinkler

2 жыл бұрын

@@AdwinLauYuTan San Fran for one, it has small, medium, and larger buildings, it is bike and walking friendly, and has lots of small shops you can get too, and the median rent is $2800-$3500

@desmondtavernier9994

2 жыл бұрын

@@AdwinLauYuTan The outer boroughs of NYC, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Western Queens have a good mix of density but the rent is stupid here as well. Even in the worst neighborhoods its crazy expensive

@ChawletMelk

2 жыл бұрын

Long Beach, California.. labeled as the most bike friendly city in the US , but the rent and housing costs have skyrocketed the past 5ish years as they're trying to gentrify the more desirable neighborhoods

@SvarogAristaeusAllen

2 жыл бұрын

That's because of how rare they are. If this building method was the norm, no one particular city would be more desirable than it's neighbor, but because those cities are so rare and as a result more desirable, what usually happens in a market happened: High demand, limited supply, price goes up to exploit those who want it badly enough.

Back when I still lived with my family in the central Washington town my father grew up in, not long before I moved out, there was a push happening to allow the historic above-business apartments in the older parts of town to be renovated and used again. For a long time it'd been illegal to live in those spaces (I think the zoning had been changed at some point), so they just sat empty. It was argued that allowing this would help to revitalize downtown, and would even serve to *improve* safety and security at night for those businesses. I don't know if they actually went through with it (nor does my brother who lives there and I just asked), but I hope they did. It was always baffling to me that it wasn't legal to use those spaces.

@marcialitt4431

2 жыл бұрын

apartments above business are somewhat coming back, but wow I never realized there were places where they existed but they were not allowed to be lived in.. although it may have been something like they were old enough they weren't anywhere near up to code?

@CloudSpirals

2 жыл бұрын

If you research 'Tartaria and the Mudflood' you might find an answer of sorts as to why these upper level dwellings are vacant in many areas....

@Project2457official

2 жыл бұрын

@@CloudSpirals lmao I don't even know how to begin because this is such a stupid conspiracy theory. There is no evidence the "nation of Tartaria" "fell into ruin because of a massive mudslide". How stupid does that sound to you, really? Genuinely how could anyone believe these baseless claims?

@metalrockstarizer89

Жыл бұрын

This is why we have “hoods” in the US lmao.

@user-ob5cw1pg9b

Жыл бұрын

@@metalrockstarizer89 what do you mean?

Good point! This is one of those “information you didn’t know that you needed to know” videos. This actually illustrates how the planning and construction of neighborhoods actually dose make a difference in the day to day life that the people in an area live

The setback rules are completely stupid. We had to have a house built in a new neighborhood for lack of appropriate housing when we were preparing to moved to a certain city in FL, with military orders. The house model we picked was beautiful inside and out and looked right for the lot, but the sales agent failed to tell us that there was a certain setback, so the house ended up with an expansive, useless front yard and only 10 feet of land behind, beyond a patio large enough to accomodate a table with umbrella and chairs. When it was time to sell, only 17 months later, it became almost impossible. Fortunately, an elderly couple without the desire for a pool or doing intensive yard work took that lemon of a house from our hands after months in the market.

You don't talk about pool, gardens or socialising. I don't want a garden for myself, I want a park where I can meet other people, children can play with each other or a pool that can be enjoyed more efficiently by more people

@MissShembre

Жыл бұрын

If you're an extrovert, then yes, that would be the dream.

Hoo boy am I glad to live in one of the "exceptions" in North America: Montréal. My fiancée and I just purchased our first home together, and it's a second floor apartment in a triplex. The neighbourhood is so vibrant, walkable, and charming. I hadn't considered that much of that could be because of the different zoning laws. Thank god for Montreal!

@AlexandreCourtemanche

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah we're lucky that in Montreal the urban planners didn't completely fuck it up during the "modernization" of the 1960's.

@sachadee.6104

2 жыл бұрын

since the A30 bypass together with the MANY upgrades of the infrastructure, all at the same time, the city becomes even sort of drivable too. If they ever finish it ;-)

Every neighborhood is walkable if you have strong legs. I found that out as a teenager with no car.

I study architecture in Portugal, one of the highest focused building types we study during college are multiple unit residential homes and buildings namely "blocos de habitação," inspired by Le Corbusier's "Unité d'habitation" in Marseille. They are all over the country, especially Porto and a marvel solution for several zoning, living and economical problems.

America is like that "just for fun" character build where all your points go into strength so you can't do anything but punch really hard. And even then, because you sank all your points into strength, the character can't even do that well.

@GeneralChangOfDanang

3 жыл бұрын

And the game slowly takes those points away from you unless you constantly grind for 10 hours a day.

@evegreenification

2 жыл бұрын

@@GeneralChangOfDanang hahahaha

@RicochetForce

2 жыл бұрын

@@GeneralChangOfDanang Damn, that actually wrapped this up in a neat little bow.

@phuturephunk

2 жыл бұрын

@@GeneralChangOfDanang And, on top of that, the grind requirement for fulfilling the dailies creeps up over time. So each day of grind has to be slightly more than the last day of grind or you get punished. You don't even get to stay the same, you literally get punished.

@bsabruzzo

2 жыл бұрын

Hmmm, I can see how you think we used Wisdom as a dump stat, but following a more European economy is actually making Intelligence the dump stat. Sorry we didn't max Charisma, just Dexterity and Constitution. Strength leveled up on it's own from there.

No one does the dystopian aesthetic justice quite like Americans.

@TheNinetySecond

3 жыл бұрын

It's a "boring dystopia" because it's real. No flashy doomsday event, or societal collapse. Just a looong, crushing decline from the bottom up.

@GoldenBeholden

3 жыл бұрын

@@MoraqVos It's the artificial perfection of it all that does it for me; because these homes do not look run-down, the dystopic aspects get accentuated by people's willingness to live there. On the other hand, in the places you mentioned (and many others), it very much feels like these people are just trying to survive, with no real attachment to the homes they've ended up with. That's still a bad thing of course, but it doesn't fit into that (consumerist) dystopic aesthetic that Americans excel at.

@KarlSnarks

3 жыл бұрын

@@GoldenBeholden Not exactly, to me the wealthy metropolitan areas of China look more dystopian than the more run-down parts of their cities. They look just like the corporate oppressive atmosphere of cyberpunk movies, with strange and high-tech architecture, huge flashing neon-signs etc. I recently saw a video called "real world cyberpunk cities" which was drone-footage of Chinese cities at night (with some subtle pro-China propaganda thrown in) and it really fits the aesthetic. Still, US cities are dystopian in their own right, but more in a way that isn't being explored yet in many movies (because most big movies are American) except in those who parody the 50's American dream.

@maciejszulc2684

3 жыл бұрын

@@MoraqVos I don't know about the Chinese, but living in a renovated Russian-style post-communist apartment block in Poland isn't that bad, to be honest. Pretty walkable, tons of public green space, local shops just around the corner... Doesn't ring the dystopian bell for me, and I'm currently living in the all-famous Netherlands, so it's not like I don't have any comparison :D

@LancesArmorStriking

3 жыл бұрын

@@MoraqVos Eh, at least our concrete blocks satisfy the basic human need for contact. Even if it objectively sucks more day-to-day, at least we still know our neighbors and don't need to drive everywhere

Watched this a couple of times but only just noticed the chainsaw noise as the tree comes down at 7:04 when mentioning minimum parking.

I'm from the US and moving to Mexico. In Mexico, even the small towns are built like cities...in the sense that it's walkable, everything being in a town center with the houses mixed in and spreading out from the center. They have started making these isolated suburbs now and it makes me sad they're becoming more car dependent.

It's crazy that american suburbia has come to represent freedom, liberty and conservatism and yet is the product of such extreme state intervention

@gildone84

3 жыл бұрын

Not to mention it's fiscally insolvent.

@CaeruleanWren

2 жыл бұрын

The state intervention isn't the bad part, it's the fact that suburbs suck in every way imaginable, with the single exception of noise pollution. That's it, that's the only saving grace. And that's just because they live out of town, away from everything of value.

@sqike001ton

2 жыл бұрын

I would love to see a suburban community where the zoning is based one what the community wants just to see what happens I would bet it would stay mostly single family housing the Americans dream of the 20 century turned out to be a single family home a car in a garage with a white picket fence

@oliviamcclure989

2 жыл бұрын

Its a self imposed segregation, in order to protect the last vestiges of the white supremacist nation of old from the reality of a multicolored america. To this end suburbs have used tools like redlining, credit scores and hoas' to keep "unwanted" folks out and then tied school budgets to property taxes, and flooded the nearby cities with unwanted but necessary strip malls and supermarkets for the suburb folk to drive to and shop at. From the suburbs they police the cities, manage the industry, run the minor businesses, execute the law, and practice medicine. It is a symbol of success and status according the "American dream", and is often seen as a sign of being in the middle class, which historically is often the pool from which potential fascists flow .

@RicochetForce

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, even years ago in school I always kept hearing about just how inefficient and bad single family suburbs are. It's like someone made every fuck up possible and went "Good".

As an architecture student from the UK, I can't wrap my head around the fact that it's literally ILLEGAL to build mixed-use developments on the same street.

@ACEsParkJunheeWreckedMeHard

2 жыл бұрын

Here in Germany it's pretty mixed tho. You can for example have a street looking like this: 20 single family houses, 1 townhoiuse (so 5 family can live there), 2 apartment buildings with 6 apartments each, 1 primary school and a grocery store and nobody gives a fuck. Also if you get the permissions you can also paint your house blue or red or blue with red stripes and nobody gives a fuck

@WhiteSupreme

2 жыл бұрын

I live in Canada and the street I live on has multiple single family homes with big yards, a couple apartment buildings, a store, and two steel factories.

@kckdude913

2 жыл бұрын

So much for Liberty and freedom!

@franciscotoro9454

2 жыл бұрын

Those statements are nonsense. there is a construction boom in the Greater Toronto Area that includes mix use buildings, low rise multi-residence areas.

@soccerruben1

2 жыл бұрын

You could blame NIMBYs for that.

How bizarre. I never knew the US was like this even though I’ve heard lots about food deserts and the car focussed city planning. I live in a block of small duplex/triplex units which are very common in Australia. The shopping centre is across the road. And there’s two more a moderate walk away (15mjn?)

There is a politician in Canada, I think Ontario’s Doug Ford, who recently legislated on a provincial level to change this zoning problem. The problem is, as you said, that local governments at the municipal level are fighting it. Developers want the bigger profit and the rich, as you said, do not want any smaller homes in the neighbourhood. This will shortly come back to bite them in the butt however because the now aging population that built these monsters cannot age-in-place but have no where else to go!

The Japanese zoning laws seam to make for vibrant easy walking cities, something I wish was the case here in Tasmania, Australia.

@i_like_chomp6382

3 жыл бұрын

You live in Tasmania, that's Badass dude

@tobyharrington3165

3 жыл бұрын

Hi there fellow Tasmanian!

@miyounova

3 жыл бұрын

Places like Hobart and Launceston are still miles better than the US. Or than regional Queensland. But with the current crisis, Hobart really could use some medium-density housing, particularly in the suburbs where they're building awful single-family houses.

@JulieWallis1963

3 жыл бұрын

“Seam” ? Are they stitching houses together? Did you even attend school? It’s _seem_ a very simple 4 letter word. Spelling.......something I wish was the case for adults using the internet. 🤦‍♀️

@hendrikdependrik1891

3 жыл бұрын

Just build your country full of mountains. That will fix anything.

I've just been educated in a logical, rational and enjoyable way about a topic and accompanying point of view that I had no prior knowledge about. Thanks!

@magicjuand

3 жыл бұрын

oh boy, once you dig into it you start to realize how everything is zoning in North America. zoning is why my coffee gets cold too fast and my pillow is uncomfortable at night.

@ianfrasch3948

3 жыл бұрын

@@magicjuand Yeah you start to connect it to everything. I'd even wager US school schootings, which happen mostly in the car-dependent suburbs, are in part due to the isolation/depression/lack of independence for kids caused by unwalkable single family suburbs.

@glennwatson3313

3 жыл бұрын

Did you find the part where he called people who disagree with him idiots, "logical, reasonable and enjoyable"?

@UhtredOfBamburgh

3 жыл бұрын

@@ianfrasch3948 What about the shootings and violence of people who live in dense or often mid-density housing projects, which is far more common than suburban school shooters?

@grantcivyt

3 жыл бұрын

@@magicjuand Soon you'll begin to see that zoning is just one form of regulation, and that all regulation has serious negative consequences that are often ignored or unexpected.

Mixed development neighbourhoods are so ugly to me though. I don't want a new residential building next to a historic one or an old shop. If things were built in the same style then it would be kinda ok. But mixing terraced housing with residential buildings and whatever else is just so ugly and chaotic. I would never live in the places this video has shown as 'good' examples (except the cottage court example).

@karenryder6317

2 жыл бұрын

Does it have to be ugly just because it's mixed?

@reisshep

2 жыл бұрын

@@karenryder6317 It's not just because it's mixed. It's mostly an architectural problem, with the styles and heights of buildings being so out of place that it's laughable. All of the places being shown as 'good' in the video look like nightmare fuel to me. If they were built in the same style historic buildings were built then I would be almost ok with it - at least I wouldn't hate it. There's also the issue of living in high density neighbourhoods, but the problems with high density neighbourhoods in Europe are so bad that I don't know where to start. Some cities have started coming up with solutions to that but it's still mostly a shit show.

"I don't want to be crammed inside a concrete box in the sky" That argument is used, mostly, by people who don't like walking and have monthly meetings with their pals to compare truck and diesel engine sizes.

The biggest irony in the US, is that even single family homes are getting larger but families are getting smaller. Meaning that single family home suburbs in the US are not just car centric thus supporting the automobile and petroleum industry, they're also inducive to consumerism because people want bigger houses to hold more stuff. It's all about supporting large corporate capitalism and less about providing sustainable living.

@Playingwithproxies

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah fuck sustainable when you can have cool stuff

@BikeHelmetMk2

2 жыл бұрын

My wife and her boyfriend gotta have their 4700sqft, yo. Jacuzzi tubs (plural) don't fit in bachelor suites. And where would I put my mustang and 2nd truck if I didn't have the 4 car garage? I mean, it's just logical. Build big and buy big or go home.

@Killinemkid

2 жыл бұрын

It provides flexibility and resale value. America may be shrinking in terms of family size, but eventually, more people will have to replace the dwindling cultural groups, thus, the larger home means potential for adapting to a larger family. Larger families don't tend to have more disposable income, so they are no better suited to buy large homes than small families, but small families know they aren't going to buy small homes, so it drives up housing values. Not to mention, if you don't know how many kids you intend to have, or think your family may come live with you, the additional space becomes necessary.

@SA2004YG

2 жыл бұрын

May not be sustainable but it does keep the economy going

@jadedgal05

2 жыл бұрын

@@Playingwithproxies that’s right.

I live in México and we have the same problem, just with smaller houses in endless car centered suburbs.

@XHitsugaX

2 жыл бұрын

yeeey NAFTA

@fszocelotl

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Infonavit. The issue is that all the infonavit housing developmenta are not suburbs, are designed as middle housing that happens to be at the outskirts of the cities. The main problem here is that the road infrastructure has never been intended to bear as much traffic as it loads now, and urban planning never has considered transportation as a key part of the developments. Just compare any Mexican metropolitan area with an European equivalent in population and you'll se how much densely we live.

What never seems to get mentioned in these discussions is noise. You can be snarky about the supposed snobbery or prejudice of people who prefer single family homes and jealously guard the composition of their neighborhood, but you have to listen to what they say they are looking for: peace and quiet. Cities are noisy. What you call "vibrant" a lot of us, particularly as we age, call loud. That noise is constant, day and night. It comes from everywhere and it never lets up. You can't open your windows without letting it pour in, morning, noon, and night. And no one in city planning or city government seems interested in doing anything about it. True, suburbs and small towns have their noises. As I type this, I can hear the sound of a mower from down the street. And any politician who campaigned on a promise to ban leaf blowers would have my full and hearty support. But towns and suburbs have periods of real quite, particularly at night. And that is why people don't want the density of their neighborhood to increase. More people means more noise sources and noise sources closer to me. It means less peace and less quiet. I would love to live within walking distance of all the amenities a city can offer, but not at the price of living with the constant din. Come up with an effective plan to make cities significantly quieter, and you would find a lot less opposition to denser neighborhoods.

@BoxEnjoyer

2 жыл бұрын

I live in a single-family detached home. My neighbor is an avid motorcycle rider. I don't get the peace and quiet that I am apparently supposed to get. This is particularly annoying at 3 AM

@daksh343

2 жыл бұрын

perhaps the only way to make cities quieter is to incentivize biking and disincentivize driving. That, or create a dense forest around all roads and buildings so that sound waves are dissipated.

@karenryder6317

2 жыл бұрын

@@daksh343 As long as we are car-centric, our cities will be congested with them and their noise. Our cities will only become livable again when people walk and bike again and driving isn't the norm. How do you do that? It seems impossible now to undo decades of infrastructure built on car dependence.

@spnyp33

Жыл бұрын

noise and light pollution are real and take toll on the psyche.

@maryannesteinberger7652

Жыл бұрын

I’m with you 100%. My nighttime “noises” are my nesting owls, some coyote choruses, and occasional barking dogs, that are far enough away no be sound but not noise. I cannot cope with constant people noise.

I'd hope places like San Jose are changing, slowly but surely. I visit San Jose a lot and I see a lot of high-density housing being built (not huge towers, but four-to-five story complexes). They do seem to be nearer the urban core, but this seems to be the trend in most new development across the city, wherever it is. San Jose is otherwise suburban sprawl taken to its extreme. It would be nice if more of the city allowed for other types of zoning.