28
votes
Why is the US residential model untouchable and unquestionable?
Your question comes in two parts for why suburbia is bad. You mention the costs of housing and environmental impact.
Low-density housing fits the same amount of people into a larger area. This ...
- 429
19
votes
Why is the US residential model untouchable and unquestionable?
Most Americans think single-family homes are preferable, according to a YouGov poll, from the standpoint of environment, traffic, and crime. That poll does look a bit like it's asking easy/leading ...
- 146k
12
votes
Accepted
Why don't cities plant more fruit trees?
Mostly, because while it's doable (especially in small cities), it's hard to do.
Todmorden in UK has done something similar, in having population grow produce that's free for picking - even the ...
- 91.9k
11
votes
Accepted
Why don't governments share technology with each other rather than developing their own solutions to common problems?
You are mistaken about revenue collection systems for public transport (and many other technologies or indeed public services themselves). The Oyster card was one of the very first of these electronic ...
- 30.5k
8
votes
Why don't governments share technology with each other rather than developing their own solutions to common problems?
So why don't governments license their existing technical solutions to
each other? Surely it would save a lot of money and headache?
The assumption in this question that governments own the ...
- 73.7k
8
votes
Do right wing libertarians have a mechanism which incentivises long term planning?
Right-Libertarians (as a general rule) rely on an expansive conception of the invisible hand of the market. In other words, They follow this logic:
Every interaction with the world at large will ...
- 67.7k
8
votes
What democratic systems exist that successfully tackle NIMBYism?
The only real solution to NIMBYism is to move power from local towards national levels. Otherwise, you get... well... democracy.
People want their political system to improve their own lives, and ...
- 343
8
votes
Why do the U.S. (and other republics) not have separate capital cities for each branch of government?
In a time when one of the fastest forms of communication was by horse, it would take a week to send a letter from Washington to New York. It could take three weeks to send a letter from Savannah to ...
- 115k
8
votes
Why is the US residential model untouchable and unquestionable?
The question is predicated on some judgments about the environment that I think are more complex and value-laden than suggested. The planet is facing an onslaught of environmental crises that include ...
- 81
7
votes
Accepted
Why do the U.S. (and other republics) not have separate capital cities for each branch of government?
The Europe Union, which is another example of the same, illustrates quite well why it's more convenient to have the executive and legislative branches of government in one place.
The European ...
- 30.5k
7
votes
Have any cities (with a good economy) managed to prevent rapid increases in real estate costs?
In Paris at least, the question could be reframed slightly. There have been periods of “housing crisis” (especially after the second World War) but not a continuous long-term increase in real estate ...
- 30.5k
6
votes
Accepted
How do I change my city's ordinance to allow more chickens on my residential land?
The bulk of the problem you're going to run into is the smell and noise of chickens. Here's a complaint like that
I live in a residential zone. My neighbor has a chicken coop that is bursting at ...
- 46.1k
6
votes
Have any cities (with a good economy) managed to prevent rapid increases in real estate costs?
This is both a broad and interesting question. According to Property Price Index 2017, London is indeed one of the most expensive when it comes to property prices and the most expensive in Europe.
...
- 52.6k
6
votes
Why don't cities plant more fruit trees?
Seattle has laws mandating the planting and/or retention of trees when buildings are built. Its regulations strongly encourage the retention of trees that are very large, or large and unusual in ...
- 6,812
6
votes
Accepted
How can a country get a street / square / park in another country named after an important figure?
Simple answer: that person needs to mean something to that country.
A prime example of this would be the Ronald Reagan Monument in Warsaw, Poland
Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States ...
- 46.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Why is Japan's urban development so polarized?
Japan has a population of over 120 million, in an area of a little under 400000 km2. Compare this to California: an area of a little over 400000km2, and a population of 40 million.
So imagine ...
- 115k
4
votes
Have any studies examined differences in cities led by Dem vs Rep?
The party membership of executives is a common variable in political science. However, usually this is directed at either the national or sub-national unit level (in the U.S. sub-national units are ...
- 23.8k
4
votes
Accepted
Have any cities (with a good economy) managed to prevent rapid increases in real estate costs?
Tokyo, Japan is one of the rare exceptions to this rule.
One of the primary reasons for this is that it has weak land use regulation, which allows for very high density real estate development, ...
- 73.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Have any cities managed to relocate homeless services to cheap land outside the city?
Specifically wrt to Vancouver, there are some additional things to note.
Canada is cold. Vancouver and Victoria less so. Much empty land is going to be inland and colder.
There is a whole "...
4
votes
What government tools available to Canada to deal with population growth?
Planned new cities have a fairly long history of failures, though there have been some successes, like Almere near Amsterdam.
Townsend, Ontario
Born in the 1970s, the community just under an hour's ...
4
votes
Why is the US residential model untouchable and unquestionable?
The plans are not untouchable or unquestionable (but on a side note of humor if that were really the case - the Answer would be because it is in the United States so it is absolutely right) . :-)
...
- 141
4
votes
Why is the US residential model untouchable and unquestionable?
An increase in (high quality) housing density may lead to gentrification. Higher housing density means improved public transportation, possibly improved cycling infrastructure (if political decisions ...
- 47.7k
3
votes
Do right wing libertarians have a mechanism which incentivises long term planning?
First, a bit of a frame challenge. You say the free market cannot plan long-term, but neglect the fact that the government struggles with it quite often as well. Remember when Osama Bin Laden was an ...
- 7,593
3
votes
Accepted
Do bureaucratic planning processes deter large amount of house building?
In the press release on the launch of this consultation, the government mentions two reports which contain some evidence to this effect.
Firstly, on the more anecdotal side of things, they link to a ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
3
votes
What democratic systems exist that successfully tackle NIMBYism?
After doing a lot of reading about this since 2017, the answer can be broken down into two groups:
Corrupt/poorly managed nations where builders can do whatever they want with zero oversight. One ...
- 52.7k
2
votes
What democratic systems exist that successfully tackle NIMBYism?
There are couple of examples i can give from Turkey:
Gold Mine project in Erzincan
Thermal Power Plant projects in the city of Amasra, and Trakya region.
Third Airport to Istanbul
Most ...
- 577
2
votes
Have any cities (with a good economy) managed to prevent rapid increases in real estate costs?
Singapore is another unique and interesting case. The majority of residents there live in public housing, which means the government effectively determines the prices most people are paying for ...
- 15.1k
2
votes
Why is Japan's urban development so polarized?
However, I am interested in the political factors/decisions that
favored this kind of city developing
An important political factor that influences how land use is regulated in Japan is that ...
- 73.7k
2
votes
Why is Japan's urban development so polarized?
Japan on Wikipedia, stats:
Area: 377,972 km^2 (145,936 sq mi)
Population: 126,740,000
Density: 336/km^2 (870.2/sq mi)
Compare to
California:
Area: 423,970 km^2 (163,696 sq mi)
Population: ...
- 89.3k
2
votes
Accepted
Have any cities managed to reduce the inflow of tourists during good economic periods?
I think general travel bans apply under this question, the most famous (arguably) example of which was provided by the good Gaius Julius Caesar for that Queen of Cities, Rome. Admittedly, while his ...
- 1,654
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