How Modern America Is Optimized for Loneliness, Misery and Poor Health by David Friedlander May 24, 2024
"...What do housing, transit and lifestyle statistics have to do with loneliness and unhappiness, you might ask. Well...separating people physically also leads to emotional and psychological separation. Moreover, the implements that make sprawl-induced physical separation work on a societal level — cars to contract long distances and digital media to ameliorate the effects of social isolation — deepen loneliness and unhappiness on the personal level. These implements also make people sedentary, directly relating to the fact that 73% of the total American population is overweight and 42% is obese, per the CDC.
One of the biggest issues is population density. At the risk of oversimplifying, it’s a lot harder to socially isolate when there are people around you..."
These U.S. Cities Have More Parking Lots Than Housing - They paved paradise again and again and again.
by Frank Jacobs, Big Think May 17, 2024
"...On average, about one-fifth of all land in city centers is dedicated to parking. But what’s the actual harm being done by all that parking space? For one, city centers that are more “parkable” become less walkable. In other words, fewer things are casually accessible.
...Americans’ attitude toward driving is changing. The share of high school seniors with a driving license has dropped from 85.3% in 1996 to 71.5% in 2015. The rise of shared, multi-modal, and (soon, they keep promising us) autonomous mobility will further reduce the need for driver’s licenses, individual cars, and massive parking facilities in city centers.
Perhaps it’s time for American cities to become denser, more lived-in, more walkable—and less “parkable.”
How To Start Strengthening Your Town With Incremental Development
Will Gardner May 6, 2024
"...And incremental doesn’t have to mean slow. Incremental growth is potentially the fastest way to grow housing stock, revitalize downtown areas and fill town coffers. Large greenfield projects, despite their promise of hundreds or thousands of housing units, take years of work to come to fruition — usually with large political fights along the way. These are large, often long-shot bets that may not come through... Conversely, small infill projects can be initiated in a matter of weeks and months. As these projects happen, they attract further attention and resources to the town and create momentum for growth..."
Small infill includes accessory dwelling units, too - so called "granny flats" and remodeled garages or outbuildings. These could easily create a lot of new affordable housing.
First big group ride this year with local cycling group Charles River Wheelers (CRW).
Rode through some very wealthy suburban towns (Dover is the wealthiest town in Massachusetts with median household income of $250k+)
Very fast paced group. Started with the 2nd group (15-16mph pace) but caught the first group (17-18mph pace) shortly after. I stayed with the first group and average speed of this ride is 17.9mph!
I was curious about these towns (of course) so I looked them up. The wealthiest towns in MA all keep their zoning restrictions on residential properties to be at least 1+ acre, which pushes the property price really high. I saw a lot of humongous houses in Dover and Sherborn today.
This picture (from Reddit) is basically the local politics in MA (Weston is one of the two "W towns" in MA that're 2nd and 3rd wealthiest in the state).
I keep seeing calls for missing middle housing in SFH neighborhoods but very few calls for legalizing commercial/mixed use.
Densifying residential only will be a disaster, that makes car traffic and parking worse as everyone still has to drive for all errands. Cities have to legalize all aspects of a dense neighborhood or they will fail. #urbanism#zoning
"...Furthermore, for Jordan it’s not just that parking mandates are antiquated, they’re fundamentally absurd. He points out how Dallas has drawn a distinction between a “dry cleaner” and a “laundry service” through its code, mandating that the former provide 30% more parking than the latter. “These are effectively the same land-use, so it just doesn’t make sense,” he says, adding that a laundry service is already required to provide one spot for every 300 square feet of space. With a single parking spot averaging around 350 square feet, this means that, at minimum, surface parking is required to be larger than the establishment, itself...."
I'm preparing a new talk about #climate and #zoning . Here is the famous hockey stick chart with an arrow to note around when zoning becomes a thing in the US. Coincidence? No, it's cars.
Does anyone know (personally, professionally, or otherwise) of municipal regulations requiring green space on commercial property? US is most useful, but I'll take anything, and from green roof to potted plants by the door.
Please boost, and please suggest hashtags that might help!