Live data from Hacker News

The Suburb of the Future, Almost Here

nytimes.com

1–10 of 136 posts

Re: The Suburb of the Future, Almost Here

#4

"Millennials want a different kind of suburban development that is smart, efficient and sustainable" Suburban or Sustainable, pick one.

Why are they inherently incompatible?

Low density is more expensive in all ways. This affects sustainability.

Re: The Suburb of the Future, Almost Here

#5
I'm a millennial. I don't want any kind of suburb.

I refuse to live anywhere that isn't well-connected/dense enough to provide a good lifestyle completely car-free (i.e. all travel is quick, ubiquitous and convenient on foot/bike/public transportation). I do not ever wish to drive and this is not possible in any suburban development.

Re: The Suburb of the Future, Almost Here

#6
post #5

I'm a millennial. I don't want any kind of suburb. I refuse to live anywhere that isn't well-connected/dense enough to provide a good lifestyle completely car-free (i.e. all travel is quick, ubiquitous and convenient on foot/bike/public transportation). I do not ever wish to drive and this is not possible in any suburban development.

No one ever said that all millennials want to live in the suburb, so...

Re: The Suburb of the Future, Almost Here

#7
post #5

I'm a millennial. I don't want any kind of suburb. I refuse to live anywhere that isn't well-connected/dense enough to provide a good lifestyle completely car-free (i.e. all travel is quick, ubiquitous and convenient on foot/bike/public transportation). I do not ever wish to drive and this is not possible in any suburban development.

I feel the same way that you do, but I worry that the realities of the housing market are going to drive my family to some stupid suburb where I have to get a car and spend 30 minutes every morning screaming inside it.

Re: The Suburb of the Future, Almost Here

#8
>Yet millennial suburbanites want a new kind of landscape. They want breathing room but disdain the energy wastefulness, visual monotony and social conformity of postwar manufactured neighborhoods.

That's a hell of a claim, and no evidence whatsoever is provided for it. Could it be that the New York Times writers are projecting their slavish political devotion onto the rest of us?

Once we're all married with school-age kids, we will choose to move out to the plain, boring suburbs just like the generations before us. You might keep wasting your time with composting, but almost nobody is going to let "sustainability" actually detract from their quality of life.

The only reason why people in other countries don't make that same choice is that they're not really allowed to, because of development laws, high fuel taxes, and so forth.

Re: The Suburb of the Future, Almost Here

#9
post #5

I'm a millennial. I don't want any kind of suburb. I refuse to live anywhere that isn't well-connected/dense enough to provide a good lifestyle completely car-free (i.e. all travel is quick, ubiquitous and convenient on foot/bike/public transportation). I do not ever wish to drive and this is not possible in any suburban development.

Out of curiosity, do you have kids? It's mighty convenient to have a car with all the stuff in it and plenty of space to park that car nearby, and also lots of space for the kids to play outside.

Re: The Suburb of the Future, Almost Here

#10

> Yet millennial suburbanites want a new kind of landscape. They want breathing room but disdain the energy wastefulness, visual monotony and social conformity of postwar manufactured neighborhoods. That's a hell of a claim, and no evidence whatsoever is provided for it. Could it be that the New York Times writers are projecting their slavish political devotion onto the rest of us? Once we're all married with school-…

Another way to put it would be that roads, sewers, and mortgages aren't heavily subsidized in other places.
Post reply on HN