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In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

nytimes.com

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Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#191

Post by anamax »

MichaelSalib wrote: post #186
anamax wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're only talking about govt wrt zoning. A "non-standard project" that is seeking funding by definition meets the relevant zoning because no one borrows money to build something that zoning forbids. When a lender says offers different terms for different zoning-legal projects, that's the market.

A "non-standard project" that is seeking funding by definition meets the relevant zoning because no one borrows money to build something that zoning forbids. This is incorrect. Developers seek variances for various zoning restrictions all the time. And doing so effects financing decisions because a project that requires variances may face substantial delays.

> This is incorrect. Developers seek variances for various zoning restrictions all the time.

Variances are part of the zoning process.

> And doing so effects financing decisions because a project that requires variances may face substantial delays.

No one lends construction money before zoning is satisfied, regardless of how it's satisfied.

You seem to disagree, so how about an example of a lender providing construction money before there was good reason to believe that construction would be allowed.

Yes, lenders may think that some projects are more likely to be approved and the reasons for approval may be political, but that just means that lenders consider the outcome of political processes, not that they're making decisions for political reasons.

Absent something like CRA, lending decisions are based on predicted return on investment. Can the borrowers make the payments? The greater the risk, the higher the interest rate.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#192

Post by sliverstorm »

jacquesm wrote: post #76
sliverstorm wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny how that works. I have had many many occasions of traveling while soaking wet for miles, and they always make great stories, and weren't all that bad. Now, on the other hand I've had times where it's just downright miserable, and I was pretty sure my fingers were on the verge of serious frostbite, and that was NOT fun and never will be. But, that's not too common.

The difference is probably mostly due to the windspeed, not due to the amount of water that fell on you.

Well, it was windspeed combined with enough water falling on me, but you're right- that's a given.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#193

Post by sliverstorm »

oostevo wrote: post #103
sliverstorm wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to say that we should all be in cars, but I used to ride my bicycle everywhere- I ride motorcycles now, and I still get a lot of the upsides- open to the environment, a physical activity (though more mild than biking at a hard pace), and my stress levels are lower. But it has one more huge upside; back when I bicycled all the time, I'd always arrive everywhere hot and sweaty. Workplaces can install show…

[Somewhat off-topic from bicycles in cities; my apologies.] Do you not get sweaty on motorcycles? Even with a fully mesh jacket, I arrive everywhere _drenched_. In the height of the summer, I put on an athletic shirt and keep my real shirt in a bag to change into when I get to my destination. If anything, I'd say bicycles are better because it's difficult to go fast enough to require the safety gear that a motorcycle…

It depends. When it's really really hot, yes, but at those temperatures it doesn't matter what I use to travel, I'll be sweating anyway.

Admittedly, I'm really quite good at my lowering my heart rate and by extension body temperature at stop lights, and my commuter bike has a fully upright riding stance with no wind protection. I get plenty of ventilation; on a night that would be temperate on my sport bike, I'd be freezing on my commuter bike.

P.S. have you bicycled recently? I feel so ridiculously exposed, out of control and vulnerable now that I'm used to armor, and I really do prefer the armor.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#195

Post by whatusername »

akgerber wrote: post #136
whatusername wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had some amazing experiences getting drenched too. But I'm not sure that it would be that amazing on my way into work. (Likely carrying a laptop).

There are plenty of high-quality waterproof bags you might carry a laptop in.

True. But with public transport and an umbrella 0 I can use a normal laptop bag.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#196

Post by masklinn »

Locke1689 wrote: post #177
baxter wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Europe: http://www.intellicast.com/Global/Humidity.aspx?region=europ USA: http://www.intellicast.com/Global/Humidity.aspx?region=namer

Wow, that's the most I've ever seen anyone upvoted for completely inaccurate and misrepresented information. First, that's a real time view of each of the two regions. You don't think that the values may have been different during the day for Europe and the night for the US? More than that, you can't establish a viable trend from a single data point. Even if you did have the average high summer humidity index for Eur…

Thank you for managing to express what I couldn't put into words. You have my gratitude.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#197

Post by masklinn »

eru wrote: post #189
masklinn wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The trend even seems to be to make Autobahnen out of concrete. It's not exactly a trend, I've seen concrete autobahnen more than 15 years ago, and the early ones were concrete as well.

Yes. I should have said, people have figured out how to make good Autobahnen out of concrete. The GDR also had streets paved with concrete---but they had tar in the gaps and sticking out of the gaps. You can imagine what a bumpy ride that was.

There are also some concrete highways when entering Paris (after the highway gets under Paris's own supervision). They suck. They're bumpy and extremely noisy, a far cry from the smooth and silent flying over the good asphalt of most french highways.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#199

Post by markeroon »

sliverstorm wrote: post #152
akgerber wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except those bicyclists pay taxes too, and have the exact same legal right to use the road. Riding in the "middle" of the road is a necessary technique to prevent being passed danngerously closely. Neither of those things justifies being assaulted. As a side note, it appears that SR-9 near Silicon Valley existed long before automobiles, and thus was not built for automobiles either. It was probably "built for" horse…

That is true, but whether their actions are 100% legal or not, the road is not designed to properly accommodate both cars and cyclists. Thus they piss of drivers, and hence the frustration towards cyclists, which is what I was explaining. Of course they don't deserve to be assaulted, I never said that they did. I personally try to treat them as kindly as possible. For reference, I say 'no business being on' because t…

To be fair, I'm sure that the cyclists find the cars on highway 9 to be equally frustrating, especially when they're being treated like they don't belong there.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#200

Post by anamax »

organicgrant wrote: post #142
anamax wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's also harder to get financing for non-standard projects. That's the market speaking.

I spent ten years as a real estate broker and developer. The market wants improvement to zoning codes to reflect current (post 1955) sensibilities. Unfortuneately archaic zoning codes and change-fearing planning and zoning commissions prevent most progressive projects from ever getting off the ground. There are always exceptions to the rule in some localities...but as a nation... the U.S. is being held back by laws w…

> Mandatory setbacks (20 ft between buildings, mandatory front and rear yards, minimum number of parking spaces...all practices counterintuitive to effective land use.

It depends on your definition of "effective". Folks pay more for houses with 20 ft set backs than they're willing to pay for 10 ft set backs. Folks pay more for single-family detached than they're willing to pay for townhouses. And so on.

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