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Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

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Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#71

Post by pabloarteel »

lisper wrote: post #50
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t see why people think HK is a bad model, sure Kowloon walled City was bad, but modern HK is quite nice. I also got the impression that Dubai wasn’t very walkable, but I’ve never been there.

I've travelled all over the world and lived in LA for 22 years. Dubai is the least walkable city I've ever seen by a wide margin. It would hold that title even if the weather did not already make it feel like hell on earth.

Maybe it's the weather conditions what produces a city like that. I live in a city that reaches 110F every summer, and walking is something I avoid as much as I can with that heat. (And I love walking)

Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#72

Post by fnord123 »

ShorsHammer wrote: post #53
dlwdlw wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It takes time to build up a high density culture. Thicker skin, a bit more aloofness, etc.. many run counter to what is considered "good" in sparser area.

I've seen people run to strangers aid in the biggest cities on earth. Perhaps "aloofness" is just more acceptable to some.

In my experience in London, the people living in the centre are not aloof, but it's the commuters who switch off their brains on the train or in the car and forget to switch it back on when they're in town. But that's an extremely broad brush, so don't take the categorization to heart.

Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#73

Post by ryandrake »

kevinburke wrote: post #67
ryandrake wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The original comment was about someone in Scotts Valley opposing urban development. Why does Scotts Valley need urban housing, when there are plenty of already-urban areas in the Bay Area that can continue to be built up? It makes much more sense to build up in front of El Camino Real or Caltrain. I don't live in Scotts Valley, so don't have a horse in that race--I'm merely picturing myself in that person's shoes. Is…

What do you count as urban development? Would a duplex count as urban development? how about a 4-unit condo building? or a 10-unit building? Reasons to build more densely there would include - accounting for a growing population, - senior citizens who want to live with their adult kids/walk to downtown - increased property tax revenue from construction with a 2018 basis to offset budget deterioration under Prop 13 -…

It's subjective--I suppose I'd count as "urban" anything that would significantly increase already congested automobile traffic and/or significantly increase neighborhood population (noise). Duplexes? Probably not so much. Townhomes, apartments, multi-unit buildings? Absolutely.

Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#74

Post by csomar »

lisper wrote: post #50
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t see why people think HK is a bad model, sure Kowloon walled City was bad, but modern HK is quite nice. I also got the impression that Dubai wasn’t very walkable, but I’ve never been there.

I've travelled all over the world and lived in LA for 22 years. Dubai is the least walkable city I've ever seen by a wide margin. It would hold that title even if the weather did not already make it feel like hell on earth.

The weather makes it impossible to have the city walkable and enjoyable. If you want to see another city less walkable than Dubai, it is Qatar. There isn't even public transportation there (though a metro line is in the works).

Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#75

Post by csomar »

okr wrote: post #65
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t see why people think HK is a bad model, sure Kowloon walled City was bad, but modern HK is quite nice. I also got the impression that Dubai wasn’t very walkable, but I’ve never been there.

Just have been to HK at Admiralty/Center. And the stairs up and down to get anywhere over the streets is super annoying. Especially at night. But surprisingly not much traffic, and lots of buses and trams. But maybe that was due to new year.

That's because you have been conditioned to look for the streets. The midlevel is amazing and protect you from the heat/rain plus makes your walk less of a pain (no need to cross roads).

Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#76

Post by ido »

xapata wrote: post #41
deepGem wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of the recent developments in Bangalore are heading in this direction. Mixed use is absolutely one of the better approaches to provide a good lifestyle to people. The sad drawback is that you get isolated and will lose the belongingness to the city as a whole. This is not a big deal in the short term, but in the long term, a set of isolated societies isn't that harmonious for the society. By isolated I don't mea…

What I find worst about modern city life is not having a relationship with my neighbors. I'd much prefer a neighborhood where everything I want is within a 5-minute walk.

Being in a modern city doesn't prevent you from having relationships with your neighbours. We live in a dense mixed-used neighbourhood in Berlin, in a 4 stories apartment building and have good contact with most of our neighbours.

Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#77

Post by icebraining »

rlanday wrote: post #20
beambot wrote: post #8

Those have to be condos, right? There isn't acreage for 10k single family homes in that area...

Or apartments

Isn't that the same type of building? I thought an "apartment" in the US was just a rented condo.

Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#78

Post by chii »

salimmadjd wrote: post #17
epistasis wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz have anti-housing factions similar to everywhere else in the Bay Area, and the pro-housing faction is in earlier stages of organization than in the Bay Area. Scotts Valley City Council actually had a member say in open meeting that they don't want "those type of people" living there, in reference to renters and presumably others without the means to buy a home. Santa Cruz is…

why can't someone buy enough land and incorporate their own city?

you mean like how Disney made Disneyland?

you'd need quite a large amount.

Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#79

Post by henrikschroder »

icebraining wrote: post #77
rlanday wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or apartments

Isn't that the same type of building? I thought an "apartment" in the US was just a rented condo.

The type of housing is called "apartment", because it's a part of a larger building.

A condominium is an apartment that is owned by an individual, who then pays maintenance fees to the condominium association, who in turn manages the building.

If you own a condo, you may be allowed to rent it out to someone else.

A more common option for rental apartments is that a landlord of some sort (an individual, a corporation, etc) owns an entire building, and rents out all apartments.

Re: Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)

#80

Post by kbart »

xapata wrote: post #41
deepGem wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of the recent developments in Bangalore are heading in this direction. Mixed use is absolutely one of the better approaches to provide a good lifestyle to people. The sad drawback is that you get isolated and will lose the belongingness to the city as a whole. This is not a big deal in the short term, but in the long term, a set of isolated societies isn't that harmonious for the society. By isolated I don't mea…

What I find worst about modern city life is not having a relationship with my neighbors. I'd much prefer a neighborhood where everything I want is within a 5-minute walk.

"What I find worst about modern city life is not having a relationship with my neighbors"

To each its own I guess. I used to live in a small town where everybody knew everybody and absolutely hated it. Now I live in a city where I don't know even my closest neighbors, there's no pressure to interact with them and I love it this way. Though it's a personal choice, I see some neighbors socializing in a yard all the time, looking after each others' kids etc.

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