21–30 of 75 posts
Probably not an HN-worthy comment, but when I read the title my mind immediately went to the constitution of engineering teams. Now I'm curious if there's a treatment of this anywhere that is worth reading. Seems like you need a bit of both to maximize effect (or at least wear both hats to the extent you're willing and able).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is that's a lovely sentiment until there isn't enough money to keep the libraries open.
Tiny rural towns manage to have libraries. Cities are just addicted to tax revenue.
Often, when they do, it is either:
(1) Because of state funding specifically for rural counties, which amounts to a revenue transfer from urban counties, or
(2) Because the rural town is in a county with, and deriving revenue from, a city, funding county libraries in the rural town as well as the city.
Even more often, tiny rural towns don't have public libraries, and you have to go to a neighboring town or the nearest city.
Not emphasized in Johnny’s post, there’s also a ton of neighborhood pushback against flea markets and such in many communities. Basically the wealthier folks don’t like the aesthetics of these things, and will argue that they’re a nuisance or crime-magnets or whatever, a thin veneer over the discomfort they have with anything that draws a low income crowd. You’ll see things like the “Sunday Farmers Market” that close…
>there’s also a ton of neighborhood pushback against flea markets and such in many communities. Basically the wealthier folks don’t like the aesthetics of these things Tons of perfectly fine things that don't really bother anyone are not allowed because wealthy people don't like the aesthetics.
Not emphasized in Johnny’s post, there’s also a ton of neighborhood pushback against flea markets and such in many communities. Basically the wealthier folks don’t like the aesthetics of these things, and will argue that they’re a nuisance or crime-magnets or whatever, a thin veneer over the discomfort they have with anything that draws a low income crowd. You’ll see things like the “Sunday Farmers Market” that close…
Maybe we should work on making cities less greedy about tax revenue and instead care more about benefiting the people who live there.
> So why don’t local governments embrace more of this sort of pop up grass roots mom and pop enterprise? Officials are in a trap that requires them to boost tax revenue to pay for all the attenuated infrastructure and municipal overhead that’s accumulated for decades. Highly functional flea markets don’t generate enough cash surplus to skim. So municipalities are obliged to search for show horses with all the associated prestige, complexity, and expense. ...
Those local governments probably bought into the Growth Ponzi Scheme and are now trapped in an endless cycle of megacorp courthship that with each iteration further destroys the means for the area to survive independently:
Why would someone make counter tops from permeable stone? That's idiotic. There are stone materials like granite that are impermeable. Besides, why is marble high-status? You can get that stuff at Home Depot.
My own countertops are inch thick glazed fired ceramic tiles, from the 1960s. Same material as those indestructible walls schools and gyms used to use. Fifty years of use have not marked them, they can be cleaned with strong cleaners, and they are unaffected by contact with hot pans.
Not emphasized in Johnny’s post, there’s also a ton of neighborhood pushback against flea markets and such in many communities. Basically the wealthier folks don’t like the aesthetics of these things, and will argue that they’re a nuisance or crime-magnets or whatever, a thin veneer over the discomfort they have with anything that draws a low income crowd. You’ll see things like the “Sunday Farmers Market” that close…
Maybe we should work on making cities less greedy about tax revenue and instead care more about benefiting the people who live there.
The problem with direct democracy is that the people who have the most time to waste (or the most money at stake) on playing politics are the ones who show up. It's also why your HOA is probably governed by a hand-picked selection of devils from the Fifth Circle of Hell.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tiny rural towns manage to have libraries. Cities are just addicted to tax revenue.
> Tiny rural towns manage to have libraries. Often, when they do, it is either: (1) Because of state funding specifically for rural counties, which amounts to a revenue transfer from urban counties, or (2) Because the rural town is in a county with, and deriving revenue from, a city, funding county libraries in the rural town as well as the city. Even more often, tiny rural towns don't have public libraries, and you…
I think your bias is showing.
We know how to build more and more of these "town centres" - we used to find them at the centre of almost all towns. The problem is it's not something governments can do or force - it's something they allow, and don't strangle.
It's waaaaay harder.
It is what evolves naturally until it is stretched out of existence by roads and car journeys, or bored to death by same-old franchises that suck revenue back to HQ
It involves ending the nice suburban compromise ( ala StrongTowns) and that is probably a bigger change to modern Western lifestyles than almost anything.
How could we all move back into city-level densities?