Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods • Hacker News Board

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#341

Post by TeaDrunk » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:37 PM UTC

b112 wrote: post #260

xvedejas wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree that this hazard is real, but I also see the term used in non-racist, non-sexist ways too, sometimes with disclaimers that "obviously this isn't just white women and not all white women are like this". I realize I am likely in the minority thinking that context matters, but I want to provide my sincere stance that I think it's sometimes reasonable to call someone a Karen, assuming proper care is take…

The problem is, people used to have non-gender, non-racial terms for people. For example, a person might be called an 'asshole' or 'bonehead', and this could be a person of any colour, any sex, age, etc. Yet now, it seems all sorts are labeling people based upon sex, colour, ethnic background, etc. It is, quite literally, the definition of sexual, racial, age discrimination. It is linking "external characteristic" wi…

From what I understand the specific behavior is actually and intrinsically linked to the idea of a white woman in America and has historically existed for quite a while among black circles (from the 1800s at least). Discussing Karen as if it’s new belies the actual history of it. [0]

0. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/14/891177904/whats-in-a-karen

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#342

Post by orthoxerox » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:39 PM UTC

bananamerica wrote: post #176

Spooky23 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In theory sure. In reality, the financial system is oriented towards big capital. My aunt ran a coffee shop that was established by grandparents in 1939. It was in the lobby of a office building in he central business district of our little city. The building was bought by a Chinese investor. Like other similar stores, her rent went up 5x and she shuttered. I live in a mixed use urban neighborhood. 50% of he storefro…

Why is karate dojo death business? Do they kill a lot of people?

Because a dojo needs lots of space. If it's not an elite dojo it means the prices for commercial space have crashed in this location.

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#343

Post by viraptor » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:40 PM UTC

b112 wrote: post #291

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just call someone what they are. "Asshole" has worked fine for millennia. Except that Karens and assholes are different. Karens can be assholes, sure, but a Karen is a specific type of asshole. Football hooligans may be assholes but they're generally not Karens. It means something different, and there isn't another word that means the same thing.

Unless a 'Karen' can be an elderly aging Asian man, it's sexist, ageish and racist. Here's a few other such terms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs A lot of these terms link specific behaviour, to specific ethnic/sex/cultural groups. I guess they're OK too? I find it utterly disgusting, that some people think some things are 'one way'. That racism is OK, but only "one way". Sexism is OK, but only ag…

An elderly Asian guy can totally be a Karen. We don't have another single word at the moment to convey the same behaviour in a different way. You can propose one and try to convert the usage though.

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#344

Post by allannienhuis » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:41 PM UTC

qwerty456127 wrote: post #296

Matt3o12_ wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It only makes sense when it's about noisy and air-polluting businesses, grocery/whatever stores and offices are absolutely great to be dispersed within residential areas! Grocery stores (even small ones) can be very noisy, especially with extended business hours these days. I used to live In an apartment above a grocery story with a small parking lot for a long time. This was also in a mixed zone area (mostly resid…

> At 6am, trucks start rolling up and delivering food (although they are only supposed to do that at 7am, on some days they’ll start at 6). That means very loud beeping from the trucks backing up and shouting to the grocery employees above engine noise. Exactly the same takes place in purely residential areas anyway because of garbage trucks. That's no problem if you shut your window however, modern windows isolate n…

Garbage trucks don't show up every morning, do they? The parent poster was describing a situation where multiple trucks roll up in the early morning every day. I think it's pretty clear the two scenarios aren't really comparable.

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#345

Post by allannienhuis » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:44 PM UTC

bezmenov wrote: post #168

dgellow wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure about your argument of “you have to build up”. Lot of places in Europe have strict limits regarding how high a building can be and they do have lot of small stores around, Berlin, that you mentioned, is very strict on this. A few examples: Hamburg residential areas seem to have ~4-5 floors max. Groningen has neighborhoods where apartment building are limited to only 2 floors (So just two apartments). The…

~5 floors is as high as you can go before needing an elevator.

I don't think I've seen a reasonably modern building around here (Vancouver, Canada) over 2 floors without an elevator. I expect we have accessibility rules that require them for anything other than individual private residences.

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#346

Post by jdmichal » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:45 PM UTC

bobthepanda wrote: post #226

baggy_trough wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I wanted to do was move to a place that had rules which would keep the neighborhood the way I like.

If you're not paying neighbors to keep their land the way you like, why should you have any say in that?

That is a pathological way of thinking about it. You could also think of it as a collective pact.

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#347

Post by Balgair » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:50 PM UTC

prawn wrote: post #228

jkhdigital wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the exact same thoughts upon reading this article, having spent quite a bit of time in Japan. Businesses are liberally sprinkled all over residential neighborhoods, from bars, cafes and grocers to home electronics and repair shops. The density (and corresponding walkability) of Japanese cities is a big factor that supports this kind of development. The armchair economist in me wants to theorize that this might…

In Australia there'd be concerns about parking, neighbours would complain about customers dominating street parking, etc. Or if it was a small restaurant/bars there'd be fears of drunken louts as we collectively have an alcohol problem. It's a shame because there are lots of originally-corner-store-type properties which have been used as houses and shut off from the street. Ideally, they'd be quiet businesses like ar…

AUS did not seem to have a crazy bad alcohol problem to this US person. I've not seen the summerys though(? when all the HS grads go to the Surf Coast, etc?). We'd go out on Fridays to the pubs near Melbourne and it seemed pretty ok. There was a guy with a ram though, that was strange.

However, my basis of 'bad' is something more like State Street in Madison after a winning home game where hundreds of people literally cannot stand up straight.

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#348

Post by BurningFrog » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:54 PM UTC

mook wrote: post #97

BurningFrog wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only way this story makes sense to me is if some other business took over the coffee shop space and paid the 5x rent.

It's also possible the new landlords internally drove out the tenant to not have to deal with the hassle of having a tenant. This could make sense if they wanted the building as a store of value and didn't care about the rental income. If nobody is there nobody will accidentally start a fire while cooking. It would probably make sense for the city/whatever to incentivise against that.

OK, that also seems possible.

You this kind of thing in San Francisco, where decades of regulations banning and mandating everything anyone has ever thought of, makes doing nothing with a building sometimes the only remaining strategy.

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#349

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:57 PM UTC

Matt3o12_ wrote: post #223

qwerty456127 wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea of separating business and living into distant zones and forbidding trading within residential areas has always infuriated me with its absurdity. Who could possibly come up with it? It only makes sense when it's about noisy and air-polluting businesses, grocery/whatever stores and offices are absolutely great to be dispersed within residential areas!

> It only makes sense when it's about noisy and air-polluting businesses, grocery/whatever stores and offices are absolutely great to be dispersed within residential areas! Grocery stores (even small ones) can be very noisy, especially with extended business hours these days. I used to live In an apartment above a grocery story with a small parking lot for a long time. This was also in a mixed zone area (mostly resid…

I lived directly behind the loading area for a large grocery store for a few years and personally I thought noise concerns were overblown. After the first week or so I was just used to those noises and slept right through them.

Granted, that might not be something everyone can deal with, but I imagine a lot of people can.

P.S.: It was great having a (24 hour!) grocery store that close. I thought of it as my personal walk-in pantry.

Re: Put tiny businesses back into residential neighborhoods

#350

Post by jessaustin » Fri, Jul 24, 2020, 1:59 PM UTC

rapnie wrote: post #183

kilroy_jones wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they meant a business that is destined to die. Could be wrong though.

The way I read it it was referring to the type of businesses that arise in already dying residential areas, due to the rent being cheap, etc. and individuals can start their yoga studio or karate doja and such. The businesses themselves aren't bad, but they are a symptom of a neighborhood in decline. Don't know if that is true, but that's how I understood it.

Also, these businesses don't need walls or public restrooms. If the floor is concrete, CVT, carpet, or whatever they still just roll out some padded mats. No one cares what the ceiling looks like or if the heat works. No remodeling required to get their tenancy started, and none required to replace them with a more lucrative business. Landlords are not afraid to sign up such tenants even if the rent they'll pay is low. A tenant like a dentist or coffee shop requires more complicated improvements, will be charged higher rent, and will signify that the strip mall in question is not dying.