Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 346 posts

Re: Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

#181

Post by 8note »

theptip wrote: post #68
georgeoliver wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Keep in mind that "gentrification" also tends to make local residents wealthier — it's not as simple as the usual picture in which locals are simply pushed out. I'm genuinely curious to see your sources on this -- isn't displacement of original residents the primary definition of gentrification?

Not everyone is renting in the gentrified areas. If you own, your equity goes up in value.

But all you can do with that is take out debt or move away. In the mean time, your property taxes go up

Re: Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

#182

Post by fudged71 »

airkumar wrote: post #83

In addition to the many great answers here: consider putting on performances, whether you organize them or perform. Make art, and leave it in unexpected places. Sell some homemade food outside your house once in a while. Add a little surprise and delight into people's lives. It's contagious. And everyone needs joy, entertainment, and even some good-weirdness in their lives; it's not just for those with disposable inc…

Random anonymous acts of kindness (like paying for coffee for the person after you) can uplift a whole community. And it spreads faster these days with digital community groups (people saying thank you to strangers). In fact those messages could even be positive propaganda

Re: Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

#183

Post by renewiltord »

Don't. Get out. Get powerful. There is a threshold effect. Unless you have a non-normative path to power (organized crime or powerful family or lots of money already), don't do it.

What you're doing is the equivalent of trying to get strong by pulling a 500 lb barbell every day without moving it. It is not effective. Go somewhere where you pull the 100 lbs first and get it off the ground. Then move up. One day you will be able to pull the 500 lbs. Then you can go back and move it.

In the most dangerous places, all the barbells are 500 lbs. You will not get strong. The barbell will not move. The barbell will never move.

Re: Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

#184

Post by beat »

Retric wrote: post #88
burlesona wrote: post #44

The single best thing you can do is pick a neighborhood - not the whole city - and invest deeply. Get to know everyone in the neighborhood and understand what they want and need, then try to find ways to bring that. When you have a strong network of neighbors and a little bit of cash, you can ramp up investment by cleaning up dirty corners and getting the basic services that a neighborhood is missing. Here’s an examp…

I mean this in the most objective way possible. The risk with urban improvement is making the area more desirable eventually prices people out of the community. So, the real question is do you help the land or current residents? When you own property it’s seriously worth considering local improvements for several reasons, but it’s also easy to confuse the two. Further, if most people in the community own property the…

This is the gentrification problem. Make the community more desirable, and you make it increasingly more expensive for the existing residents. It's hard to balance these things.

In the case of Minneapolis, the city committed to a plan (Minneapolis2040) to increase housing density. And a lot of that new apartment/condo construction (mostly on unused or old industrial land) is necessarily out of financial reach for average residents. But the increased supply helps protect the prices for the existing houses and older apartments, whether privately owned or rentals.

It's not perfect, it's arguably not even good, but it's a tradeoff most Minneapolis residents can live with.

Re: Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

#185

Post by James_Henry »

8note wrote: post #169
James_Henry wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it is more desirable, then you build more housing, it should be as simple as that. If you build enough housing, rents won't rise.

To build more housing, you have to destroy the old housing. This still displaces people, and likely pushes them into smaller apartments where they would have been in a house

No, you can let people decide whether they want to move out. Many of them would elect to then sell their houses to developers who would build apartments. Many would choose on their own to add units to their own property. If some people don't like living next to apartments, then they are out of luck though. I don't know if we should expect people to have that kind of say over what their neighbors do with their property.

Re: Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

#186

Post by PopeDotNinja »

bko wrote: post #107
burlesona wrote: post #44

The single best thing you can do is pick a neighborhood - not the whole city - and invest deeply. Get to know everyone in the neighborhood and understand what they want and need, then try to find ways to bring that. When you have a strong network of neighbors and a little bit of cash, you can ramp up investment by cleaning up dirty corners and getting the basic services that a neighborhood is missing. Here’s an examp…

> When you have a strong network of neighbors and a little bit of cash, you can ramp up investment by cleaning up dirty corners and getting the basic services that a neighborhood is missing. I don't think you need a network to begin cleaning up dirty corners. Just pick up garbage you see on the street when you walk around. It has an immediate impact, is easy and doesn't cost anything. Other people may see it and may…

Just put a Buddha statue on the corner!

https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-11-19/how-buddhist-shrine-t...

Re: Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

#188

Post by throwaway1777 »

centimeter wrote: post #151

Violent crime rates are almost 100% predicted by demographic factors that you can’t control (except at the margins, e.g. by evicting problematic demographics or by voting for immigration laws that favor beneficial demographics).

You may be right, but people are going to downvote what they don’t want to hear unless you cite a source.

Re: Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

#189

Post by throwaway1777 »

Retric wrote: post #88
burlesona wrote: post #44

The single best thing you can do is pick a neighborhood - not the whole city - and invest deeply. Get to know everyone in the neighborhood and understand what they want and need, then try to find ways to bring that. When you have a strong network of neighbors and a little bit of cash, you can ramp up investment by cleaning up dirty corners and getting the basic services that a neighborhood is missing. Here’s an examp…

I mean this in the most objective way possible. The risk with urban improvement is making the area more desirable eventually prices people out of the community. So, the real question is do you help the land or current residents? When you own property it’s seriously worth considering local improvements for several reasons, but it’s also easy to confuse the two. Further, if most people in the community own property the…

Now you know why people support rent control despite it being repeatedly shown to have negative economic impact.

Re: Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?

#190

Post by omosubi »

mybandisbetter wrote: post #45
willmeyers wrote: post #8

Pick up litter around your block. Smile and wave to neighbors. Become active in and or donate to community projects. Spread a general sense of kindness and support to others near you. These are the smallest and easiest things you can do that'll have an impact on people.

In addition to being a quality human in these ways, I'd recommend googling "tactical urbanism." That means: do quick, low-cost interventions in your neighbourhood, like painting a mural on the street, building flower boxes, or creating a pocket park. (Should probably get permission, but for some things, just do it). This all helps attract people to the street and builds a sense of ownership, which encourages folks to…

Is there any evidence that putting art in empty windows actually helps? i see that a lot and I always find it kind of beseeching. Similarly my neighborhood has been putting up murals as an attempt to spur business development and it feels like I'm being sold on the neighborhood all the time.

here's a particularly egregious example: https://doc-0s-ak-mymaps.googleusercontent.com/untrusted/hos...

It's frustrating that graffiti is seen so negatively. of course I'm against vandalism and it certainly doesn't belong on building facades but I'd take a wall of mediocre graffiti that's constantly refreshed over a business development funded mural any day. at least graffiti is honest

Post reply on HN