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

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

#341

Post by bpt3 »

arrosenberg wrote: post #270
bpt3 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So shifting infrastructure away from cars is really relevant. Sorry, it's really not. No one murders another person because of policies that don't provide enough to support to public transportation.

A lot of freeways got built right in the middle of poor neighborhoods. I'm not saying there is a direct causal link with that and murders, but it's pretty hard to ignore the socio-economic effects of those massive infrastructure projects.

That's fair, but the person above seemed to be taking it to a logical extreme.

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

#342

Post by bpt3 »

adrianN wrote: post #315
bpt3 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So shifting infrastructure away from cars is really relevant. Sorry, it's really not. No one murders another person because of policies that don't provide enough to support to public transportation.

I think we generally underestimate the importance of social mixing in our society. Groups are less likely to see other groups as enemies if they're neighbors and take the same train to work every day. Poor people are less likely to feel excluded from society if they have friends from the middle class than if their whole neighborhood is on welfare. Walkable neighborhoods with good infrastructure where a mixture of all…

Walkability isn't the issue in major cities, nor is proximity to other classes of people. In Baltimore (to stick with my original example), your likelihood of being a crime victim varies block to block, with one block being safe and the next being an open air drug market. That's not unusual for major cities in the US.

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

#343

Post by dmofp »

susiecambria wrote: post #337
dmofp wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Starting with holidays is a fantastic idea. One of the obstacles for me personally is finding time. I'm usually so overwhelmed with work/kids/family stuff, every spare moment seems both inadequate and too precious (e.g. catch up on sleep). On holidays, though...i'm usually more free.

Keep in mind the holidays are highly sought after days to volunteer. Get in early if you want to put in time at a soup kitchen, etc., particularly on Thanksgiving or Christmas. If you are holiday shopping with the kids, you might be able to add on a little shoe box shopping. The items can be picked up at a drug store, Target, Walmart, etc. The kids can help you pick out and pack up. Then drop it off at a local shelte…

Good to know. Thanks a ton for the ideas. I really hate how helpless i feel about the world sometimes, any push in the direction of action is a good one.

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

#344

Post by cjohnson318 »

free_rms wrote: post #301
cjohnson318 wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "success" of this was contingent upon there being a Vietnamese community in the neighborhood that took care of the statue and the space around it. To be clear, using another culture's religious icon to keep trash from piling up on your street is exceedingly disrespectful.

It's ineffective and woo, but come on. Disrespectful? Can we get over this hyper-upper-class take on everything for lower class problems? When it gets vandalized, that's disrespectful, I guess, but putting it there is merely stupid.

No, using religious icons to facilitate waste management is disrespectful, full stop.

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

#345

Post by Simulacra »

Litter pickup. No one else is going out and picking up litter with a grabber and a bag unless they're in trouble or it's their job, which is rare apparently. Just go out and start cleaning. Besides becoming a volunteer fire fighter, or some other full time volunteer position, I think litter collection and disposal is something that will help the neighborhood.

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

#346

Post by dontbeevil1992 »

Buttons840 wrote: post #209
dontbeevil1992 wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

or instead of dismissing people's grievances as illogical, you can skip the strawman phase and engage with the real issues as I and others have described here

The post I replied to logically argued that people are not harmed when their community improves and they are priced out and forced to move. (Note, I never claimed they were illogical, but instead that they were "too logical" Pure logic will not explain why people feel the way they do, because people are not always logical). They then ask: > Can someone explain what this description misses and where the harm comes fro…

> In answer, maybe no harm is actually done. But even so, people will perceive that they have been harmed.

Maybe cows can fly. Maybe a lot of things. But it does cause harm. So your idea about people's perceptions seems condescending

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