See what the professionals have to say about good planning:
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Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
371–380 of 384 posts
Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
#372Completely tone-deaf. Those mock-ups would be pretty scary, were I visually-impaired (as an example): accidents waiting to happen everywhere; chaos, from a guide dog's perspective (if they were lucky enough to have one).
One wheelchair in all the mock-ups; and one of the smaller ones at that, that you can't zoom in on.
No prams. Anywhere.
This one's tricky, I'll admit, but, well, it looks really crowded. Any thought to low-arousal environments?
I guess this was designed. But for who?
Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
#373Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, you either didn’t read what I wrote or you haven’t been living on a budget. Poor people don’t waste more money on gas than they save by going to Walmart. They go to Walmart because it’s significantly cheaper to do weekly shopping there than even other big retail grocery outlets, let lone little ones. My parents absolutely fucking hate going to Walmart but they go there weekly because it’s $50/week difference just…
I definitely have been living on a budget, having been literally born into poverty and never quite able to move up a level. It's been with me my entire life and I assume it'll continue to be so for the rest of it. Kroger's a rich people store; there are plenty of stores that aren't that have been actually driven out of business by Wal*Mart.
Because their prices weren’t competitive, it’s that simple. Shopping at Walmart is not fun. People flock there because it’s cheaper than everyone else.
You’re suggesting that poor people lose more money by going to Walmart than they would shopping locally, which is just ridiculous. It implies poor people have no basic math skills on a average, which isn’t the case.
Walmart doesn’t crush local competitors with shitty warehouse lighting and angsty employee vibes. They do it by being far cheaper with their massive logistics.
Poor people shop where the money will go the furthest, full stop.
Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
#374Earlier quoted context omitted.
> will say though, the US is poorly equipped for bicycle commuting. Even our neighborhood doesn't have many dedicated bike paths, opting instead to share the road with cars. Most diehard cyclists I know will tell you it's a matter of "when" not "if" you have a scary encounter with a driver. My country is far from perfect, but the US simply culturally hates cyclists. I see outright dehumanisation - comparison to insec…
> The sort of sentiment you get from Europe when you mention Roma. To me, a European, that generalization is quite insulting.
Are you Icelandic?
Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
#375Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some huge percentage of Americans already live under an HoA or condo association. They've all but replaced municipal governments in many places.
You still own your property when there’s an HOA. I wonder why they didn’t do that here.
If you're building 1BRs, my guess is that you don't maximize your profits by selling them off as condos, because the demand to own is for 2BRs and larger. That, in turn, is probably because 1BRs are (very generally) for younger people in more temporary situations. I.e., those younger people are less likely to buy.
Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
#376It should be pointed out that this "neighborhood" is just a mixed use apartment complex of 760 rental units that does not currently exist yet though construction has sort of started. All pictures shown are renderings and this link is basically content marketing for it. They seem to cost ~$200-300 more per month than a market studio with parking in the same area.
That is odd to me too. Wouldn't many high-rise apartment buildings in a downtown corridor have more mixed-use/retail/office options as well as a thriving downtown area to walk to?
Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
#377Earlier quoted context omitted.
Car dependence comes from the low density infrastructure. The rules are a consequence of that. Low density infrastructure exists because many cities were built during a time when car companies were trying to make the automobile mainstream.
Density is limited explicitly by code. It's limited implicitly by parking requirements which are code. Car dependence also largely follows from segregation of uses (residential and retail can't mix) which is again code.
That's too simple of an answer. These codes did not exist until recent times. The codes actually exist because people wanted them to exist, because car culture influenced the way people think and how they should live. All these codes were put into place AFTER low density infrastructure was already the established norm.
You can see it in how cities are built this country. Cities established in the east before car culture took over are much more walkable and have a different set of "codes"
Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
#378Earlier quoted context omitted.
Density is limited explicitly by code. It's limited implicitly by parking requirements which are code. Car dependence also largely follows from segregation of uses (residential and retail can't mix) which is again code.
That's too simple of an answer. These codes did not exist until recent times. The codes actually exist because people wanted them to exist, because car culture influenced the way people think and how they should live. All these codes were put into place AFTER low density infrastructure was already the established norm. You can see it in how cities are built this country. Cities established in the east before car cult…
Part of the problem is that presently walkable cities don't have walkable codes, so as they expand or even replace old buildings they become more car centric. They are only walkable because current buildings are from prior to the adoption of the code. The Illegal City of Somerville [0] brought popular attention to this a few years ago.
I don't know why you insist on putting scare quotes around the words "planning" and "codes." In municipal governments all across the country, people who went to school for "Urban Planning" and have the job title "Planner" work for the "Planning Department" and administer the "Planning Code." These the canonical, legal names.
[0] https://cityobservatory.org/the-illegal-city-of-somerville/
Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
#379Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's too simple of an answer. These codes did not exist until recent times. The codes actually exist because people wanted them to exist, because car culture influenced the way people think and how they should live. All these codes were put into place AFTER low density infrastructure was already the established norm. You can see it in how cities are built this country. Cities established in the east before car cult…
Part of the problem is that presently walkable cities don't have walkable codes, so as they expand or even replace old buildings they become more car centric. They are only walkable because current buildings are from prior to the adoption of the code. The Illegal City of Somerville [0] brought popular attention to this a few years ago. I don't know why you insist on putting scare quotes around the words "planning" an…
I put quotes around them because they aren't actually planned. They're officially and canonically called "planning" codes but no real long term urban planning is involved. It's more short term satisfaction planning and not the kind of actual planning that goes on in other places like say China or Tokyo. Now you know why.
>Part of the problem is that presently walkable cities don't have walkable codes, so as they expand or even replace old buildings they become more car centric
Unlikely a city doesn't convert a high density building into a low density building because of a remodel. People really need to leave the city in droves for this to happen.
What you're referring to is NEW cities or new expansions.
Somerville is like a one off. It's also not really a walkable city like Tokyo or Hong Kong is. It's more like a walkable town or village.
Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US
#380Given that all neighborhoods created before the invention of the auto mobile were car free it is hardly the first. However congrats getting around zoning regulations