The pro housing people always think more housing will lower rents. Apparently they’ve never been to a big, dense city.
You mean like Tokyo or pretty much anywhere in Japan?
Exactly, just like Tokyo, one of the most expensive cities in the world
Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
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Re: Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
#42Analogous: Zoo animals are much happier and healthier when released into the wild.
Re: Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
#43This is the sort of thing I think about when the pro-urban/pro-density/anti-car people talk about their vision for the world. I live in a city now, and the lack of substantial nature is suffocating to the extent that I plan to move. The idea that we should all live this way to conserve space—a resource which is only scarce in these urban places—seems excessive to put it mildly. EDIT: A lot of urban folks are rebuttin…
Anti-car is pro-nature not pro concrete jungle. Cars are a big part of why we have a concrete jungle and not nature intersected with density. Think of cities with substantial nature passages, botanic gardens and reserves throughout. Not just one big one but many.
Suburbia isn't nature either, at least not standard suburbia. It's carbon intense lawn, concrete and asphalt. A front lawn and a big tree isn't nature. The pro-car angle seeks to expand suburbia, and destroy more and more nature. You may see more greenery but it's just grass and the odd pasture.
I don't think anyone in the anti-car movement is saying, don't drive to a national park or mountain. The anti-car movement is about removing cars from the city and reducing the impact of suburbia on the greater area, which includes national parks.
Re: Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
#44This is the sort of thing I think about when the pro-urban/pro-density/anti-car people talk about their vision for the world. I live in a city now, and the lack of substantial nature is suffocating to the extent that I plan to move. The idea that we should all live this way to conserve space—a resource which is only scarce in these urban places—seems excessive to put it mildly. EDIT: A lot of urban folks are rebuttin…
You’re presenting a false dichotomy. There are plenty of dense places with incredible nature within just an hours drive. In the USA, Maybe not so much outside of the West Coast of the USA however. Personally, living in a city close to nature(seattle area) has been the best thing for me so far in my life; I have spent a stupid amount of money making it happen but wouldn’t trade it for anything. On the flip side it’s n…
The bay area is great in this front as well. I live in the east Bay and it's an easy bike ride to redwood groves...
Re: Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
#45This is the sort of thing I think about when the pro-urban/pro-density/anti-car people talk about their vision for the world. I live in a city now, and the lack of substantial nature is suffocating to the extent that I plan to move. The idea that we should all live this way to conserve space—a resource which is only scarce in these urban places—seems excessive to put it mildly. EDIT: A lot of urban folks are rebuttin…
> when the pro-urban/pro-density/anti-car people talk about their vision for the world
Beggars belief your response to an article on the psychological and health benefits of nature is… more cars?
Building roads, urban sprawl, the noise and pollution from the cars themselves, the destructive invasion of all the infrastructure associated with car-use - all of it is directly destructive of the nature we’re talking about.
Re: Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
#46This is the sort of thing I think about when the pro-urban/pro-density/anti-car people talk about their vision for the world. I live in a city now, and the lack of substantial nature is suffocating to the extent that I plan to move. The idea that we should all live this way to conserve space—a resource which is only scarce in these urban places—seems excessive to put it mildly. EDIT: A lot of urban folks are rebuttin…
I've spent the last year living at my parents' cabin in the woods. It's right next to Jackson state forest. They've got 8 acres of land full of wildlife and redwoods. Waking up and stepping out onto the deck in the morning feels like crawling out of your tent when camping.
But now it's back to SF as the office is reopening. I won't miss driving 3+ hours to see friends, but I will miss the scenery.
Re: Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
#47This is the sort of thing I think about when the pro-urban/pro-density/anti-car people talk about their vision for the world. I live in a city now, and the lack of substantial nature is suffocating to the extent that I plan to move. The idea that we should all live this way to conserve space—a resource which is only scarce in these urban places—seems excessive to put it mildly. EDIT: A lot of urban folks are rebuttin…
The three options are to build densely, or to sprawl over into nature spaces, or to have fewer children.
We’re already having fewer children, and anyway there’s a whole lot of space out there. You talk like Chicago and LA are nearly bordering each other.
Re: Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
#48This is the sort of thing I think about when the pro-urban/pro-density/anti-car people talk about their vision for the world. I live in a city now, and the lack of substantial nature is suffocating to the extent that I plan to move. The idea that we should all live this way to conserve space—a resource which is only scarce in these urban places—seems excessive to put it mildly. EDIT: A lot of urban folks are rebuttin…
> A lot of urban folks are rebutting my “substantial nature” complaint with references to their city’s parks
One important aspect of nature is the ability to escape people. Most city parks cannot do that.
Re: Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
#49what is “nature”?
Re: Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
#50In the difference in air content between in door air and outdoor/forest air able to have cognitive and health aspects? see e.g. potential unintended cognitive consequences of CO2 emissions: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/026988111141572... Any documentation on the variance of percentage of C02 and oxygen ? Do polyphenols (via pollen?) have relevant effects intranasally ? off-topic but related to title i…
Phytoncides (antibiotic plant metabolites) are thought to boost immunity in a very direct way: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20074458/
Some cultures practice „forest bathing“ which would probably reap the greatest benefits (besides living in the woods, obviously).
Maybe this sounds gimmicky, but boosting immunity has a lot of downstream effects, from heart health to brain health to structural integrity and longevity. The body can put the resources it otherwise needs to do damage control into useful things like producing enzymes and correcting metabolic shortcomings.