San Francisco is spending $1.7M on one public toilet

Post by bsder » Thu, Oct 20, 2022, 9:56 PM UTC

Zanneth wrote: post #588

nemo44x wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rustbelt, deep south, and Appalachia are not some beautiful, middle class paradises. They're full of towns littered with heroin and meth addicts subsidized by welfare and petty crime. You just don't see it or read about it because it's across thousands of small towns and not concentrated in major cities, where media also tends to live. These places have a lot of violence, social issues, drug overdoses, etc. They…

Whether they exist or not, the fact that the normal working population don't have to see or deal with it sounds like a significant upgrade.

Post by asow92 » Thu, Oct 20, 2022, 10:12 PM UTC

googlryas wrote: post #629

asow92 wrote: post #160

Why is it that the deepest blue areas of the country have some of the most abject inequity and poverty? It seems that there's a fine line between compassion and enablement when it comes to the deep blue municipalities of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, etc. Sure the rustbelt, deep south, and Appalachia are areas with similar problems and mixed politics, but they also somehow feel different.

Because cities tend to go blue and tend to have their problems crammed into a small area, where a single person can observe it. Taking a photo of 10 junkies strung out on a city street corner tells a more compelling story than taking a picture of a rural junkie on their porch, then driving 10 minutes and taking another picture of a rural junkie on their porch, and then driving another 15 minutes...

Post by Turing_Machine » Thu, Oct 20, 2022, 10:45 PM UTC

Post by agumonkey » Thu, Oct 20, 2022, 11:03 PM UTC

Kalium wrote: post #586

notch656a wrote: post #581

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being exposed without, say maybe wooden structure to block the wind around you while you sleep, may be a reason homeless build fires. The last story I was able to find was of someone that died exactly that way, a fire in near freezing weather in SF [0]. If that person had a lockable wooden shed to put blankets and sleep in, she wouldn't have needed a fire. [0] https://www.kqed.org/news/11906661/woman-who-died-in-home…

When I lived in Oakland, my apartment building had several close calls with wildfires caused by poorly contained campfires in a nearby encampment of vulnerable community members housed in tents to keep the wind off as they slept. Given that lockable wooden sheds / "tiny homes" can and do catch fire from things like poorly managed propane stoves in particle board construction, perhaps a better solution is in order. As…

Post by drewrv » Thu, Oct 20, 2022, 11:25 PM UTC

asow92 wrote: post #466

drewrv wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other comments mention that it's more visible in cities, but I'd like to add that "abject inequity and poverty" are national problems that cities cannot solve individually. Rural areas are given disproportionate political power in our national elections while cities go underrepresented. So national problems that affect cities go ignored.

If rural areas are given disproportionate political power, why can't political parties that feel this disadvantage do better in those areas? Why change the rules of the game instead of winning it?