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America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

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Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#41
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good start would be to allow everyone living in the city to vote. I don't care about politics, zoning or planning if I am not allowed to vote or participate. There isn't anything I can do, so why bother putting effort into it?

Did you not register to vote or something?

I've lived in various European cities where I was not able to vote for various reasons. Such as living hotel long-term, living in a holiday home, being semi-homeless, sub-letting, crashing on someones couch. Seasonal workers, migrant workers or people with unstable employment are typically in this situation.

No, I was not able to vote.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#42
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good start would be to allow everyone living in the city to vote. I don't care about politics, zoning or planning if I am not allowed to vote or participate. There isn't anything I can do, so why bother putting effort into it?

> allow everyone living in the city to vote Who is "everyone" in this case?

People who live in the city for the majority of their time. They should be able to vote. Regardless of their housing situation. In basically all of Europe, voting for local elections is tied to having stable housing.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#43

You’re not getting $4 lunch bowls in Seattle when minimum wage is more than $20/hr. You aren’t getting affordable anything when labor is so expensive. (You also aren’t getting your 16 year old their first job either when labor costs more than your kid is worth but that is another topic entirely) Zoning is only one tiny piece of the puzzle.

The labor is expensive because the rent is expensive.

Guess why the rent is expensive?

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#44

reducing everything to zoning laws is lazy analysis. nobody will ever sell $4 lunch bowls in SF because the rent is too high. so these market incentives will influence/force the proprietor to sell them for more!

The rent is too high because of zoning laws.

All things being equal, SF has some of the most desirable weather on the planet, so it will always have an high cost of living due to excess demand.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#45
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good start would be to allow everyone living in the city to vote. I don't care about politics, zoning or planning if I am not allowed to vote or participate. There isn't anything I can do, so why bother putting effort into it?

> allow everyone living in the city to vote Who is "everyone" in this case?

My guess is non-citizens or 'undocumented immigrants'.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#46
Honestly, at this point, may be someone can collect a bunch of like minded individuals and build a city from scratch that ticks all the boxes instead of fighting existing vested interests. Then, hopefully it can be a model for others to review and check.

The problem with US or any other country is that too many things that should not be ideological become ideological. So many people would be happy to live in a 1400 sq ft 3 bedroom house over 2500 sq ft single family homes if a lot of other things were provided.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#47

Ok… if this is the case, then why are food trucks charging $18 for a burger and fries now? It isn’t all zoning laws.

1. food trucks are subject to lots of regulation and fees too

2. burrito trucks sell their burritos at the market clearing price for a burrito, which is $18 because most of that burrito truck's competition is brick-and-mortar restaurants with expensive rent because of zoning laws.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I think you missed the whole point of the story about being able to open up a micro-eatery in front of your home. You know, where you live and want to build up a community. Back when we used to be great, didn't we idolize the local bar where everyone knows your name? That's what these neighborhood shops are. No one wants to go where you'll be poisoned through food contamination. Food safety regulations are a good thi…

Having lived in 3rd world I do find food safety regulations to be a bad thing. You can get sick as rarely as you do in regulated countries by following some simple rules in places without regulations. I go to places where I can watch the food being prepared. And make sure it is hot when you eat it. Simple things like this.

I have not gotten sick in places like Syria, Iraq, Philippines, etc any more than I do in the US by following simple rules. Yes you have to pay attention but to be honest, you should be applying these rules in USA too, because food inspector and zoning mostly there to protect big business through barrier of entry; they don't actually do that good a job of inspecting or enforcing the rules.

The plus here is in places without these regulation the street is full of these tasty food vendors, even more than Japan. It is well worth the lack of safety regulations.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rent is too high because of zoning laws.

All things being equal, SF has some of the most desirable weather on the planet, so it will always have an high cost of living due to excess demand.

it's a great place to live and there will always be high demand.

there would be more supply if not for restrictive zoning laws. and more supply = lower prices

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