What a trash article. Why is the only photo, used to illustrate the point about narrow buildings, a photo of Manhattan instead of anything in Japan? When "our zoning laws" are enumerated, where are they talking about? Last time I checked there were no US federal rules on parking spaces. At least they acknowledge that multiple jurisdictions exist when talking about health codes. And as per usual when talking about Japan, they ignore the fact that Japan also has car-dependent suburbs and rural areas, where it is quite common for restaurants outside of city centers to need to balance costs with the need for a larger footprint and a parking lot. The role of culture in eating habits is also ignored, Americans take more pride in the self-reliance of cooking their own meals.
America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
121–130 of 322 posts
Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
#122The key point here (and biggest advantage of Japanese cities) is that nearly every building is mixed-use by default, regardless of local density levels. This post does a great job illustrating the difference this makes: https://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.htm... For comparison, even our best-case scenarios for urbanism here in the states (like NYC) have incredibly convoluted zoning rules, which i…
> The key point here (and biggest advantage of Japanese cities) is that nearly every building is mixed-use by default, Also, Japan generally has good mass transit throughout their cities, which essentially doesn't exist in the US. Less mass transit -> more cars -> need for parking -> larger buildings with setbacks to include parking -> less density -> less mass transit... Land use and transportation systems in the US…
This is a big misconception. The core neighborhoods of the big Japanese cities are dense, mixed-use, and have good mass transit. But as soon as you move a bit further away, they degenerate into endless urban sprawl like American cities. I know because I live in a small Japanese city, and it is just box stores, small detached houses, and two-story apartments.
Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ok. That's by design.
It's by design that only people with stable housing can vote? I bet you loved pre-1965 America.
Actually yes, that is by design. There is a reason the US had property ownership as a requirement to vote in the constitution. Whether removing that requirement was correct or not is up for debate. But there is a distinction in a democracy between an active citizen and a passive citizen. An active citizen is someone that has skin in the game and is a willing participant in the process. A passive citizen is someone that does not engage in the process, or does not actively have skin in the game. The thought espoused in the enlightenment was that someone with property would be tied to the location long term and would therefore have interest in the long term success of that town/state/nation. Someone who is only in a town for a year doesn't meaningfully have stakes in the town. They don't really care if the schools aren't funded well enough, or if the roads don't have long term maintenance budget, they are only going to care about immediate needs. Someone with a house, that has children or grand children, they are going to not only care about now but 30 years from now as well.
Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm talking about people who live in the city for years.
Then find a legal place to stay and register and you can vote.
A yes, why didn't I think of that! Let me just completely ignore the broken housing market, the 15+ year waiting list for social housing and scrape together... lets checks... €400k for a small appartement with a 45 minute commute to work.
Do you have any clue how privileged you sound here? This is peak "have you tried not being poor" attitude.
Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
the rent is too high because of the market incentives. zoning laws are one of several dynamics that influence the market. we've built a ton of structures with existing zoning laws when the economy is good, more than we've built during this deregulation paradigm. we stop when the economy or market is bad. very simple concept.
One less dynamic would be helpful then. There's also the other turd in California real estate policy: Prop 13.
fair point, and my original point doesn't negate that truth: reducing every problem to zoning laws is lazy analysis.
Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
...and sorry: Thats absolutely OK. I do not want strangers stopping by for 3 - 4 years to be able to influence the politics of my country? Thats totaly understandable? I would never to ask to vote at a remote place where I do not live permanently, yet where I even not a citizen?
That is OK but OP should not be complaining about people not being engaged with local politics if you are excluding a large part of the people living in the city from voting.
Are a large part of the people living in a city the kind of semi-transitory-but-also-there-for-years people you describe?
I'd wager that's a small proportion of almost every city. Most cities will have tourists who are visiting for a few days or weeks, and long term residents who have a permanent address there. The percentage of people living full time in hotels or airbnbs must be tiny. Perhaps in high cost of living cities there's more "hidden homeless" living on couches, but even then it's not going to be "a large part" of a city.
Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
#127The key point here (and biggest advantage of Japanese cities) is that nearly every building is mixed-use by default, regardless of local density levels. This post does a great job illustrating the difference this makes: https://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.htm... For comparison, even our best-case scenarios for urbanism here in the states (like NYC) have incredibly convoluted zoning rules, which i…
> The key point here (and biggest advantage of Japanese cities) is that nearly every building is mixed-use by default, Also, Japan generally has good mass transit throughout their cities, which essentially doesn't exist in the US. Less mass transit -> more cars -> need for parking -> larger buildings with setbacks to include parking -> less density -> less mass transit... Land use and transportation systems in the US…
Let's move 33% of the US population into an area the size of Montana and we can have the exact same thing!
Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
#128Visited Japan for the first time in December. I stayed at Airbnb's in Tokyo and Kyoto.
There were no $4 lunch bowls nearby, but I didn't need that to appreciate that I could walk to six restaurants, two wine shops and three cafes in less than three minutes. It was wonderful.
Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
#129No one sells $4 lunch bowls in the US because no one wants to work for minimum wage for 12 hours a day. The article makes it seem like a great idea, but people in Japan who run these stores work like dogs and live in poverty for their whole lives.
Does the US really lack cheap easily exploitable labor? What about Uber taxi drivers?
Uber isn't exactly cheap, just cheaper than taxis, which are super-expensive. Kitchen work generally requires some kind of training, often some kind of licensing or certification, and is rarely the cheapest type of labor.
Anyway, the main issue here is population density, not labor availability. If there tens or hundreds of thousands of people working and living in a quarter mile radius and average foot traffic was in hundreds or thousands per hour rather than dozens or less it would likely be easy to sell $4 bowls and make a profit - most of the US is vastly less dense and walkable than that though, even in cities.
Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I don’t want someone drifting through town in the local motel to be able to meaningfully vote to change the city I am rooted in.
Why would someone actually "drifting through" even bother voting? The odd weirdo might but that's not going to tip any elections.
Even most long term residents legally entitled to vote don't make the effort.