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A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

buildcampus.com

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Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#31

Post by andymoe »

OK, now let's figure out how to do something like this that might actually work for families and then you will have something useful to society as a whole. The current "managed roommate" setup they have going is probably not going to work very well if families are involved. I'm not sure my two year old running through the halls of one of the five bedroom houses after a shower screaming "I'm naked I'm naked" would go over real well but maybe I'm wrong.

I'm betting they could do something better and more interesting for families and lower income folks once they start building their own properties. Certainly it's worth a try because housing is badly broken in the US and a lot of other countries.

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#32

Post by makeitsuckless »

Ah, the arrogance of completely ignoring history and human nature.

The problem with building a community of like-minded people is that after a few generations it won't be a community of like-minded people that have chosen to be there anymore. And I'm not even talking about any other form of social and economic reality. All else remaining the same (it won't), just bringing in new generations will change the entire dynamic.

What they are basically describing is trying to start a cult.

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#33

Post by epicureanideal »

epicureanideal wrote: post #30
davidw wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://journal.dedasys.com/2007/04/26/ideas-are-worthless/ Ideas may be worth something, but how would the market for them work?

For the record, I'm very much open to buying ideas (or other information) that help me make more money. If you're selling ideas that would help me make more money, and willing to make payment conditional upon me being able to utilize your ideas (and I'll certainly try, given that it's in my interest) post your contact info and I'll get in touch. I realize there isn't a very efficient market for ideas, and I have diff…

Before someone else says it: "Stop reading Hacker News and go build something. That'll be $5."

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#34

Post by jmckib »

makeitsuckless wrote: post #32

Ah, the arrogance of completely ignoring history and human nature. The problem with building a community of like-minded people is that after a few generations it won't be a community of like-minded people that have chosen to be there anymore. And I'm not even talking about any other form of social and economic reality. All else remaining the same (it won't), just bringing in new generations will change the entire dyn…

On the other hand, as workers become increasingly mobile, it should become more feasible to maintain a physical community of like-minded people.

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#35

Post by jmckib »

andymoe wrote: post #31

OK, now let's figure out how to do something like this that might actually work for families and then you will have something useful to society as a whole. The current "managed roommate" setup they have going is probably not going to work very well if families are involved. I'm not sure my two year old running through the halls of one of the five bedroom houses after a shower screaming "I'm naked I'm naked" would go…

Your comment reminded me that there's actually a community in Alaska that is located within a single large building. It looks rather pleasant, actually.

http://www.npr.org/2015/01/18/378162264/welcome-to-whittier-...

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#36

Post by Cthulhu_ »

darkmighty wrote: post #27
Animats wrote: post #20

It's not that building a new city is hard. Real estate developers do it routinely. The problem is jobs. There are, at present, quite a few places in the US with more houses than jobs. Only in a few places, such as SF and some areas of Oklahoma where there's heavy drilling activity, is the reverse the case. If you want to buy an empty town of new houses, there are plenty in San Bernardino. Vacant lots run about $7500.…

Perhaps they could sign with a company or group of companies that don't rely on physical location, e.g. software companies. Even then, it would only have potential if it filled a bunch of other checkboxes of desirable qualities people wanting for those companies might want which are not filled by established cities, like great outdoor activities nearby, proximity to large cities, extremely low property costs ...

But if they don't rely on physical location, why would anyone want to live there? (assuming you mean remote workers)

What I'm reading / glancing over is that they want to create campusses, modeled after some SF software company headquarters. That would only work in SF, because said software companies aren't going to move out of SF anytime soon. Even then they'd stick to bigger cities where the jobs are.

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#37

Post by Cthulhu_ »

makeitsuckless wrote: post #32

Ah, the arrogance of completely ignoring history and human nature. The problem with building a community of like-minded people is that after a few generations it won't be a community of like-minded people that have chosen to be there anymore. And I'm not even talking about any other form of social and economic reality. All else remaining the same (it won't), just bringing in new generations will change the entire dyn…

> The problem with building a community of like-minded people is that after a few generation

after a few generations it won't be that company's problem anymore - buildings built, money earned, and founders dead or retired.

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#38

Post by Cthulhu_ »

headcanon wrote: post #3

I'm curious as to why they are choosing to start their pilot program in the Bay Area - they're not a software startup, so why choose one of the most expensive areas in the world to rent/purchase land? There's a lot of land out there with easier avenues to self-sufficiency that are just a plane ride away at the most, I cant imagine them needing to be close to an urban area at all actually.

> why choose one of the most expensive areas in the world to rent/purchase land?

So that they can charge the highest rent / purchase costs and look good on paper for the inevitable takeover / IPO / payout?

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#39

Post by Cthulhu_ »

mbesto wrote: post #17

Here's my idea to solve the same problem (aimed at tech people): - Buy a decent expensive plot of land in SV - Buy several tiny homes (let's say 10)[0] and put them on said plot - Buy a large cheap plot of land way out in the middle of California (or potentially Nevada for tax reasons) that can accommodate 100 tiny homes - Move the tiny homes (they're portable), effectively swapping them, from the SV plot to the chea…

How about:

* Build giant highrise apartment buildings * Rent them out at affordable rates

Alternatively:

* Build a suburb inland * Build a high-speed train connection to said suburb

There are plenty of solutions for housing problems, and only political reasons preventing them. In SF, money is definitely not the problem.

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