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America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

theatlantic.com

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Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#71

Post by vkou »

madhadron wrote: post #14

I look at it a little differently. The urban cores in the USA are actively hostile places for anyone to be. You step outside your door...into an empty hallway of doors. You take an elevator or stairs down to a place with a few mailboxes, then step outside. Outside, you have a narrow strip of concrete, possibly with a few trees, that you are allowed to inhabit. Beyond it is as asphalt with two ton steel contraptions w…

> I look at it a little differently. The urban cores in the USA are actively hostile places for anyone to be. You step outside your door...into an empty hallway of doors. You take an elevator or stairs down to a place with a few mailboxes, then step outside.

> Outside, you have a narrow strip of concrete, possibly with a few trees, that you are allowed to inhabit. Beyond it is as asphalt with two ton steel contraptions whizzing past at speeds that will maim or kill you.

> There are a few places you can go from here. There are a few parks, where you can have some green space, along with the sound of the steel contraptions. There are other strips of concrete throughout the city between the contraptions' domain and the buildings. There are places you can pay to be allowed to occupy for a time. There are places you are paid to be for some number of hours each day. And there's the public library if you can reach it.

You've actually described the typical suburb. Step outside your door into a narrow strip of concrete, possibly with a few trees, and a shortly cut lawn, that you, at great expense of time, and money are allowed to maintain and inhabit (As long as you maintain it to the asinine, often environmentally-harmful expectations of your HOA/Municipality). Beyond that is a frequently sidewalk-less asphalt road, with two ton steel contraptions that are either stationary, or moving at speeds that will maim you.

There is nowhere you can go without getting into a car. (Corollary: Your neighbour will be driving home from the bar, every other Friday, drunk as a skunk.) The nearest park is a mile away. You have some green space you can look at, but its all owned by other people, and if you spend too long gawking at a stranger's yard, somebody might call the cops. [1] If you drive far enough, you may find dreary places where you can pay to be allowed to occupy for a time, called stripmalls. A few may even contain a library.

[1] Because only a criminal or a lunatic would be walking around in a suburb.

Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#72

Post by raducu »

antisthenes wrote: post #56
raducu wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sustainable as in 2.x births per woman if you want to keep a population steady, or a lower number at first, but eventually you will want that 2.x births per woman because otherwise we go extinct as a species.

What's the purpose of keeping our current population steady? Is the goal just to never drop below a certain amount of people since we already reached that number? Is there some sort of universal duty to have a certain amount of people alive at the same time? And if so, is it based on any sort of science?

Maybe my english is not that great, but I thought I clearly exained that you will EVENTUALY need 2.X children per women, otherwise we will go extinct as a species, do you dispute that?

Wether it's 20 years from now or 100 years it's irrelevant.

Is there an universal duty to keep your weight constant at all times?

No, loosing or gaining a couple of pounds is ok, but dieting by cutting of your hand is not ok.

Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#73

Post by jseliger »

madhadron wrote: post #14

I look at it a little differently. The urban cores in the USA are actively hostile places for anyone to be. You step outside your door...into an empty hallway of doors. You take an elevator or stairs down to a place with a few mailboxes, then step outside. Outside, you have a narrow strip of concrete, possibly with a few trees, that you are allowed to inhabit. Beyond it is as asphalt with two ton steel contraptions w…

From a couple weeks ago: https://www.city-journal.org/decline-of-family-loneliness-ep...

And https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20116699.

Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#74

Post by topmonk »

magduf wrote: post #49
madhadron wrote: post #14

I look at it a little differently. The urban cores in the USA are actively hostile places for anyone to be. You step outside your door...into an empty hallway of doors. You take an elevator or stairs down to a place with a few mailboxes, then step outside. Outside, you have a narrow strip of concrete, possibly with a few trees, that you are allowed to inhabit. Beyond it is as asphalt with two ton steel contraptions w…

You don't need "low rise cohousing communities" to have families in cities. Japanese cities are extremely dense, yet people raise families there just fine. On my trip to Japan, I was really struck by how many children I saw in the middles of cities (moreso in some districts than others, of course), whereas I never see children in downtown American cities. Of course, Japanese cities don't have enormous parking lots, e…

Japan has one of the lowest birthrates in the world, well below replacement rates. Their society is also consists almost entirely of Japanese that all share the same culture. It would be very hard to emulate what they do and even so, no real guarantee that it would change anything.

Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#75

Post by JMTQp8lwXL »

raducu wrote: post #16

Unpopular opinion I've held since before I became a parent: childless people should pay more taxes.

They already do. The EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) applies primarily to filers who are head of household -- which, by definition, requires having at least 1 dependent. Childless people are filing single.

Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#76

Post by raducu »

tenebrisalietum wrote: post #55
raducu wrote: post #16

Unpopular opinion I've held since before I became a parent: childless people should pay more taxes.

My wife is sterile due to having cervical cancer. This isn't my or her fault. Why should I pay more taxes in this situation to support your offspring?

Not my offspring since I'm quite well of myself in my country, but you should support others rearing their children in your country since the economy that will pay your pensions relies on younger people you did not raise.

Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#77

Post by JMTQp8lwXL »

raducu wrote: post #35
kaesar14 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But...we do?

I guess not enough? I don't want to sound like an asshole, I only have one child myself and I'm seriously considering stopping at one, I don't think childless people should be punished, but taxes should be steadily increased over time and incentivise child rearing until birthrates become sustainable again. I realy think the situation described in the article is somewhat akin to colonialism/slave trade where you have…

This sounds like a poor idea for environmental conservation. There's already enough people reproducing, beyond the replacement rate (that is to say, faster than the rate of people dying). Maybe not the in the USA, but elsewhere in the world. The global population is growing.

Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#78

Post by aeneasmackenzie »

finolex1 wrote: post #45
madhadron wrote: post #14

I look at it a little differently. The urban cores in the USA are actively hostile places for anyone to be. You step outside your door...into an empty hallway of doors. You take an elevator or stairs down to a place with a few mailboxes, then step outside. Outside, you have a narrow strip of concrete, possibly with a few trees, that you are allowed to inhabit. Beyond it is as asphalt with two ton steel contraptions w…

It doesn't have to be low rise housing. Look at Singapore for an example of how high density, high-rise housing can coexist with plentiful public spaces.

Singapore's fertility rates are at the "rock thrown off a cliff" level.

Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#79

Post by drewcon »

madhadron wrote: post #14

I look at it a little differently. The urban cores in the USA are actively hostile places for anyone to be. You step outside your door...into an empty hallway of doors. You take an elevator or stairs down to a place with a few mailboxes, then step outside. Outside, you have a narrow strip of concrete, possibly with a few trees, that you are allowed to inhabit. Beyond it is as asphalt with two ton steel contraptions w…

Jesus. Literally went through this philosophical moment and just moved my young family out of the city. Pretty spot on.

Re: America’s urban rebirth is missing actual births

#80

Post by tathougies »

madhadron wrote: post #14

I look at it a little differently. The urban cores in the USA are actively hostile places for anyone to be. You step outside your door...into an empty hallway of doors. You take an elevator or stairs down to a place with a few mailboxes, then step outside. Outside, you have a narrow strip of concrete, possibly with a few trees, that you are allowed to inhabit. Beyond it is as asphalt with two ton steel contraptions w…

So my moms parents had three children and my dads five. So not huge families but large. They grew up in a city in a third world country and frankly their childhood was a lot more dangerous than your imagined paranoia.

Also your ideas of children are way off. We have a seven month old and we read to her, take her to the library, go to space talks, etc. Actually we do a lot more intellectual stuff now. My wife has taken some online courses ans weve started re learning french. Parents who put their kids in front of the TV are lazy.

Parks exist in most urban areas and are perfect for kids to play in.

All the other dangers you mentioned are way overstated

I do not understand this paranoia that has gripped the American public. The way people act would have you believe things are worse today than in the past when all actual data (anf observation) say the contrary

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