A Startup That Wants to Build Cities • Hacker News Board

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#81

Post by mbesto » Tue, Mar 03, 2015, 8:30 PM UTC

logfromblammo wrote: post #77

mbesto wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a fair consideration. However, having seen "tiny homes" in person, I'm convinced they are very different than a traditional RV or trailer. > There is no second, remote property in Nevada, because all the homes adhere to a common standard for utility hookups and foundation pads. Solution: Solar (electricity) and gas propane (for heat). > hotels, time-share condominiums, furnished apartments rented weekly, couc…

I strongly encourage you to live in another city--possibly even one entirely outside of California--for a year. To mix two entirely appropriate metaphors, you are attempting to summon the molehill to Muhammad. Different cities have different problems. As far as I know, "not able to live in close physical proximity to potential investors" is one that is unique to Silicon Valley.

> As far as I know, "not able to live in close physical proximity to potential investors" is one that is unique to Silicon Valley.

I think you're conflating two arguments here. I'm not suggesting this is a solution that scales to other cities. I am suggesting however, it would solve them in SV given the current funding climate.

> I strongly encourage you to live in another city

I've lived (professionally) in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, London and Germany. I'm not sure what my living experiences outside of SV have to do with the context of the discussion... for more context, the problem that is being identified here is not currently a problem that I have.

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#82

Post by powertower » Tue, Mar 03, 2015, 9:22 PM UTC

pantalaimon wrote: post #48

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.…

Hah, there are more houses than jobs in Berlin, but that doesn't stop people from coming. There is more than work and housing to make a vibrant city.

You are comparing a small theoretical start-up town in the middle of nowhere and with a non-existing economy and job-market - to an already established city that is the business center and capital of a country (a country that itself is the business center of the EU).

That seems like an exception being used to disprove someone else's rule.

Unless they already have the money to exist and live there, no one is going to move to a place they can't afford.

So the question is again - why would they move there, except this time you are asking only people that are not part of the typical job market / economy (because the number of available gainful jobs there is too low; and at the same time no one is looking to start businesses there).

It seems like these types of places are for only the upper class, especially considering that low scale gives high prices.

Or goes the other way, and makes lots and lots of suicide inducing standard units, small in size, with uniform paint jobs, and all placed together. A place where the government pays your rent.

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#83

Post by logfromblammo » Tue, Mar 03, 2015, 11:13 PM UTC

mbesto wrote: post #81

logfromblammo wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly encourage you to live in another city--possibly even one entirely outside of California--for a year. To mix two entirely appropriate metaphors, you are attempting to summon the molehill to Muhammad. Different cities have different problems. As far as I know, "not able to live in close physical proximity to potential investors" is one that is unique to Silicon Valley.

> As far as I know, "not able to live in close physical proximity to potential investors" is one that is unique to Silicon Valley. I think you're conflating two arguments here. I'm not suggesting this is a solution that scales to other cities. I am suggesting however, it would solve them in SV given the current funding climate. > I strongly encourage you to live in another city I've lived (professionally) in Chicago,…

Perhaps I need to live in Silicon Valley, then, to gain an understanding of why your idea is not completely batty (or perhaps why the region itself is not as barking mad as it appears to an outsider).

While I have no scientific evidence to back this up, you may also have noticed that certain places have their own collective consciousness, where the local social conformity creates standing waves of recurring behavior. People in Chicago go to Portillo's, even though it's pretty much the same food as all the Vienna Beef independents in the city, only with higher prices and longer lines. I can't explain it, other than to say that people go there because people go there.

And just like you can't smell the peculiar odor of your own house until you've been away from it for a while, maybe you just don't notice the oddities of a town until you live elsewhere.

Your suggestion might work. I think the real reason I don't like it is the idea that someone might invest. The very idea that someone might possibly throw a few million into it makes me angry. It's not your fault. It's just sour grapes.

Re: A Startup That Wants to Build Cities

#84

Post by tptacek » Thu, Mar 05, 2015, 5:52 AM UTC

logfromblammo wrote: post #83

mbesto wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As far as I know, "not able to live in close physical proximity to potential investors" is one that is unique to Silicon Valley. I think you're conflating two arguments here. I'm not suggesting this is a solution that scales to other cities. I am suggesting however, it would solve them in SV given the current funding climate. > I strongly encourage you to live in another city I've lived (professionally) in Chicago,…

Perhaps I need to live in Silicon Valley, then, to gain an understanding of why your idea is not completely batty (or perhaps why the region itself is not as barking mad as it appears to an outsider). While I have no scientific evidence to back this up, you may also have noticed that certain places have their own collective consciousness, where the local social conformity creates standing waves of recurring behavior.…

You don't go to Portillos for the hot dogs. It's not the best italian beef in the city, but it's not terrible, and it's reliably available, unlike Johnny's. It's like our In-N-Out.