cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/6669422
A new housing development outside Phoenix is looking towards European cities for inspiration and shutting out the cars. So far residents love it - The Guardian
The apartments are also mixed in with amenities, such as a grocery store, restaurant, yoga studio and bicycle shop, that are usually separated from housing by strict city zoning laws.
Wait, it’s actually forbidden in (much of) the US to have grocery stores etc. close to where people live? WTF?
It’s to make big auto and big car happy by forcing us to use their products as much as possible
It is, the YouTube Channel NotJustBikes explains the issue in a few videos “housing that cannot be built in America” or something like that
This one :)
The Lively & Liveable Neighbourhoods that are illegal in Most of North America - Not Just Bikes: https://youtu.be/bnKIVX968PQ?si=7tIT7yD5iw_s5vUe
So in the suburbs, yes and no. You can absolutely have grocery stores next to residential areas. So like if you have a main (st)road that has a grocery store, there may be housing behind the store. Here’s an example in my area (The Price Chopper is a grocery store). Residential zoning has bumped up against commercial zoning along the (st)road. Which means that the grocery store is next door for some of those people. Even a few blocks away is still pretty decent.
But let’s say someone wanted to build a grocery store next to this school for some reason. The developer is willing to buy up some houses (and people willing to sell them) and bulldoze them down to make a grocery store. The city will NOT allow that. That’s like a 99.9999% chance of never happening. Because that area is specifically zoned for strictly for residential and not commercial endeavors.
And it goes further. Let’s say instead of a grocery store, the developer wanted apartments or townhouses/duplexes. That keeps with the residential character and zoning, right? It does, but this area is probably zoned for SFH only. Not for multifamily units. It’ll never be built. At least not without overcoming significant local opposition.
This is actually being fought over in a neighboring suburb.
That’s not to say zoning is always terrible. If I build a house and then some industrial building/warehouse or commercial chicken coop wants to be my neighbor afterwards, with all the loudness and smells that brings, that’s not gonna be great for me. And if I want to move because my quality of life has decreased, who’s gonna buy my house? Nobody. At least not for the price I want.
So zoning has its benefits. It’s just a tool at the end of the day. But it can make things difficult when people do want change. It’s not as simple as tearing things down and putting up something new and completely different.
I find it interesting that despite all the ways we can dunk on yanks, yanks do seem to be genuinely interested in walkable cities. All the walkable cities are so expensive because they are high-demand areas. CHUDs may like to dunk on San Francisco or New York, but they’re expensive because they’re desirable.
For all the whining about “freedom”, CHUDs sure do love forcing Americans to live in a way that they don’t want to live.
People walking late at night, particularly if they are Black, are regularly accosted by police – in June, the city of Kaplan, Louisiana, even introduced a curfew for people walking or riding bikes, but not for car drivers.
Ha! Buddy of mine who lives around those parts: “Great if you are a rich work from homer who can pay at least 3k for rent and use the community Uber discount to go grocery shopping since there is no grocery shop in there”
who can pay at least 3k for rent
So you are saying this type of development is so sought after that they are able to set rent at higher rates than the surrounding “parts” and still get enough tenants despite the “inconvenience”?
Also yeah according to the article, the nearby amenities include a grocery store. It’s not an apartment complex, it’s a walkable town.
You can walk in my neighborhood… downhill for about 2 weeks a year. Here in Kenmore WA, the rest of the year is certain death if you leave the house on foot. You would become a human popsicle most of the year. Then after you walk for literally 45 minutes you get to jack in the box and that’s the end of your travels. Are you going to walk back home? Uphill and in freezing weather? And that’s the way we combat homelessness here. They literally can’t ever set up camp…you either. You’re pretty much trapped inside an insulated box with a running tap on the gas pipeline grid. If that infrastructure dies, you are as good as dead too. The air handler is running the entire year. Winter for heating, then the two weeks I mentioned for cooling. Plus, outside your house is basically fungus eating everything…you car, your tires, dead wood, live wood. The roof. Everything is coated in a thick slimy mold layer.
What was the question again?
The climate of Kenmore is substantially similar to that of nearby Seattle, being defined principally by its latitude, proximity to the Pacific Ocean and Puget Sound, and inclusion in the Puget Sound Convergence Zone. As such, it is usually considered Marine west coast in nature, with damp, cool winters, and mild, dry summers
Sounds nice. I’d have expected you to complain about rain if anything
It does rain. It’s not like a nice shower with sunshine at the end. It’s more like just moist all the time with periods of wetter moisture.
is it just me or are all the pics in that article extremely unflattering
Yeah they needed some overview shots or at least a map or something.
All the human pictures just look pretty natural. Maybe we arent used to that anymore lol. The blank white buildings are kinda lame but energetically the best choice in hot regions i believe.
oh i didn’t even notice the humans i meant the buildings. why are they so zoomed in?
Did not read the article as is tradition but not shit sherlock that people like to be able to walk without the noise and pollution of vehicule everywhere and not forgetting the risk of getting hit by a massive weapon because someone is doing a tiktok dance while driving
