7 ms·

Superblocks seem like they would be super-fun for a 24-year-old single or someone visiting on holiday, but would be a logistical nightmare for a young family. I

Superblocks seem like they would be super-fun for a 24-year-old single or someone visiting on holiday, but would be a logistical nightmare for a young family. Is this so? or am I a frog stuck in a car-dependency well?

dirtyid 4y ago
Helps to not have harsh winters as well.
- NegativeLatency 4y ago
  Building and maintaining good infrastructure can easily overcome bad weather though: https://torontoist.com/2017/02/what-toronto-can-learn-about-winter-cycling-from-oulu/ https://torontoist.com/2017/02/what-toronto-can-learn-about-...
  - dirtyid 4y ago
    One thing to build the infra but another to convince families to bike during Toronto winter.
diordiderot 4y ago
Great for young families. Some superblocks sometimes have parks or playgrounds, you never have to worry about your kids getting run over or thrown in the back of a van, more people hang out outside because it isn't sulfery or loud.
- tayo42 4y ago
  i never want to live around kids or playgrounds again though. right now families dump their kids into the streets after school. its a nightmare to live around. the noise is non stop
  - robswc 4y ago
    Might be unpopular but completely agree. I once lived next to a dog park. I love dogs... but damn, lol. People yelling at their dogs. Dogs barking at other dogs. Dogs whining, dogs howling... it was awful.
- agilob 4y ago
  > it isn't sulfery or loud. I lived in one super-like-block in Poland and noise was the reason I had to move out. About 200 flats facing each other, you need only one person to ruin day or night for everyone there. One party at night and you have 600 people who couldn't sleep. One specific neighbour was listening to music from loudspeakers literally all day causing echo in the block. She turned volume up when cleaning and vacuuming, she had to still hear the music WHILE vacuuming. Never want to live to such block ever again, not anywhere close.
  - diordiderot 4y ago
    I'm confused as to how being in superblock changes that. That's just living in a city _shrug_ If rather hear kids playing at 3pm than youths on ATVs or random mopeds at 3am Edit: I think you may be misinterpreting the definition of a superblock
    - agilob 4y ago
      I live in a city now, but the closest supermarket is 6km away. I hear no loud noises, unless it's dogs barking, cats fighting or deer barking. Population density in this area is (probably) a 600x smaller, so I'm less at risk of hearing someones' music while they are vacuuming, losing my mind and not being able to work. Absolutely never going back to dense population and blocks with noise and crime.
      - xapata 4y ago
        > live in a city > never going back to dense population We have different interpretations of "living in a city".
xapata 4y ago
You are stuck in a car-dependency well. As the parent of a young child, I wish very much for more car-free space around my house. Otherwise I need to pack her in the car to get some running-around space.
NegativeLatency 4y ago
Once the environment is safe for kids you don't have to do as many logistics for your children. You might be interested in this "Not Just Bikes" video about raising kids in non car dependent places: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHlpmxLTxpw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHlpmxLTxpw or this one about kids who bike to school in a group for safety: https://bikeportland.org/2022/10/13/portlands-bike-bus-featured-on-nbc-nightly-news-365310 https://bikeportland.org/2022/10/13/portlands-bike-bus-featu...
- ideamotor 4y ago
  Ugh that youtube video made me so angry and is seriously making me reconsider my current job options (one is based in Europe), as I have a kid on the way. However, I feel that what is healthy for active people and kids is too demanding for, say, my elderly parents. This summer I spent a month in Europe and definitely observed very few elderly persons and many times where I had to walk or climb stairs.
  - NegativeLatency 4y ago
    I’ve had similar thoughts. Not sure where you live but there are local groups in many cities you can join that do transportation advocacy and stuff. The coverage of the bike bus stuff made me cry because it just felt so special and gave me hope for the future.

dirtyid 4y ago

Helps to not have harsh winters as well.

NegativeLatency 4y ago
Building and maintaining good infrastructure can easily overcome bad weather though: https://torontoist.com/2017/02/what-toronto-can-learn-about-winter-cycling-from-oulu/ https://torontoist.com/2017/02/what-toronto-can-learn-about-...
- dirtyid 4y ago
  One thing to build the infra but another to convince families to bike during Toronto winter.

diordiderot 4y ago

Great for young families. Some superblocks sometimes have parks or playgrounds, you never have to worry about your kids getting run over or thrown in the back of a van, more people hang out outside because it isn't sulfery or loud.

tayo42 4y ago
i never want to live around kids or playgrounds again though. right now families dump their kids into the streets after school. its a nightmare to live around. the noise is non stop
- robswc 4y ago
  Might be unpopular but completely agree. I once lived next to a dog park. I love dogs... but damn, lol. People yelling at their dogs. Dogs barking at other dogs. Dogs whining, dogs howling... it was awful.
agilob 4y ago
> it isn't sulfery or loud. I lived in one super-like-block in Poland and noise was the reason I had to move out. About 200 flats facing each other, you need only one person to ruin day or night for everyone there. One party at night and you have 600 people who couldn't sleep. One specific neighbour was listening to music from loudspeakers literally all day causing echo in the block. She turned volume up when cleaning and vacuuming, she had to still hear the music WHILE vacuuming. Never want to live to such block ever again, not anywhere close.
- diordiderot 4y ago
  I'm confused as to how being in superblock changes that. That's just living in a city _shrug_ If rather hear kids playing at 3pm than youths on ATVs or random mopeds at 3am Edit: I think you may be misinterpreting the definition of a superblock
  - agilob 4y ago
    I live in a city now, but the closest supermarket is 6km away. I hear no loud noises, unless it's dogs barking, cats fighting or deer barking. Population density in this area is (probably) a 600x smaller, so I'm less at risk of hearing someones' music while they are vacuuming, losing my mind and not being able to work. Absolutely never going back to dense population and blocks with noise and crime.
    - xapata 4y ago
      > live in a city > never going back to dense population We have different interpretations of "living in a city".

xapata 4y ago

You are stuck in a car-dependency well. As the parent of a young child, I wish very much for more car-free space around my house. Otherwise I need to pack her in the car to get some running-around space.

NegativeLatency 4y ago

Once the environment is safe for kids you don't have to do as many logistics for your children. You might be interested in this "Not Just Bikes" video about raising kids in non car dependent places: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHlpmxLTxpw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHlpmxLTxpw or this one about kids who bike to school in a group for safety: https://bikeportland.org/2022/10/13/portlands-bike-bus-featured-on-nbc-nightly-news-365310 https://bikeportland.org/2022/10/13/portlands-bike-bus-featu...

ideamotor 4y ago
Ugh that youtube video made me so angry and is seriously making me reconsider my current job options (one is based in Europe), as I have a kid on the way. However, I feel that what is healthy for active people and kids is too demanding for, say, my elderly parents. This summer I spent a month in Europe and definitely observed very few elderly persons and many times where I had to walk or climb stairs.
- NegativeLatency 4y ago
  I’ve had similar thoughts. Not sure where you live but there are local groups in many cities you can join that do transportation advocacy and stuff. The coverage of the bike bus stuff made me cry because it just felt so special and gave me hope for the future.