9 ms·

Ah, perfect. A patronizing tone to start off the article. Where have I seen this before?

jafo1989 16d ago
As a frequent walker to the 7-11 in my "soul-crushing suburban district", I decided to look up the 7-11 landscape in Williamsburg, Virginia using the satellite view in Google Maps. Every single one of them is walkable from residential property. My guess is the author lives in a densely populated urban area, and doesn't understand how "soul-crushing suburban districts" really work. I've been walking to my 7-11 for over 30 years, and have gotten to know many attendants over the years.
- iamnothere 16d ago
  Way to miss the entire point of the article. It’s not anti 7-11, it’s against underinvestment in local properties and lack of reasonable planning, driven by distant ownership. I can also walk to a convenience store, in fact I’m fairly lucky with the amenities available in my neighborhood, but many places I’ve been (and previously lived) are disorganized and lack the livability of communities where the buildings have primarily local owners.
  - jafo1989 16d ago
    Point is: I enjoy my neighborhood 7-11 without caring about how it looks, who owns it, or worrying about all the capitalism trade-offs. It's just a 7-11. The charm is the walk and the experience.
    - iamnothere 16d ago
      You seem really stuck on 7-11. The article is not about 7-11. That’s just the example the author used, and honestly the author could have picked a better one. Just imagine that they picked vape shops or something instead. I have lived in places where you can’t walk anywhere useful because the absentee owners didn’t want to invest in finding good tenants. The buildings were fine, but partially empty, and there was even a shortage of local office space, so they could have rented at a premium with just a little bit of investment.
      - deleted 16d ago
        [deleted]
      - jafo1989 15d ago
        They are stores. You go to them and buy stuff you need, and then leave. If you don't have good stores near you, you move to another place that does. Is life really that complicated?
        iamnothere 15d ago
        I feel like you didn’t read the article at all, or couldn’t understand it, or you’re being deliberately obtuse and avoiding real discussion. The point is that much of America is like this, and the problem is only getting worse. We’re not yet at the level of blight that we saw in some areas after the post-1970s industrial collapse, but concentration of ownership is gradually leading us there again. Poor maintenance, poor tenant selection, and underinvestment eventually hollows out neighborhoods when businesses move away or close. Where are you going to move when most places have the same problem? The few areas not like this are getting swarmed, which creates its own problems (like traffic, parking, overcrowding, and absurd property values). Just take a drive through random cities, neighborhoods, and towns if you don’t see it where you live.
- Laforet 16d ago
  The author has some valid points (i.e. people criticise business decisions made to appease shareholders without realising they may be the shareholders in a roundabout way) but chose some rather odd examples as proof.
- Symbiote 16d ago
  I think this is the 7-Eleven in question, as it's surrounded by hotels as described: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y473E3DneooQ4CJQ8 https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y473E3DneooQ4CJQ8 It's certainly walkable from the hotels, and the houses/apartments to the north, but not the ones to the south as there's a stream in the way (see OpenStreetMap) but no footbridges. https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/37.282725/-76.711704 https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/37.282725/-76.711704

jafo1989 16d ago

As a frequent walker to the 7-11 in my "soul-crushing suburban district", I decided to look up the 7-11 landscape in Williamsburg, Virginia using the satellite view in Google Maps. Every single one of them is walkable from residential property. My guess is the author lives in a densely populated urban area, and doesn't understand how "soul-crushing suburban districts" really work. I've been walking to my 7-11 for over 30 years, and have gotten to know many attendants over the years.

iamnothere 16d ago
Way to miss the entire point of the article. It’s not anti 7-11, it’s against underinvestment in local properties and lack of reasonable planning, driven by distant ownership. I can also walk to a convenience store, in fact I’m fairly lucky with the amenities available in my neighborhood, but many places I’ve been (and previously lived) are disorganized and lack the livability of communities where the buildings have primarily local owners.
- jafo1989 16d ago
  Point is: I enjoy my neighborhood 7-11 without caring about how it looks, who owns it, or worrying about all the capitalism trade-offs. It's just a 7-11. The charm is the walk and the experience.
  - iamnothere 16d ago
    You seem really stuck on 7-11. The article is not about 7-11. That’s just the example the author used, and honestly the author could have picked a better one. Just imagine that they picked vape shops or something instead. I have lived in places where you can’t walk anywhere useful because the absentee owners didn’t want to invest in finding good tenants. The buildings were fine, but partially empty, and there was even a shortage of local office space, so they could have rented at a premium with just a little bit of investment.
    - deleted 16d ago
      [deleted]
    - jafo1989 15d ago
      They are stores. You go to them and buy stuff you need, and then leave. If you don't have good stores near you, you move to another place that does. Is life really that complicated?
      - iamnothere 15d ago
        I feel like you didn’t read the article at all, or couldn’t understand it, or you’re being deliberately obtuse and avoiding real discussion. The point is that much of America is like this, and the problem is only getting worse. We’re not yet at the level of blight that we saw in some areas after the post-1970s industrial collapse, but concentration of ownership is gradually leading us there again. Poor maintenance, poor tenant selection, and underinvestment eventually hollows out neighborhoods when businesses move away or close. Where are you going to move when most places have the same problem? The few areas not like this are getting swarmed, which creates its own problems (like traffic, parking, overcrowding, and absurd property values). Just take a drive through random cities, neighborhoods, and towns if you don’t see it where you live.
Laforet 16d ago
The author has some valid points (i.e. people criticise business decisions made to appease shareholders without realising they may be the shareholders in a roundabout way) but chose some rather odd examples as proof.
Symbiote 16d ago
I think this is the 7-Eleven in question, as it's surrounded by hotels as described: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y473E3DneooQ4CJQ8 https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y473E3DneooQ4CJQ8 It's certainly walkable from the hotels, and the houses/apartments to the north, but not the ones to the south as there's a stream in the way (see OpenStreetMap) but no footbridges. https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/37.282725/-76.711704 https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/37.282725/-76.711704