verg

7 ms·

1.
by verg 9y ago
Detroit is the birthplace of Techno and Techno artists have continued to emerge from Detroit even as it's status as a city has declined. Because of this the city is idealized among Techno fans across Europe. My guess is some of this de
2.
by verg 9y ago
eh. But also filters people who are serious about work but also serious about their mental health. I know myself well enough to know that I am less productive when I don't get sunlight. I suspect many other people are the same.
3.
by verg 9y ago
Since many people on HN live in California. The single greatest thing you can do if you live in be an advocate for building more housing in California, especially in locations with public transportation. California has low heating and cooli
4.
by verg 10y ago
The name for this is crony capitalism. Policy that benefits businesses instead of policy that benefits markets. Luigi Zingales's book "A Capitalism for the People" is a good read on the subject.
5.
by verg 10y ago
If only there were some technology that would allow multiple homes to exist on a single lot...
6.
by verg 10y ago
The lack of on-street parking was something I noticed visiting Japan. Streets can be much smaller when they don't have 20-24 feet of parking. In the US, a massive percentage of our most valuable land goes to subsidized vehicle storage.
7.
by verg 10y ago
This is a good interview with economist Gordon Hanson on trade, poverty and US job losses: http://www.vox.com/2016/4/20/11466868/trade-poverty-economis...
8.
by verg 10y ago
His book, Triumph of the City, is a good read on urban economics.
9.
by verg 10y ago
I really love using Car2Go in Brooklyn. I transit/Bike/Walk 95% of the time, but it's great to have a one-way option when I take a trip that doesn't line up well transit lines.
10.
by verg 10y ago
Yuma Az was just successfully sued for zoning laws under the fair housing act. http://www.citylab.com/housing/2016/04/court-decision-on-dis... Another group is trying to sue Lafayette, Ca http://
11.
by verg 10y ago
Tokyo, Toronto, and Houston are all examples of large cities where it is relatively easy to build housing and housing is relatively cheap.
12.
by verg 10y ago
RE parking minimums: http://graphingparking.com/2013/01/25/residential-parking-re... A similar issue is street sizes in the US are much larger than in countries with good transit and walkability. Anecdotal, b
13.
by verg 10y ago
Another good overview from Matthew Yglesias: http://www.vox.com/2014/6/2/5771880/us-mass-transit-construc...
14.
by verg 10y ago
Costs are a major part of the problem. US rail construction costs are by far the most expensive in the world [1]. Other countries are able to build rail at costs in the $100-250 million per km range (even in dense cities). The East Side acc
15.
by verg 11y ago
The cheap housing created by new construction isn't the new construction itself. It's a result of reduced demand for older housing stock. http://cityobservatory.org/what-filtering-can-and-cant-do/
16.
by verg 11y ago
1. What do you mean by safely improvable? 2. Hong Kong, one of the densest cities in the world, is built on land much steeper than SF.
17.
by verg 11y ago
You will never be able to outbuild what Facebook, Google, and the like can pay their workers. NYC 1921-1929 (prior modern zoning): "The total of 658,780 new dwellings averaged 73,198 units per year, a figure ... In the most prolific
18.
by verg 11y ago
SF is half as dense as Brooklyn. The major supply constraint is not geographic, its land use regulation.
19.
by verg 11y ago
Food can be a part of the culture without everyone being a cook. See Thailand. Street food is very cheap and owning a kitchen is expensive, so most people eat out. Obviously low labor cost is a factor in Thailand, but the opportunity cost o