In Cramped and Costly Bay Area, Cries to Build, Baby, Build

Re:In Cramped and Costly Bay Area, Cries to Build, Baby, Build by nickff on Saturday April 16, 2016 @12:54PM (#11511268)

What you say assumes that people want to purchase anything a developer builds, anywhere, at any price. In reality, market forces encourage developers to build nice homes in good areas well served by various amenities (which are publicly and privately available).

The problem is that development is so tightly restricted in most areas, that new residents have few options.

In short, you are blaming the market for the results of zoning and land use restrictions.

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Re:In Cramped and Costly Bay Area, Cries to Build, Baby, Build by saeranv on Saturday April 16, 2016 @02:19PM (#11511654)

I agree with the sentiment of vastly deregulating urban zoning conditions. However there are a couple of places where the market forces will lead to poor long-term community development. For example, outside of urban areas the market tends to incentivize suburban sprawl. In Toronto, you can see this in the GTA region like Markham or Brampton: vast tracts of cookie-cutter residential neighborhoods, without any consideration for integration with mixed use. Zoning does compound this, with density limitations, and parking requirements. However, the developers are perfectly happy with the high return on investment they can get building cheap single-family houses.

I also abhor zoning and what it does to cities. But look at Japanese cities to see what good, minimal zoning can achieve, without prohibitive height limits, nonexclusive zoning etc.

More on Japanese zoning: http://urbankchoze.blogspot.ca/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html

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Re:In Cramped and Costly Bay Area, Cries to Build, Baby, Build by zanny on Saturday April 16, 2016 @03:46PM (#11511962)

They aren't building mixed use because the residents do not want mixed use.

Persuade people to want mixed use, rather than trying to force it down the throats of home owners, and you will have much better results.

Developers are perfectly happy to deliver want buyers want. If you want better cities, have a population of people who want better cities. If the city you live in is not good enough, first try persuading your peers, and if that does not work, go somewhere more like minded.

It is not an excuse to cripple everyone in this trap of zoning and regulation that has stunted growth in almost every sector across the entire country.

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Re:In Cramped and Costly Bay Area, Cries to Build, Baby, Build by ktRolster on Saturday April 16, 2016 @01:22PM (#11511408)

In short, you are blaming the market for the results of zoning and land use restrictions.

I didn't blame the market for anything. You have reading comprehension issues. Fix that.

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