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Thanks to globalization I don't think you have to worry about your kids being run over by a semi coming from the local Steel mill.
Its more likely nowadays that your kid will be runover by a semi from Walmart moving steel from China to the USA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pittnurse70
This was the case in the US no more than 50 yrs ago, much less in some cases. We lived 2 blocks from a steel mill when I was small. My mom used to tie my brother and I up on the front porch so we wouldn't get run over by a semi driving up our residential street to/from the mill. No thanks!
This was the case in the US no more than 50 yrs ago, much less in some cases. We lived 2 blocks from a steel mill when I was small. My mom used to tie my brother and I up on the front porch so we wouldn't get run over by a semi driving up our residential street to/from the mill. No thanks!
You were literally "tied" to the front porch like a dog? HA! I'm sorry to sound cruel, but I'm picturing a child in 1970 wearing a collar with a leash tied to the railling.
I agree, and I think this is one reason why inner city populations aren't increasing nearly as quickly as their exurbs; the people who are moving in to the downtown condo high rises and converted lofts tend to be single or couples with no children. Or, interestingly enough, retirees.
While I don't live in my city's downtown area, I would dearly love to if it weren't so dang expensive.
I think more Americans are discovering what most of the world has known for years: it's ok to live in a neighborhood that also has businesses and industries. In fact, it's often desirable, particularly if you happen to work at one of those businesses or industries.
Please spread some of your optimism to exurban sprawl-crazy Eastern Pennsylvania! Here our downtown areas are VERY affordable, yet folks still won't move there, hence why our cities are still in such deep decline. I suppose I'm just an anomaly. In our suburbs the uber-affluent "too good for you" snobs over the past year have been fighting against a grocery store, convenience store, and yes, even a SMALL BANK coming to land near their subdivisions because they will "ruin their quality-of-life." If anything I'd be willing to pay more for homes in their subdivision if they were located within walking distance to such amenities. Who wants to hop in a car and drive 10 minutes all the time just to pick up a loaf of bread last-minute?
You were literally "tied" to the front porch like a dog? HA! I'm sorry to sound cruel, but I'm picturing a child in 1970 wearing a collar with a leash tied to the railling.
Yes, with a clothesline. My mom grew up on a farm. Maybe that's where she got the idea. It was a busy street, in the heart of Beaver Falls. We didn't have a fenced yard. So I'm not hep on factories in residential areas. It was that way all over Beaver Falls when I was a kid.
I am kind of thinking that back to the city life might be because of high gas prices. You could walk or take public transport to work instead of using up a lot of expensive gas if you live in the city.
It's alright to live in the city but maybe not next to factories. I live in a small city myself. I am seeing more people walking downtown. One must drive slowly to watch out for people crossing any which way.
I am kind of thinking that back to the city life might be because of high gas prices. You could walk or take public transport to work instead of using up a lot of expensive gas if you live in the city.
It's alright to live in the city but maybe not next to factories. I live in a small city myself. I am seeing more people walking downtown. One must drive slowly to watch out for people crossing any which way.
People who live in the city have always walked from here to there, it's just a part of city culture just like it's a part of suburban culture to drive every where, so I don't think that gas prices are an issue especially since that in almost every case it is more expensive to live in the city then a typical suburb. The walking issue seems to stem from three sources; 1-not as much of a need for a vehicle. 2-parking is generally more of a problem in the city. 3-traffic is more congested and over all makes driving a car a pain in the behind.
One should always drive slowly when pedestrians are around. That should be common sense. It's even a law in some places. Your last sentence seems to suggest that pedestrians are the nuisance, and if one should hit your car, then they are at fault. It also suggests that someone behind a 3,000 lb. chunk of metal has no obligation to be aware of his/her surroundings. Driving is not a right, it's a privilege.
If anything I'd be willing to pay more for homes in their subdivision if they were located within walking distance to such amenities. Who wants to hop in a car and drive 10 minutes all the time just to pick up a loaf of bread last-minute?
Here's the thing: You are the exception - not the rule
Most don't want to live near commercial centers - even small ones.
You asked: Who wants to hop in a car and drive 10 minutes all the time just to pick up a loaf of bread last-minute
The answer is - most -- some more than others. In my case - it is a 25+mile round trip to get that loaf of bread
Well, I think you have to look at what precipitated the decline of the central city in the first place: The surge in crime and LBJ's Great Society program.
The increased crime had a lot of factors, from the Baby Boomers all entering their 20s and 30s to the explosion of drug trafficking to more lenient sentencing. Of course, nobody wants to live and work where they face the prospect of getting robbed (or worse).
At the same time, LBJ's policies were very destructive to the inner city. Public housing, for example, created massive concentrations of poverty and crime in the central cities. The net effect was, of course, opposite of what was intended. Suddenly, nobody wanted to live within six blocks of a public housing development.
But the real tipping point was forced busing to achieve racial balance in school. Yes, it was a laudable goal. But no sane parent was going to load his or her child onto a bus at 6:15 in the morning to ride an hour to an inner city school. Add the fact that many of the inner city schools of the time were perceived as having much lower standards and severe discipline problems, then can you blame people for not wanting their children to become human guinea pigs for a broad social experiment?
So now, 40 years later, crime has improved with better police tactics and an aging population. At the same time, public housing's philosophy has changed significantly. Now public housing concentrates on developing mixed use developments, which creates a far better environment than those dispiriting rabbit warrens such as Cabrini Green in Chicago. Further, I think the development of a sizable black middle class has changed the overall character and lifestyle of the inner city.
We lived within 2 miles of downtown for 15 years and loved it. When we moved, our friends and relatives thought us crazy, thinking we would be victims of crime within a week. But as our neighborhood really began to change, and the 1920s rental houses suddenly were bought and transformed into nice homes, our neighborhood became hot. The only thing we could not bring ourselves to do was put our children into public schools. Not for the racial mix mind you (our kid's private school was about 50/50 black and white), but for the seriously low standards of the school itself. So finally, we moved out to the suburbs. Our kids will graduate, and we'll move right back into town.
I am kind of thinking that back to the city life might be because of high gas prices. You could walk or take public transport to work instead of using up a lot of expensive gas if you live in the city.
It's alright to live in the city but maybe not next to factories. I live in a small city myself. I am seeing more people walking downtown. One must drive slowly to watch out for people crossing any which way.
That's a good point, this isn't happening in just big cities anymore. I know the little town of Cookeville, Tennessee, is also experiencing a renaissance of residential development in its downtown area where people live, work, play, and shop.
I hope more small towns will see such development as what you're experiencing in Oregon and what is becoming popular in Cookeville.
Here's the thing: You are the exception - not the rule
Most don't want to live near commercial centers - even small ones.
You asked: Who wants to hop in a car and drive 10 minutes all the time just to pick up a loaf of bread last-minute
The answer is - most -- some more than others. In my case - it is a 25+mile round trip to get that loaf of bread
Au contraire, I know very few people who do that. Most of us, in city or suburb, are too busy for that stuff. We always have some "emergency" food around, not in case of a nuclear attack, mind you, but in case we run out of something and don't have time to go to the grocery store. Also, the first business to go into a suburb is usually a grocery store. People who don't live in the suburbs have a very stereotyped, stilted notion of how people there live.
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