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Lily, I'm not a Europhile. Living in Europe was not a dream of mine. I moved for work. Now that I'm here I do see there are a lot of things Americans could benefit from emulating. We used to have crap coffee, bread, beer, etc. but we decided to take a page from the old world and upped our game. We could do so in other ways as well - mainly urban planning. The use is space is just flat out better. Why can't we have nicely laid out walkable, bikable convenient suburbs too?
I agree with you about URBAN PLANNING, I think that could be improved on a global scale, not just Europe and America.
Everything you are talking about, there are equally "wealthy" communities in the US that have the same things,
You can't compare a wealthy community to the average community especially in the ways you are doing. You can go and find areas in the US that are just as opulent and amenity filled as what you are talking about.
Now on the point of building better communities with better amenities, surely this is something that would be ideal to most countries. But there is a vast difference in wealthy and average living. the difference is very wide.
Even when it comes to city services, areas that have wealthy people with great amenities, utilize more city services and a better standard of city services are afforded in these areas.
Street curbs are painted on a higher frequency, street line striping is maintained in a fresh condition and they don't just patch potholes, they replace the whole panel.
There are marked differences.
Income -inequality is always a big matter. HUD makes money available via the Block Grant program for people who are building, unfortunately, people don't use the program to its full potential. It is designed to be seed money to go with developer investment for better community. Yet, people still use it to build lower grade communities, and some even still use it to build the low income communities. This is a big problem, but one that is not likely to make a dramatic change in the near future. Even cities who do remakes of their Master Plan, which is a 10-25 year undertaking, much changes as the years come and go, budgeting and grants and investors are in a continual battle as well as challenge to meet or exceed the Master Plans aims. the end result is often lesser than what the plan called for. Mixed development is an interesting elements, because it brings in power players, who change zoning, acquire variance and some buy up big blocks of land, with not fully disclosed long term intentions. Remember, Administrations Change, Council People changes and much else changes as these changes cycle through the time span.
History and Present Reality - meet many alterations- resulting in changes to ideal plans.
Some sections of LA that was built long ago, when the wealthy and well to do lived in proximity to their work and their highrise administrative centers, as well as some areas that were built around or near business parks, were done with a self contained like functional set of amenities.
Changes in Things and Times
This can be found in many cities, our city is old, but the old design has the same things you are talking about, but as the older people died out, their young went off to University and did not return, they sold the business, the houses were sold or left to decline, the city council membership declined and ultimately the community fell in quality and statures. part of the issue in the South, involved kids who went to university and found a realizations of diversity, they did not want to come back nor would they even bring their friends during breaks to their family home, as a way to avoid seeing the racism and bigotry they grew up around and in. Because they had different ideals about people and society and did not want to be labeled as being from the racist south. The parents aged, the business and house was sold and the kids never set foot back in the areas.
the infrastructure that was designed had all the things with the exception of extra wide sidewalks, and pathways, but the routing of the infrastructure had an amazing connection to downtown.
The Era of Suburban Sprawl - was huge and it has not stopped
Rural suburban living became a thing of the late 50's but even more so by the 60 and 70's suburban developments was the things. Along with that came Shopping Malls, and they focused on how the Freeways connected to make accessibility functional.
By the 1980's if you look at the Los Angeles / Orange Country / San Bernardinio/ Corona / Indio and other areas in the expanse; the building boom and the interconnections of these areas expanded the suburbia concept, the malls became more included as did many things which promoted the suburban ideals, some of these areas were former dry lake beds, became communities to move to in the late 80's, 90, and early 2000's. People were willing to drive 5-90 miles "one way" to work, on freeways that moved at a snails pace. 2hr drives to work was not uncommon. This process was replicated in many states, people cut down large area of forest to build communities hidden behind deep tree lines, and if you did not know it was there, then you'd be unaware of how much had been built. It's still taking place today in the exact same format.
All those areas you see on shows like the Kardasians, was once mountainous land areas in the hot confines of the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel and Thousands Oaks all the way up to the Santa Clarita, now are very expensive enclaves with a host of community names, and most people know which city is very expensive by the name associated with the locations.
I' delighted that you are happy with where you are, but to dis-acknowledge the many many places that afford these things is not inclusive to regard places with similar things. There are parts of Florida, which has everything one can imagine at a very opulent level, and highly unaffordable except to the very wealthy.
The same is true in Texas, its not likely anyone can move in the areas close to where GWBush has his home, it takes not just money, but it takes a certain stature of money. These things can be found from State to State all over American. The same as one can visit any Foreign Country and find opulent areas that is very far from affordable to the average person.
Last edited by Chance and Change; 11-16-2014 at 11:46 AM..
Of course there are some bright spots like Germany with a rate of around 5% but they're sort of red neck not unlike Texas and who wants to live in a place like Texas?
Germany is absolutely NOTHING like Texas!
That comparison is laughable.
German workers have rights. Texas workers have little or none. They are expendable, to be used up and discarded. Safety regulations in Texas? Yea right.
German workers have rights. Texas workers have little or none. They are expendable, to be used up and discarded. Safety regulations in Texas? Yea right.
Everything you are talking about, there are equally "wealthy" communities in the US that have the same things,
You can't compare a wealthy community to the average community especially in the ways you are doing. You can go and find areas in the US that are just as opulent and amenity filled as what you are talking about.
Now on the point of building better communities with better amenities, surely this is something that would be ideal to most countries. But there is a vast difference in wealthy and average living. the difference is very wide.
Even when it comes to city services, areas that have wealthy people with great amenities, utilize more city services and a better standard of city services are afforded in these areas.
Street curbs are painted on a higher frequency, street line striping is maintained in a fresh condition and they don't just patch potholes, they replace the whole panel.
There are marked differences.
Some sections of LA that was built long ago, when the wealthy and well to do lived in proximity to their work and their highrise administrative centers, as well as some areas that were built around or near business parks, were done with a self contained like functional set of amenities.
This can be found in many cities, our city is old, but the old design has the same things you are talking about, but as the older people died out, their young went off to University and did not return, they sold the business, the houses were sold or left to decline, the city council membership declined and ultimately the community fell in quality and statures. part of the issue in the South, involved kids who went to university and found a realizations of diversity, they did not want to come back nor would they even bring their friends during breaks to their family home, as a way to avoid seeing the racism and bigotry they grew up around and in. Because they had different ideals about people and society and did not want to be labeled as being from the racist south. The parents aged, the business and house was sold and the kids never set foot back in the areas.
the infrastructure that was designed had all the things with the exception of extra wide sidewalks, and pathways, but the routing of the infrastructure had an amazing connection to downtown.
Rural suburban living became a thing of the late 50's but even more so by the 60 and 70's suburban developments was the things. Along with that came Shopping Malls, and they focused on how the Freeways connected to make accessibility functional.
By the 1980's if you look at the Los Angeles / Orange Country / San Bernardinio/ Corona / Indio and other areas in the expanse; the building boom and the interconnections of these areas expanded the suburbia concept, the malls became more included as did many things which promoted the suburban ideals, some of these areas were former dry lake beds, became communities to move to in the late 80's, 90, and early 2000's. People were willing to drive 5-90 miles "one way" to work, on freeways that moved at a snails pace. 2hr drives to work was not uncommon. This process was replicated in many states, people cut down large area of forest to build communities hidden behind deep tree lines, and if you did not know it was there, then you'd be unaware of how much had been built. It's still taking place today in the exact same format.
All those areas you see on shows like the Kardasians, was once mountainous land areas in the hot confines of the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel and Thousands Oaks all the way up to the Santa Clarita, now are very expensive enclaves with a host of community names, and most people know which city is very expensive by the name associated with the locations.
I' delighted that you are happy with where you are, but to dis-acknowledge the many many places that afford these things is not inclusive to regard places with similar things. There are parts of Florida, which has everything one can imagine at a very opulent level, and highly unaffordable except to the very wealthy.
The same is true in Texas, its not likely anyone can move in the areas close to where GWBush has his home, it takes not just money, but it takes a certain stature of money. These things can be found from State to State all over American. The same as one can visit any Foreign Country and find opulent areas that is very far from affordable to the average person.
Thanks for taking the time to write such a long post, Chance. I grew up in Southern California in the 1980s and have lived in several parts of the United States -- all regions except for the northeast and upper midwest, both of which I have traveled to multiple times. I've been to rural, urban and suburban communities -- with housing stock in all price ranges. With few exceptions, the US does NOT have the public amenities you find in Europe. And it's sad because we have the means to have them ... we choose to not to invest in public infrastructure. Our neighborhoods are built on the cheap and it shows. Probably the closest I've seen in the US to where I am now are the northern Boston suburbs -- green spaces, bike paths, public squares, good public transportation, etc. My buddy who grew up in Sommerville back when it was a dump (the Winterhill Gang era) tells me much of what makes the place so damn nice existed back then too ... even when it was ghetto. It's just a better use of space.
In the wealthier and poorer areas of Belgium, they just use space better. Why can't we too? You mention LA -- that's a great example of a sprawling wasteland of a city that started making sensible changes back in the 90s and now just 20 years later it's becoming a nice place for humans (not cars) to live. I don't understand why every American city and community doesn't follow suit. Why do we insist on building such crap communities?
That is funny. No corporation takes money from my paycheck every month.
That's a good joke, I'm sure you meant it as a joke, because reality is far different.
Actually corporation takes a great deal from you and when they take it, its gone!!! , it makes you pay higher co-pays for medical, it took away the pension contribution, then it took away the 401k contribution which it used to make you accept the automatic pension contribution would no longer be forthcoming, which use to exist, then it took away giving you anything to put in your 401K except what you contribute from your income. at first the 401K claimed to match dollar for dollar, then it became 25 cent to the dollar.. now its "0" to the dollar. and people accepted it and never knew they were loosing money. Because the man in the suit and tie hoodwinked the people into accepting it. When the deal was done, the man in the tie, upped his yearly intake from 100's of thousands, to multiple and 10's of millions a year, with bonuses added on top along with additional stock options.
And it represses your wages so the CEO can get a bigger check, and it outsources large % of its business and then bring in contract workers who further depress your wages, because contract workers are paid on a lower tier. Lunch used to be paid, but now you work, 8.5 or 9 hours depending if you get a 30 minute lunch or a 1hr lunch. It does not upgrade and modernize which means you use older tech and methods from the 1970's to work that technology has methods which minimize the labor intensiveness of the work. When was the last merit increase, or the last Christmas bonus, or other things that were standard benefits for the employee groups. IT'S GONE !! The Government did not take it, the corporate executives took it, and most did not say a word against it.
Corporations take it in ways you accept because you blind yourself from seeing it for what it is as they take it. corporations spend Billions of Dollars to figure out how to take it without you becoming aware enough to be enraged, so you accept it.
That is funny. No corporation takes money from my paycheck every month.
Hmm... debatable. When a companu like Walmart instructs their employees on how to get public subsistence, that's Sam Walton's heirs' hands in your pocket. If Walmart had to pay a subsistence wage, their workers wouldn't need public assistance to survive. Yes, you'd pay more for goods at Walmart, but not as much more as you may think. Prices are higher here in Belgium, but it's not outrageously so. It's a price many would probably gladly pay if they saw the benefits of doing so. It's nice to live in a place that has very little (and literally no visible) poverty.
That's a good joke, I'm sure you meant it as a joke, because reality is far different.
Actually corporation takes a great deal from you and when they take it, its gone!!! , it makes you pay higher co-pays for medical, it took away the pension contribution, then it took away the 401k contribution which it used to make you accept the automatic pension contribution which use to exist, then it took away giving you anything to put in your 401K except what you contribute from your income. And it represses your wages so the CEO can get a bigger check, and it outsources large % of its business and then bring in contract workers who further depress your wages, because contract workers are paid on a lower tier. Lunch used to be paid, but now you work, 8.5 or 9 hours depending if you get a 30 minute lunch or a 1hr lunch. It does not upgrade and modernize which means you use older tech and methods from the 1970's to work that technology has methods which minimize the labor intensiveness of the work.
Corporations take it in ways you accept because you blind yourself from seeing it for what it is as they take it. corporations spend Billions of Dollars to figure out how to take it without you becoming aware enough to be enraged, so you accept it.
Yep yep. Good post.
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