I think developers would love to build something “craft”- that’s why a lot of guys get into the business. But affordability requirements, parking minimums, two-staircase requirements get in the way of making that feasible.
I can think of a lot of nice housing proposals that were stripped and made generic by city requirements and public input processes demanding concessions until the original idea was just a shadow of itself.
I think the lesson is getting governments (federal, state, local, neighborhood associations) out of the way and removing some of their red tape could lower the threshold for development and opening a small business - this led to a craft beer boom a generation later, and replicating those efforts can lead to some urbanization and economic revitalization further down.
The thing is, we live mostly in linked metropolitan areas - so even if your personal neighborhood can have everything a kid needs, most adults will need access to the rest of the metro to work. Moving is a pain even when you're single, even when you're renting. But moving to another part of your metro for work when you have kids, a mortgage, or any other kind of roots is much tougher. So right away, you need to link the various places in your metro together, and whether it be roads, rails, bikes, or busses - it requires some government planning, funding and intervention. That's not bad, per se. But it does fundamentally make urbanism a different type of endeavor than home brewing.
It still surprises me that no billionaire, real estate developer or otherwise, has taken an interest in urban development, bought a bunch of acres in the middle of nowhere, and built their dream city from the ground up.
Actually there’s California Forever, which is exactly that. And I think Elon Musk wants to build housing in Texas but he’s clueless about urban design stuff.
I live in Queens New York. The plan is to have anyone develop housing however they want to. It seems incredible. No spaces are giving for parking or yards. Just a small front yard or a small backyard. Every corner will be for a business. Right now my very tree filled neighborhood has many Victorian and other houses that have architectural features that are very historical. Whoever purchases these homes can tear them down and replace with a multi family. Because of the housing crisis this will be enacted over all of NY. The business district near me along a major street is dead. Storefront churches,real estate offices,pawnshops, and multiple pot businesses plus empty buildings and lots are all there
If your post were true, Innovation QNS would have been built several years ago. Instead Innovation QNS will never be built because they put so many restrictions on it.
NYC only built 11k units last year, which is a tiny trickle of housing, sadly.
I think developers would love to build something “craft”- that’s why a lot of guys get into the business. But affordability requirements, parking minimums, two-staircase requirements get in the way of making that feasible.
I can think of a lot of nice housing proposals that were stripped and made generic by city requirements and public input processes demanding concessions until the original idea was just a shadow of itself.
Yeah. A lot of regs that are supposedly about improving buildings aesthetically also end up ruining them!
I think the lesson is getting governments (federal, state, local, neighborhood associations) out of the way and removing some of their red tape could lower the threshold for development and opening a small business - this led to a craft beer boom a generation later, and replicating those efforts can lead to some urbanization and economic revitalization further down.
The thing is, we live mostly in linked metropolitan areas - so even if your personal neighborhood can have everything a kid needs, most adults will need access to the rest of the metro to work. Moving is a pain even when you're single, even when you're renting. But moving to another part of your metro for work when you have kids, a mortgage, or any other kind of roots is much tougher. So right away, you need to link the various places in your metro together, and whether it be roads, rails, bikes, or busses - it requires some government planning, funding and intervention. That's not bad, per se. But it does fundamentally make urbanism a different type of endeavor than home brewing.
It still surprises me that no billionaire, real estate developer or otherwise, has taken an interest in urban development, bought a bunch of acres in the middle of nowhere, and built their dream city from the ground up.
Actually there’s California Forever, which is exactly that. And I think Elon Musk wants to build housing in Texas but he’s clueless about urban design stuff.
Timely! Nolan Gray has an article in The Atlantic today about the comeback of the street grid: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/02/american-street-grid-city-planning/677432/
I live in Queens New York. The plan is to have anyone develop housing however they want to. It seems incredible. No spaces are giving for parking or yards. Just a small front yard or a small backyard. Every corner will be for a business. Right now my very tree filled neighborhood has many Victorian and other houses that have architectural features that are very historical. Whoever purchases these homes can tear them down and replace with a multi family. Because of the housing crisis this will be enacted over all of NY. The business district near me along a major street is dead. Storefront churches,real estate offices,pawnshops, and multiple pot businesses plus empty buildings and lots are all there
If your post were true, Innovation QNS would have been built several years ago. Instead Innovation QNS will never be built because they put so many restrictions on it.
NYC only built 11k units last year, which is a tiny trickle of housing, sadly.
There is a new New York City law in the works!
If you’re afraid of multifamily buildings, you probably shouldn’t live in New York City.
there are many mult-family buildings in NYC; I fear the end of architectural respect
The destruction of beautiful and historical homes will be the horrid outcome...Architecture is art