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silenti t1_je1z8h6 wrote

So here's the thing: increasing housing supply IS the answer.

BUT

Development should be "out" and not "up". Building up only creates new housing at the same fucking price points. We need to encourage more stock in the cheaper areas. Some kind of density tax maybe?

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HappyArtichoke7729 t1_je26ct2 wrote

The things you suggest are the opposite of what we need, and would contribute to rising rents, higher infrastructure costs, more pollution, and a more unhappy population.

In short: it's moronic.

Density is the solution, not suburbanization.

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FinalIntern8888 t1_je4xiev wrote

I thought it was obvious they were talking about developing other parts of JC rather than just strictly downtown.

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HappyArtichoke7729 t1_je5dw7c wrote

The part of JC doesn't matter in this sense. The strategy in downtown or elsewhere in JC like Heights or Westside should be the same: increase density. That's how you relieve pressure on rent.

And since we happen to have an underbuilding NYC right next to us, we have to build A LOT because it's difficult to build enough as New Yorkers just keep coming over and filling it up. The answer is build, build, build. Build up.

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FinalIntern8888 t1_je5ep8b wrote

Not sure I’m following, I think OP has a valid point. If only one or three neighborhoods are seen as desirable within JC (basically downtown, Heights, Newport) then the other areas are going to be neglected. They need to build out in order to avoid all the investment and development from getting concentrated in these small handful of locations as opposed to the rest of town, which consists of many many other neighborhoods.

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Maleficent-Baby-1926 t1_je62854 wrote

very important. JC is still affordable the areas are just less desirable atm. hopefully that changes.

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FinalIntern8888 t1_je69bo3 wrote

Right, I’m not quite sure why OP is downvoted so heavily. If you only build up, rents are going to remain high and get higher in the desirable areas. The underdeveloped areas will remain cheaper, but less connected to the rest of town due to shitty mass transit options. There’s a middleground somewhere here

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HappyArtichoke7729 t1_je5qcjh wrote

That's all correct except they need to build up and not out. JC doesn't have any farmland to suburbanize.

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objectimpermanence t1_je24iog wrote

You just described suburbanization.

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FinalIntern8888 t1_je4xenu wrote

I thought it was clear they were describing developing neighborhoods that get looked over by the city government and therefore developers, e.g. west side, mcginley sq, etc.

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paul-e-walnts OP t1_je22dmo wrote

Curious if you have any resources on feasibility of building smaller multi-family units. I want to say I’ve come across a lot of material showing it’s very difficult to build smaller buildings without losing money.

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objectimpermanence t1_je35ebg wrote

@marketurbanism writes a lot about this on Twitter.

The short answer is that zoning and building codes in the US make it especially uneconomical to build small apartment buildings the way they are built in most other parts of the developed world.

One big thing is that it’s practically impossible to build an apartment building with just a single staircase if it has more than 2 or 3 units. Our egress requirements create lots of wasted space, which raises costs. Keep in mind that despite onerous safety requirements like these in US building codes, our buildings are statistically less safe than those in western Europe where most of these restrictions don’t exist at all.

Here’s an interesting article to read on that issue.

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FinalIntern8888 t1_je2207v wrote

Yeah they just keep focusing downtown. Neighborhoods like McGinley Sq have been ripe for gentrification but it’s happening way slower than it probably should. I like that the rent is cheap here but I wish there were more to do.

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moobycow t1_je57013 wrote

Does JSQ not exist? It took a while for development to move outside of DT, because DT was a bunch of parking lots that were easy to develop.

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FinalIntern8888 t1_je5tk90 wrote

I guess I’ve been waiting for the wave of gentrification to crest up the hill from downtown and south from JSQ for it to converge on west side, but it hasn’t really happened yet.

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