What People Get Wrong About Dense Urban Living
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN users repeatedly post it to rebut the idea that urban living means Manhattan or Hong Kong apartment blocks.
What it is
Oh The Urbanity! argues that most city dwellers live in dense residential neighbourhoods outside downtown, which can be calm and peaceful. It draws on older, denser parts of Toronto and Montreal.
Recommended by 4 HN commenters across 7 different months, 2022 to 2024.
What Hacker News said
Recommends throw0101a · 2022-08 · on “Why American cities are broke (2021) [video]”
> Suburbs provides housing. […] regardless of the density. At what cost, especially relative to other options. Lower density may end up costing more over the long term: * [LINK] Urban living ≠ Manhattan: * [this video]
Recommends throw0101a · 2023-01 · on “CA Cities to Lose All Zoning Powers in 2 Days”
> Isn't it possible that people who live in beautiful neighborhoods with mature trees, nice big yards, and low traffic streets that are safe for kids to play around Basically how things were built pre-WW2? * [LINK] * [LINK] The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (misguided) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks : * [this video] Examples (Streetview): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] See also: * [LINK] Fifteen minutes pedalling in one direction is downtown Amsterdam, fifteen minutes in the other is farm land.
Recommends throw0101c · 2023-04 · on “Maps show how parking lots “eat” U.S. cities”
> Humans shouldn't be living in shoeboxes stacked 40 floors high. You have a limited view of 'urban living'. Want a front yard, back yard, and garage (attached to a laneway)? Plenty of that was built pre-WW2, and there's no reason why it couldn't be again: * [LINK] * [LINK] The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (misguided) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks : * [this video] Examples (Streetview) of urban tree-lined streets which can support transit and where cycling is practical (and where a car is an option versus a necessity): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] See also: * [LINK] Fifteen minutes pedalling in one direction is downtown, fifteen minutes in the other
Recommends throw0101c · 2023-04 · on “Maps show how parking lots “eat” U.S. cities”
> You live in an apartment and trade away personal space and still have to take a train to work where you get little personal space. You have a limited view of 'urban living'. Want a front yard, back yard, and garage (attached to a laneway)? Plenty of that was built pre-WW2, and there's no reason why it couldn't be again: * [LINK] * [LINK] The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (misguided) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks : * [this video] Examples (Streetview) of urban tree-lined streets which can support transit and where cycling is practical (and where a car is an option versus a necessity): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] See also: * [LINK] Fifteen minutes p
Recommends throw0101b · 2023-06 · on “Electric cars are better for the environment, no matter the power source”
> Nonsense. The inner city being a concrete hellscape isn't being helped by nicer parts on the outskirts. Why would the inner city need to be a "concrete hellscape"? You can have decent density without 'concrete hellscapes'. The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (misguided/misinformed) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks : * [this video] Want a front yard, back yard, and garage (attached to a laneway)? Plenty of that was built pre-WW2: * [LINK] * [LINK] Examples (Streetview): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK]
Recommends throw0101a · 2023-06 · on “Human-Scale Dutch Suburbs [video]”
Want a front yard, back yard, and garage (attached to a laneway)? Plenty of that was build pre-WW2 in ways that didn't depend on cars: * [LINK] * [LINK] The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (mistaken) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks , which is certainly not the case: * [this video] Examples (Streetview): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] See also: * [LINK] Fifteen minutes pedalling in one direction is downtown, fifteen minutes in the other is farm land.
Recommends throw0101a · 2023-07 · on “(IEEE Spectrum) Your navigation app is making traffic unmanageable”
> Public. Transit. Non-car centric development. The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (misguided) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks : * [this video] Want a front yard, back yard, and garage (attached to a laneway)? Plenty of that was built pre-WW2: * [LINK] * [LINK] Examples (Streetview): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] See also: * [LINK] Fifteen minutes pedalling in one direction is downtown, fifteen minutes in the other is farm land.
Recommends throw0101a · 2023-07 · on “The force that shapes everything around us: Parking”
> Convince people to live in smaller houses and share walls with their neighbors, and the parking situation would change dramatically. Completely unnecessary. Want a front yard, back yard, and garage (attached to a laneway)? Plenty of that was build pre-WW2: * [LINK] * [LINK] The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (mistaken) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks : * [this video] Examples (Streetview): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] See also: * [LINK] Fifteen minutes pedalling in one direction is downtown, fifteen minutes in the other is farm land.