During one of my video runs on YouTube, I watched some thought provoking videos:
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• Video Link
These videos got me thinking about some of the main issues we face today in America. Homelessness, suburban sprawl, unaffordable cities.
Despite how it looks, the commie block ( or our own version, the housing project) was an economically way to ensure even the poorest folks had their baseline needs met.
Streetcar suburbs are also pretty neat. They are both walkable and spacious, a good balance between the hyperdense city core and the rural country. They also had human character and were still built to cater to those who still walked around, which is something that post war suburbs lacked. I now really get it when people from more walkable places say that American suburbs are just made for the car, not for humans. The car doesn't have to go, but it doesn't have to be the center of attention. The example of Riverdale ( I believe) in Toronto is a good example, and one of the videos mentioned it.
And the idea of the superblock. I can see this working in Manhattan and maybe the densest parts of San Francisco. It's a good way to reduce congestion and make cities even more walkable.
Yeah, this was a lot for one thread, but I want to know what people think about all of this. I think that we will have to do something about the current state of our urban areas.