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Aug 13, 2022Liked by Adam Mastroianni

I used to think that dense cities are unlivable because of the density, but I no longer believe that after learning about urban planning and urbanism. The gist is that cars are the wrong mode of transportation inside cities. I recommend the YouTube channel Not Just Bikes, he explains really well how cars cause most of the problems we associate with density, such as noise, low air quality, and congestion. The solution then is to use the outside public space not for roads for cars and parking spots, but pedestrian streets, parks and community gathering places. Some cities already do this better than others, such as Amsterdam.

https://youtu.be/GlXNVnftaNs

When you realize that cars are the problem, not density, everything starts to click into place:

1. People live in dense cities because it provides them with more economic and social opportunities, and allows them to be closer to the people important to them

2. Density makes everything much more walkable. You are more likely to have places you want to go and people you want to meet within walking or biking distance

3. Density allows for better transit service, which becomes the default for mid to long distance travel, and transports many more people than cars anyway.

4. Having a nice pedestrian street with trees, places to eat and socialize, also encourages spontaneous social interactions.

I really encourage you to watch some of the videos on Not Just Bikes. It really opened my eyes to how backwards cities in North America are planned and how density can and should be a good thing. His Strong Towns series is about the economic benefits of density (tldr economics of scale. The same infrastructure and public space supports more people)

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Feb 9, 2022Liked by Adam Mastroianni

But thats why work from home is a big deal. When my employer switched to remote work, I moved from a 3M to a 0.3M city.

If WFH stays, nothing stops people from taking their job/salary from SF to Muncie, improving conditions both in SF and Muncie.

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I think you forgot to mention that the US population increased by nearly 50% in the last 40 years. This is the main reason for the increase in congestion. Add the continuous rise in affluence and the drop in the cost of travel due to Uber, Airbnb, and budget airlines, and you have everybody and their brothers and sisters trudging around the same instagram sites all the time.

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Imagine if the US pushed public transportation instead of building highways and genuflecting to the almighty automobile long ago...

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