"For god's sakes, just let property owners do what they want with their property"
We need to have zoning laws.
"You'll gradually get more density and less traffic this way over time, assuming that's what people want "
Once a city has been structured, it's nary impossible to 'unstructure'.
"The root of the problem is the impulse to be disgusted by your neighbor's choices, "
We live in a community and we have no choice but to have rules & laws - they just need to be done intelligently.
Cities like Frankfurt and Munich are very close to ideal. They have 'just right' urban density, good Trams, Subways and Trains - and it works extremely well. You can get where you need to quickly, there's not a lot of traffic - and ample choice for those who want to have a 'big house' vs. 'smaller home' vs. 'urban flat'.
North Americans really screwed up - and it has a lot to do with builders, bad zoning etc.
If people were actually 'given the choice' of semi-dense urban living + easy commute to slightly more dense suburbs - they would usually take it.
In North America - people 'have less choice' and 'less options' because one of the key ingredients: public transport (i.e. trams, trains and subways) requires some degree of collective organization, as well as some foresight with respect to urban planning.
It seems a little 'anti choice' to opt for a Euro-style city, but really, there is a lot of 'choice' and the effectiveness of basic public transport is so awesome for people that I can't imagine anybody would want to opt out.
For example, I don't think anyone in all of Europe would opt for 'less' transit services, they are usually great and used heavily - and you can still drive if you want.
Zoning laws, especially ones as expansive as what the US has, have only existed as they are for about 60 years. My still living grandmother can recollect how the process to buy and build her house was straightforward - you buy the lot from the private owner, you draft up your own design, you buy materials and you build your house. No county zoning code, no state inspector.
This is in suburban PA, where pretty much 50-70% of standing homes were built pre-zoning and there is no new home owner being "exploited" here - you simply get 2 inspectors to look over the house for code violations, deduct the cost of getting the house to code compliance from the sale price, and make that your offer.
> Once a city has been structured
There are cities around the world that have existed in some form for thousands of years. They constantly evolve and change, and to think we are at some point in progress that it won't happen anymore seems like undue hubris. Cities will absolutely continue to change, the only difference being if cities want to use the law to prevent organic change and growth, it will simply go elsewhere and the city will wither and die.
The reason NA doesn't get public transit is a vicious cycle, with historical motivations:
* Awful zoning and building code means new construction cannot happen, leading to city rot.
* City rot drives money away, and leaves the husk to the poor.
* The poor have no collective will or enough economic impact to justify investment, so the cities they reside in never see infrastructure development that would drive economic growth.
* The fleeing rich seek extraordinary zoning blockades to keep the poor (ie, minorities) out, but by taking the money with them they take the growth opportunities that attract anyone less than lavish.
* The rich become extraordinarily NIMBY to defend against undesirables moving near their neighborhoods. Additionally, they use their influence in zoning and NIMBY policy to zone / structure where they live in unsustainable and culturally hostile ways to project their desired vision for where they live.
* The economic stagnation the extreme amount of overregulation causes pushes you back to eventual rot, and you restart the cycle.
Why do you feel the need to say (ie minorities) after the poor. Are rich affluent minorities less likely to try and separate themselves from the poor? Are these rich people making an exception for poor whites?
>and ample choice for those who want to have a 'big house' vs. 'smaller home' vs. 'urban flat'.
As long as you don't actually want a big property and cars at a middle class cost. In the many US suburbs, you can get a 3000 Sq ft home with a two car garage (not included in the area calc) for less than $200k and be within a half hour drive from a major city center.
So those German cities are only 'ideal' if you have different priorities.
No, they arent really compatible. Good transportation requires high density or or high property values to pay the taxes required to build it.
I'm not aware of any city in the world where someone can purchase a 3000 Sq ft+ property with a two car garage for less than 4x the average annual family income and have access to amazing public transportation.
Everywhere has busses, trams, trains and cities have subway.
If you really want a huge home and want to 'ride public transit' - then it's possible to get one near or by a bus route, or a short walk from the station at the village.
Or you can buy a little further out, and drive 2 minutes to the village and catch the train when needed.
"Good transportation requires high density or or high property values to pay the taxes required to build it."
No, it just requires foresight, social buy in and a tax base.
Almost everywhere in Europe has really good transport - and it actually is possible to buy big homes, very few want them.
I have been to Europe, many times. Any houses actually near good public transportation (good = frequent and wide reaching enough to not need a car), are either small or very expensive.
>Almost everywhere in Europe has really good transport
No, it doesn't. If your bar for good public transportation is a bus route and a drive to a nearby train station, then the US has good public transportation as well because every city has buses.
Good transportation is within the cities like Paris, Vienna, Rome, London. Trains run at least every 10 minutes and can get you nearly anywhere in the city within a half hour. It has to be good enough that it's actually faster and more convenient than driving. All of the houses on these train stops are very expensive or very small (or both if you're in London).
We need to have zoning laws.
"You'll gradually get more density and less traffic this way over time, assuming that's what people want "
Once a city has been structured, it's nary impossible to 'unstructure'.
"The root of the problem is the impulse to be disgusted by your neighbor's choices, "
We live in a community and we have no choice but to have rules & laws - they just need to be done intelligently.
Cities like Frankfurt and Munich are very close to ideal. They have 'just right' urban density, good Trams, Subways and Trains - and it works extremely well. You can get where you need to quickly, there's not a lot of traffic - and ample choice for those who want to have a 'big house' vs. 'smaller home' vs. 'urban flat'.
North Americans really screwed up - and it has a lot to do with builders, bad zoning etc.
If people were actually 'given the choice' of semi-dense urban living + easy commute to slightly more dense suburbs - they would usually take it.
In North America - people 'have less choice' and 'less options' because one of the key ingredients: public transport (i.e. trams, trains and subways) requires some degree of collective organization, as well as some foresight with respect to urban planning.
It seems a little 'anti choice' to opt for a Euro-style city, but really, there is a lot of 'choice' and the effectiveness of basic public transport is so awesome for people that I can't imagine anybody would want to opt out.
For example, I don't think anyone in all of Europe would opt for 'less' transit services, they are usually great and used heavily - and you can still drive if you want.