this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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Fuck Cars

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Why North America zoning and building codes mean developers can't build nice family friendly "missing middle" housing/apartments (www.youtube.com)
submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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We need to make our cities and towns more family friendly. This is called the "missing middle" in housing, and it's why in north america all we see are either large condo towers or single family homes, which also drives our urban sprawl problems. Which exacerbate out dependency on cars.

Almost all new large towers/buildings in north america prioritize bachelor's units 1 and 2 bedroom units. Trying to find a well priced 3 or 4 bedroom in a "lively" downtown center, close to transit and work, with plenty of schooling in the area is almost impossible. It's also a factor in why cities became so empty during the pandemic, ie. Not to many families living permanently in cities.

Here's a good article that also talks about the same issue with some different apparment layouts, and why developers don't provide adequate family units.

https://www.centerforbuilding.org/blog/we-we-cant-build-family-sized-apartments-in-north-america

This together with zoning requirements in north america is pushing most cities and developers to only cater towards large towers or single family housing.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Agreed, I want to downsize, to reduce my carbon footprint and declutter/simplify my life. My plan is for an external workshop structure to hold all the things that I work on but don't require expensive, continuous climate control. That and building a sustainable ecofriendly home with renewable energy, geothermal would be really cool.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Yeah, several times when I was younger I had to move house with only what I could fit in my car or what I could carry. It forced me to really think about what possessions actually matter, and feel the benefits of how having less stuff helps free oneself from the consumerist mindset.

On another note, geothermal energy isn't feasible for most places, and building from scratch is harder than it looks ... the best thing is to repurpose what already exists to your needs and use it in the best way you can. I bought a house that had been abandoned, and it's gradually coming into shape with improvements like insulation and double glazing ... eventually I hope to have heating from a heat pump, but that's out of my price range for the moment.