How satisfied/dissatisfied with your city are you?

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

^^^
Affordable look alike cookie cutter housing projects may be boring to live in, but it is better than the tents on sidewalks and people living in their cars that we have out here in California and elsewhere because of the lack of affordable subsidized housing. A bit of socialism is a good thing. Be grateful. Now...if they could only design the affordable housing to be less cookie cutter and more interesting.

LA isn't really known for housing projects like east coast cities, but there are a few around, like the notorious Jordan Downs projects in Watts. I'm not sure if they're the best solution to the housing crunch. A lot of recently built residential developments have something like 90% market rate and 10% low income units in the same building and I think that's a better approach than concentrating poverty which is essentially what a housing project does.

[dubu]

the thing i like about central oregon is that people move here and say its too cold or something and move back were they came from.

[volguus zildrohar]

Philadelphia is like that really smart kid with loads of potential that you went to high school who went off the rails when they started doing drugs.

I love this city but it won't get out of its own way and refuses to entertain the notion that doing things the way they've always been done isn't always for the best. Time away from this city is what I need in order to refresh my view on it.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

However the excessive number of drug addicts probably underlines broader issues on society: low wages, lack of job stability, lack of social/family security, poor education, untreated depression, etc.

Victimology!

Blame everybody else but yourself!

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

Victimology!

Blame everybody else but yourself!

Gosh, don't you guys ever drop those political sectarianism even for a second? I didn't point fingers nor dared to suggest something must be done to tackle this problem. I just described it.

You might flert with this libertarian misanthropy, but regardless your (lack of) sensibilities on this issue, the problem is out there. People are not robots, they have their anxieties, their limitations, their traumas.

Good, do nothing about the problem because it's all their fault, the way society organizes itself has zero impact on its members... Maybe it just goes away, like magic.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by JManc

And as soon as the sun begins to set, the temperature is pretty reasonable.

Living in San Antonio has taught me just how bad summer humidity is at night in Houston. Midday in the summer in San Antonio is hellish, but the mornings and evenings are so much more pleasant than in Houston. There's a pretty dependable breeze in the evenings and, believe it or not, no fogged over and dripping windows in the morning. That's about the only advantage for San Antonio that I will readily admit to.

[Yuri]

Anecdotally, after the 2015-2016 economic depression, São Paulo saw the number of homeless increase twofold over this short period. From 10,000 people who permanently live on streets to 20,000. And that's not counting "part time homeless".

As elsewhere, people are not on the streets because their are poor and can afford a house. Drugs, mental problems, the usual suspects. However, as the crisis destroyed millions of jobs, families that otherwise managed to keep those people at home, probably didn't handle the financial and psychological pressure of unemployment, unstable jobs and as result those people were expelled from home in greater numbers. That's my theory at least.

What I'm saying is that's not an easy issue, that might be solved with simplistic aproaches like "people must only count with themselves". We live in society since ever and things don't work like that.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

Gosh, don't you guys ever drop those political sectarianism even for a second?

We're not all like that.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

That's my theory at least.

I honestly think one issue in American inner cities is that, as the value of inner city land skyrockets, marginal housing units, bare-bones cheap apartments, and even buildings that once rented single rooms are being "developed" out of existence.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Stockholm:

"At first I was like...

https://media.timeout.com/images/105.../472/image.jpg
https://www.fastighetssverige.se/upload/289_full.jpg

...but then I was like..."

https://www.stockholmdirekt.se/_inte...s4bsq1tt1.jpeg
https://bcnvt.files.wordpress.com/20...berg_boras.jpg

Ah ouais... You wouldn't have to search the Paris metro area for very long to find the same here.
Cheap post-war modernism is rough, we've repeated it over and over over the years on here.
Most of us are sorry about it. You got to be cruel to enjoy the idea of people living in there.

The Swedes still enjoy a comfortable standard of living. I wonder why they wouldn't tear those down faster.

[MonkeyRonin]

Toronto is frustrating. It's got pretty much everything I want from a city - it's vibrant, culturally dynamic, a great place to eat & drink & go out, super diverse, has a compelling urban environment filled with lively retail strips, disheveled old brick buildings & stoic Victorians, flashy skyscrapers, industrial age factories, leafy streets, commie blocks, trams, and an all-around comfortable density of people & things. It's eclectic and messy and just has a good vibe. I even don't mind the climate. But more than anything it's my home, I've got deep roots here and it's where I feel comfortable.

The city has been booming for the better part of two decades though, and the negative ramifications of that are starting to take their toll. It's been fun to watch and it's produced some great stuff, but we're at the point where even historic buildings, cultural venues, beloved restaurants, and affordable apartments aren't safe from being torn for tedious investor condos (the city's heritage protections are laughable). And with the influx of new residents, our meagre transit expansions have been far too little, too late, and as a result, getting around the city - whether by car, transit, or bike - has become a chore. It's also unfortunate that given a once-in-a-generation opportunity for some truly transformational city building, it seems content with mediocrity - the municipal government is far too timid & unimaginative.

By far the biggest problem though: housing unaffordability is reaching crisis levels, and the City seems determined on doing absolutely nothing about it. This is particularly poignant for me as I'm now at the age where the possibility of having kids within the next few years is becoming real, yet even with a well-above average household income my options are pretty grim:

• Squeeze into a tiny apartment and hope we don't get evicted when it's redeveloped into a condo.
• Move out to a bleak suburb and spend 3 hours a day commuting.
• Move back into my parent's basement.

Meanwhile, we also have the highest daycare costs and highest post-secondary tuition rates in the country. It can hard enough living here with no dependents, that having a family seems like it's set up to not be possible. The quality of life for most people in this city is in decline, and is starting becoming suffocating. Part of this relates to broader late-stage capitalism, but there is also a lot more the city could be doing to mitigate these negative effects. I don't want to leave - but I'm worried I'll be forced to.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Do you really think so? I think "Anglo"-Canada is probably as good or even slightly better than the UK in this respect.

Australia and NZ are not perfect but also pretty good - at least on par with the UK.

Even the much-maligned US is actually a lot better than people give it credit for.

Preferences based on a number of factors can vary from person to person, but I know minority people who for a variety of reasons like living "as a minority" moreso in the US than they do in Canada or the UK. (Where they've already lived and/or grew up.)

Let's put it this way, if you are African/Asian/Hispanic, there are no better places to live as a minority than in English speaking countries. Sure, there are a handful of European countries that might come close, but its hard to beat us.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Let's put it this way, if you are African/Asian/Hispanic, there are no better places to live as a minority than in English speaking countries. Sure, there are a handful of European countries that might come close, but its hard to beat us.

True.

Some of the European countries that might be as tolerant as the US cannot hold a candle to the diversity of our population. The US is about 70% non-hispanic white, same goes for Australia. England is 85%, Germany is 90%, Canada is 77% "non-visible minority" -- white.

[kool maudit]

Well yeah. The US, Canada and Australia are offshoots of a mercantile marine empire peopled by repeated settler waves from all corners of the world. European nations like Sweden are the homelands of indigenous European peoples.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

The US is about 70% non-hispanic white,.

actually, the 2017 ACS pegs the the non-hispanic white population in the US at 61.5%.

and falling.



https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/...w.xhtml?src=CF

[bossabreezes]

Yeah, the US is not as white as people make it out to be.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Let's put it this way, if you are African/Asian/Hispanic, there are no better places to live as a minority than in English speaking countries. Sure, there are a handful of European countries that might come close, but its hard to beat us.

Based on what observation?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Based on what observation?

Even without providing scientific data I don't think statements of that sort are that much of a stretch.

Haven't most of us already seen stats that show that the U.S. has the wealthiest African origin population in the world?

[niwell]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

By far the biggest problem though: housing unaffordability is reaching crisis levels, and the City seems determined on doing absolutely nothing about it. This is particularly poignant for me as I'm now at the age where the possibility of having kids within the next few years is becoming real, yet even with a well-above average household income my options are pretty grim:

• Squeeze into a tiny apartment and hope we don't get evicted when it's redeveloped into a condo.
• Move out to a bleak suburb and spend 3 hours a day commuting.
• Move back into my parent's basement.

Meanwhile, we also have the highest daycare costs and highest post-secondary tuition rates in the country. It can hard enough living here with no dependents, that having a family seems like it's set up to not be possible. The quality of life for most people in this city is in decline, and is starting becoming suffocating. Part of this relates to broader late-stage capitalism, but there is also a lot more the city could be doing to mitigate these negative effects. I don't want to leave - but I'm worried I'll be forced to.

I feel the same way as well. I do absolutely love Toronto, and so much of what's going on right now is great - there really is a vibe that didn't exist in the past. But it's becoming far too precarious for too many people, myself included. There's a chance things are changing on the municipal front, but it may be too little, too late, when up against the larger scale economic factors.

I'm in a good spot right now with affordable rent and plenty of career opportunity. But like you I'm worried that if my life situation changes it's in my best interest to leave. I no longer have any family in Toronto and my wife's is all in Ottawa, so if we end up having kids the choice is fairly clear, unfortunately. Not worth moving to a far-flung 905 suburb in the hope of being able to by a townhouse.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Even without providing scientific data I don't think statements of that sort are that much of a stretch.

Haven't most of us already seen stats that show that the U.S. has the wealthiest African origin population in the world?

Immigrant is not the same thing as minority.