Quote:
Originally Posted by 1487
that's not urban planning. And CH is registered as a historic structure so it's protected. People don't seem to understand what urban planning really is or isn't. Zoning regulates land use and density- it's not a means to determine whether or not new buildings can be built were old ones stand. Cities and states set policies related to preservation but if you go to far than you have developers and others saying the requirements are onerous and hurting their ability to make money. So it's a balancing act. There are old buildings falling down all over Philly so I get annoyed when people hand pick an old building or two that are scheduled to come down and act like the world is going to end. So buildings can collapse slowly over decades all over North and West Philly and no one cares, but if a similar building is torn down to build a new 40 unit apt building folks get outraged and want to know how the city can "allow" an owner to tear down a building.
|
You don't see the difference between a long empty 2 story row house often surrounded by empty land located in a less then very nice neighborhood, and a occupied, reasonably unique, 4 story building in a very viable neighborhood?
Your make believe examples don't make any sense nor do they match any reality I know. We are not talking about tearing down a nearly dead, semi collapsing building in north or west Philly and putting up a 40 unit building. Time to open the eye balls.
And frankly I don't give a damn about hurting developers ability to make money, and I say that as one who is completely dependent on construction to make my living. There are many, many, many opportunities in Philly to be a builder, we are not any where near running out of usable land. Restoring and repairing buildings used to be considered the way to go; now its tear it down, put up some plain jane piece of junk.
Most, not all but most, developers could care less about the impact of what they are building to the immediate neighborhood and to the City as a whole. Witness the crap that is being build here along Chestnut St. Also someone above has pointed out the junk that has been built around 46th and Sansom. This is not a example of building a neighborhood, its a example of building private dorms because the colleges and universities won't/don't offer good affordable campus living options.
It pisses me off to a huuuuge degree when so called planners and other 'expects' take their own concepts of what would be good for the City and pretty much roll right through so called conversations with the neighborhoods; then several years later claim that they didn't realize the implications of the changes they brought about.
And yes Feliz, zoning does sometimes cause buildings, good buildings, to be torn down, witness Chestnut St. Prior zoning didn't allow the density (or height?) that these new junks buildings offer. So out with old, regardless of condition or welfare to the surrounding area, and in with the shit. There's money to be made, can't stop progress! To think that zoning doesn't matter is, well just foolish and not being willing to be aware of the obvious.
Prev
Linear Mode
