Community Building Tip: Housing

[ysabetwordsmith]

For my current set of tips, I'm using the list "101 Small Ways You Can Improve Your City.

88. Imagine housing in impossible places. "I love that in Indianapolis, near their new transit center, they looked at a traffic lane as they were redeveloping, and realized they didn't need it. So they put out an RFP for a developer to turn it into housing. Ironically the microhousing that was created is bolted onto a parking garage—which will be ultimately redeveloped, I would hope." — Gabe Klein, founder, CityFi

While I like the idea of more housing, that sounds like an absolutely crappy place to live.  By all means use impossible places, but they might make better greenspace or some other use than housing.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

No housing to crappy housing is (often but not always) an upgrade, so long as people are not forced to stay.

If we can manage better, great, but I'll take whatever tiny improvements I can get at this point.

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

What concerns me is that "temporary" solutions usually aren't. The rise of microhousing makes me think that large numbers of people will wind up living in space that is too small for mental and physical health, because no other option is available to them. Do the people living in those new units have a choice between that and something better? I expect not. If not, they are being forced.

Re: Well ...

[(Anonymous)]

>>What concerns me is that "temporary" solutions usually aren't.<<

Valid concern.

If they are locked in (i.e. jail) they have no other options.

If they were on the streets and can go back to the streets, that's a valid escape route. (But, admittedly, a terrible set of choices.)

And there's...really a whole lot of discussion we could have about what counts as freedom of choice, or a good life or whatever.

(My definition of freedom amounts to: "Can you say no if someone wants to hurt you?")

This is me grasping at straws, basically. Most days it's like the world is falling apart at the seams, and I'll usually take a terrible repair job over none, if that is the only option availible.

If someone has a better idea, I'm listening.

If someone has an idea of how to use a systemic failure to make a better system, I'm listening.

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> If they were on the streets and can go back to the streets, that's a valid escape route. (But, admittedly, a terrible set of choices.) <<

In fact, quite a lot of people prefer the freedom of the street, despite its dangerous, with the routinely abusive restrictions of a homeless shelter or housing program. But people are not always, in fact, allowed to make that choice. More and more cities are criminalizing homelessness and poverty, forcibly removing people from the streets. If they are then put into shelters or housing where they do not wish to be, that is not a choice.

>> And there's...really a whole lot of discussion we could have about what counts as freedom of choice, or a good life or whatever. <<

1) Consent must be without consequences attached to either choice. In this regard, most people don't know what it is because they have simply never seen it. They have been falsely told that many things are consent which are not, because there are consequences attached.

2) An environment which harms people does not constitute a good life. This includes housing which is too small, noisy, unclean, etc. such that it undermines mental and/or physical health. In this regard, most cities are generally bad habitats for humans that cause predictable problems (e.g. brain damage from lead poisoning, asthma from smog, insomnia from noise).

All organisms need a certain amount of space to survive and thrive, generally based on their size, feeding patterns, mate selection, and sociodynamics if any. Too-small living space harms people. Also, poor quality housing in general harms people.

>> (My definition of freedom amounts to: "Can you say no if someone wants to hurt you?") <<

Or wants to do something to your mind, body, or life that you don't want. If you can't say no, then yes is meaningless.

Increasingly modern society removes choices. When people's boundaries are routinely violated, you see the same bow-tie pattern as in sexual abuse: the vast majority move out of the moderate middle and either cease to believe in boundaries at all, or become more and more aggressive in attempt to defend what is left. When people grow up in a consent-hostile environment, they usually don't develop healthy boundaries because they can't in that environment.

The sexting teens issue that adults are going apeshit over? Is a natural and obvious outgrowth of kids growing up in a society where their data belongs to other people. They don't feel like swapping genital pictures is wrong, because they don't have the same sense of privacy as older people do, if any. If you want people to act like they have privacy, you have to protect their boundaries.

>> This is me grasping at straws, basically. Most days it's like the world is falling apart at the seams, and I'll usually take a terrible repair job over none, if that is the only option availible.<<

I am entirely aware that the world is falling apart at the seams. I also know those are normal processes for certain circumstances. When I see a bad solution proposed, I look for ways to fix that (for example, using microhousing on a 2-week emergency basis as part of a program to assist people in choosing standard-size housing from available options elsewhere) or other options altogether.

>> If someone has a better idea, I'm listening.

If someone has an idea of how to use a systemic failure to make a better system, I'm listening.<<

Solutions for housing:

* Utilize empty buildings. There are many houses and businesses standing empty. Set a time limit on how long they can remain empty before getting routed into other programs (best for properties owned by banks or corporations) or incurring higher fees (best for those owned by individuals). It is a disgrace for a culture to have empty homes and people who are not permitted homes.

* Assess what is needed. This includes health studies regarding appropriate living space, and what kinds of housing people currently want. There are many excellent options for the missing middle housing that would allow most people to find something comfortable. Here's a look at some other options. We also need small spaces for startup businesses. Renting or buying space in a huge building is often out of reach. Being able to acquire workspace also assists people in affording a place to live.

* Require developers to build what is needed, not what will best line their own pockets. If a city needs affordable housing, it should not be approving plans for McMansions instead.

* Consider alternative lifestyles. Here is an example of a habitat extremely well suited to human health. It was designed by people who cared more about living a rich life than about getting rich.

There are plenty of resources and ways to solve problems. The catch is that most people damn well don't want them. They prefer the status quo. That is going to cause billions of totally avoidable deaths.

Re: Well ...

[(Anonymous)]

>>Or wants to do something to your mind, body, or life that you don't want.<<

That counts as hurt. At least to me.

(Yes compromise of community and autonomy is neccesary... but having someone decide on the 'compromise' for you is not how it should work.)

>>They don't feel like swapping genital pictures is wrong, because they don't have the same sense of privacy as older people do, if any.<<

I don't think such things are inherently immoral...but I do think they are a bad idea because people will use it as an excuse to hurt you. (Just like routinely getting drunk.)

Again, folk can make their own choices. The above is my personal opinion, which I can apply to my life, but should not force on anyone.

>>When I see a bad solution proposed,...<<

Critical thinking and constructive criticism can be useful. As can arespectful ideological frenemey/rival/nemesis... or whatever the proper term is.

>>Solutions for housing:<<

This is one of the reasons I like you.

In RL, I know far too many people who either deny that the status quo sucks, or acknowledge it but say that it doesn't need to improve because it is better than [the past, elsewhere, etc.]

Some people can criticize stuff but stall out on improved solutions. (I end up here a lot. I try to listen for and incorporate better ideas.)

You usually manage to come up with a reasonably sensible solution. (Or at least reliableish ways to mitigate damage.) Or in other words: You troubleshoot other folk's solutions and can back up your critiques with better ideas.

>>There are plenty of resources and ways to solve problems. The catch is that most people damn well don't want them. They prefer the status quo.<<

See any history book ever.

[pronker]

My city's mayor proposed turning a 40 year old golf course into public housing, which outraged the aging folks who'd bought homes near the course for their retirement. It's still a golf course after some wrangling years ago. It's not even a particularly uppity golf course because there's no country club atmosphere or, I believe, a 19th hole bar/grill on the premises; the grass is pretty wispy in these triple digit days.

By weird coincidence, a tenant who lived with us for 5 years had the job (?) of eliminating gophers and moles in the golf course by gassing/blasting them out and smoothing their tunnels. He worked at that for about 8 months. Bleurgh, wotta job.

[acelightning73]

I would live in a community like Dancing Rabbit (I"m an old hippie, I visited a number of communes). But there's nothing like that, this close to New York City.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I think it sounds like a nice place too.

Here is a map of intentional communities:
https://www.ic.org/directory/maps/

There are 39 in New York:
https://www.ic.org/directory/listings/?country=United%20States&state=New%20York

One is in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan, and one on Staten Island. The others seem to be upstate.

There's also an ecovillage in Princeton.

Re: Yes ...

[acelightning73]

I think I remember reading about the one in Brooklyn, back when we realized we needed to sell our large-ish suburban house when our son went away to grad school.

Princeton is easier for me to get to. What's the ecovillage called? Do they have a webpage?

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>I think I remember reading about the one in Brooklyn, back when we realized we needed to sell our large-ish suburban house when our son went away to grad school.<<

Think of these as places to visit in addition to potential homes, too.

>> Princeton is easier for me to get to. What's the ecovillage called? Do they have a webpage? <<

https://www.ic.org/directory/mount-eden-ecovillage/

https://www.ecovillagenj.org/

https://www.facebook.com/EcovillageNewJersey