this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2024
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[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I think the thing to keep in mind here is that those midrise mixed use buildings are housing, and can help the housing supply issue. The issue with them is often that wealthier neighborhoods and suburbs resist them so much that they end up being new expensive housing in the areas that were already doing the heavy lifting housing supply-wise.

Near where I live there is an estimated housing supply deficit of literally several hundred thousand units. My city, a medium city in the Metropolitan area of a big city, has built more than 50 of these buildings in the last decade, but wealthier suburbs a little farther out have gone to absurd lengths to prevent more than one or two token multi-family units from being built in them. The metro area cities, who's inhabitants feel the rise in housing price most sharply, cannot possibly build hundreds of thousands of units, there needs to also be significant building in suburban areas nearby if we want to hit that number and move the needle on housing.

tldr: Those housing units are fine, we just need to get wealthier less densely developed suburbs to build them too. Oh and build a fucking train station there while you're at it.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 3 months ago (1 children)

tbh, their funtion isn't all that objectionable. Mixed use buildings are cool and good, actually. But the fact that they're made of cardboard and duct tape, look like ass, and are signifiers of gentrification are what suck about them.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago

As an example, large Japanese cities go extremely hard on mixed use buildings and are very livable despite their crazy density.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

I live across street from one of these where a restaurant used to be. I don't know enough to love or hate the idea of these buildings, but this one's a damn eyesore. The siding panels are various shades of pale grayish blue, with fucking CAUTION VEST YELLOW panels randomly sprinkled in. It's just this big plain box with tiny-ass windows and the worst color combination I've ever seen.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

5 over 1 are rookie numbers. I want high towers, 30 floor minimum. Entire towns per block. Comercial, office space and residential on each one. I want the grocery store, the doctor office and a metro station on the same building I live.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

People are replying to you like this is a pie in the sky fantasy, but actually this is an accurate description of Tokyo.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Sao Paulo is also close to this, but they don't have a lot of mixed use buildings. Ironically, you can find them in the richer neighborhoods, but those mfs fight tooth and nails against any expansion of the metro network close them.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

those mfs fight tooth and nails against any expansion of the metro network close them

It's ok. You keep expanding it on the direction of people that want it, and leave the dinosaurs to suddenly discover nobody want to live near them.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

The problem is that some nice areas where people want to go, like the Ibirapuera park, or some other that people need to go, like business district (where the financial and tech companies of Brazil have their offices) are on those areas.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

I also loved the game SimTower

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (2 children)

You want the megablocks from Dredd or Cyberpunk 2077.

I don't even necessarily disagree with you, but, well, there it is.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

More like The Plataform actually.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

Its funny to play one of those games and shake my head, thinking, "Damn they were too optimistic."

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I live in the bay area, and wish we had more mixed zone housing. But then I see it in action in other cities and see they end up crazy expensive. So I'm not sure if it helps anything at all. Does anyone know of this actually helps or hurts?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

My gut tells me they're expensive because they offer a set of benefits that otherwise similar units don't. Until they become more the norm than a stand out, they'll probably be more expensive. I've 0 data, again just what my gut says.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Actually it's just price fixing and no ownership that's doing it.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

I'm sure that's a big part of it. Simple supply and demand also is probably part of it. It's a big situation, lots of influences.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 3 months ago

They built some near my workplace and theyre charging 3k for a studio apartment

Absolutely insane

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