Current Events > Lol why are weirdos complaining about "15 min cities"

(+) Yeah! (+)

Questionmarktarius posted...

As soon as any "planning" sparks the sense of "no more single-family houses", substantial or not, it becomes immediately distasteful.

Also, if you're out in the burbs or the boonies, you already have a car, so any "walkable" plan serves no purpose and is a bit suspicious.

Walking is nice

being outside is enjoyable

9 times out of ten my family will walk ten minutes to a restaurant near our house over driving somewhere that exact same amount of time

TIL: Being 15 minutes away from things I need is socialism

Gibe Walkable cities. American urban sprawl is a bunch of bullshit.

bet not one of these people walks in their city after 10pm

"Why would I want everything to be 15 minutes from my house? Some people actually enjoy those 45 minute drives to the grocery store. Not everyone loves sitting around the house because of extended down time"

That was a legit response in that Twitter chain.

People literally arguing AGAINST things being easier for them

TaylorHeinicke posted...

bet not one of these people walks in their city after 10pm

Actually most people arent afraid of other people, thats strictly a suburban/rural thing

TaylorHeinicke posted...

bet not one of these people walks in their city after 10pm

Lol what. Do you think people just hold up in their houses and bar the doors after a certain time or something

bigblu89 posted...

"Why would I want everything to be 15 minutes from my house? Some people actually enjoy those 45 minute drives to the grocery store. Not everyone loves sitting around the house because of extended down time"

That was a legit response in that Twitter chain.

People literally arguing AGAINST things being easier for them

while that is straight copium, whoever broached "45 mins to the grocery store" in the first place is huffing straight paint thinner

there may be a few examples of places where you truly are 45 minutes from the nearest food store, but i have to imagine you could count the number of houses like that on two hands. the only people who actually live 45 mins from the nearest grocery store do that by design in a survivalist manner

Axiom posted...

Lol what. Do you think people just hold up in their houses and bar the doors after a certain time or something

D-do you not? Fuck, I have to pry off the boards every morning before I leave.

Not for me, but it's still a nice idea.

Who wants to walk fifteen minutes with a bunch of groceries anyway?
...or deal with it on a bus?

I moved to Braga in northern Portugal last year as an early retirement... and it's very much a walkable city (and suburb of Porto, going by the US idea of a suburb).

It's got a well-developed local bus system that runs from around 0500-0100 (5:00 AM to about 1:00 AM). It also has a train station where you can easily go to Porto, or to any other place in Portugal with a train station. Lastly, it has a intercity bus station, were you can take a bus to Porto or any of the other cities in the north. (And it has ride-sharing and scooters, too.)

As an example of the intercity bus system, I took the bus to Barcelos for 2 euros. And two weeks before that, I took a day trip (by train) to Vigo in Spain.

---

As it stands, I have 6 good-sized supermarkets within a 10-minute walk of my place (Pingo Doce, Continente, Froitz, Intermarche, Minipreco, and Lidl). And I have 2 private hospitals within walking distance as well (Hospital Luisadas and Trofa Saude).

Then there's all the restaurants within easy walking distance as well as more prosaic things, like shoe and clothes stores.

To top it off, I live within walking distance of a live theater (the kind that does Shakespeare and other works).

For the most part, you can walk to any point in the city from it's center in about 40 minutes. That said, you don't really want to walk from one end of the city to the other, unless you really want to wear your feet out.

Here's the center of town:
https://goo.gl/maps/JCV7qqEKvXibngEq7

TheGoldenEel posted...

Actually most people arent afraid of other people, thats strictly a suburban/rural thing

It's also a big city thing. I'm sure as hell not walking around Los Angeles late at night.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Who wants to walk fifteen minutes with a bunch of groceries anyway?
...or deal with it on a bus?

The idea is, if a grocery store is convenient and easy to get to you will go there more often for smaller amounts of (generally healthier) perishable/fresh foods instead of doing huge trips full of frozen junk

NoxObscuras posted...

It's also a big city thing. I'm sure as hell not walking around Los Angeles late at night.

I mean, there are certainly places that you shouldnt walk around at night in any city, but to say people arent walking around Los Angeles as a whole late at night is absurd

The root issue in 'Merica, is that we just don't like each-other.

Questionmarktarius posted...

The root issue in 'Merica, is that we just don't like each-other.

The root issue is that people like yourself dont understand that this simply isnt true

Seems like a simple concept: if things were more walkable, more people would walk. Win for the environment, health, and community.

The problem is a failure of the education system

TheGoldenEel posted...

The root issue is that people like yourself dont understand that this simply isnt true

That's why assholes move to the suburbs and like it.

NoxObscuras posted...

It's also a big city thing. I'm sure as hell not walking around Los Angeles late at night.

That's because you're ignorant of the cities, and probably the diversity that comes along with it.

TaylorHeinicke posted...

while that is straight copium, whoever broached "45 mins to the grocery store" in the first place is huffing straight paint thinner

there may be a few examples of places where you truly are 45 minutes from the nearest food store, but i have to imagine you could count the number of houses like that on two hands. the only people who actually live 45 mins from the nearest grocery store do that by design in a survivalist manner

Agreed. But another example of this is school districts in certain areas being so large that kids literally live 35-40 minutes from their school.

I have friends that live in Burleson, TX which right outside the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and while the local grocery store is only 15 minutes away, they have to go on a major 8-lane highway and their son's middle school is 30 minutes from their house. Their neighborhood is REALLY nice though, so you have to balance in inconvenience.

Whereas my local grocery store is maybe a 10 minute bike ride, and my kid's HS is literally 8 blocks away. But I live on Long Island, so getting anywhere outside of my neighborhood is where it gets tricky, timewise, as you're at the mercy of only 3 expressways/parkways heading East/West.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Who wants to walk fifteen minutes with a bunch of groceries anyway?
...or deal with it on a bus?

When I was living on my own the grocery store was a five minute walk. I just bought less shit and went more often. It helps that it was 24/7.

TheGoldenEel posted...

I mean, there are certainly places that you shouldnt walk around at night in any city, but to say people arent walking around Los Angeles as a whole late at night is absurd

Oh I don't mean to imply that no one does it. It's a huge city after all. But being wary of being out at night isn't limited to just the suburbs or rural areas.

Hell, if anything, I'd say people from big cities are more cautious than people in the middle of nowhere. It's usually the people that live out in the middle of nowhere that don't worry about locking their doors.

I live in an area like this and everyone thinks I'm crazy for not owning a car. It takes me 20 minutes on bus for my work commute. It's like 2 minutes to the stop from my house and comes by every 15 minutes. It's super convenient and affordable.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Who wants to walk fifteen minutes with a bunch of groceries anyway?
...or deal with it on a bus?

I think with groceries and a lot of other shopping, people just like driving.

Like in NYC, there's several grocery stores and bodegas on every block and larger ones a few minutes away as well major ones like Target and BJ's.

But a lot of people in Brooklyn and Queens still drive out to Long Island for those same exact stores to do all their shopping. Manhattan is kind of self contained and the Bronx and SI have toll barriers, so most stay within or go to Westchester.

Questionmarktarius posted...

That's why assholes move to the suburbs and like it.

I think the part you're not grasping is that the push isn't for ONLY "15 Minute Cities" just the push for more of them, as they have proven to be successful ways for neighborhoods to thrive.

The conspiracies I've seen about it usually think they will be locked down so you can't leave and are under constant surveillance.

No surprise it's the same people who were screeching about vaccines and 5G.

bigblu89 posted...

I think the part you're not grasping is that the push isn't for ONLY "15 Minute Cities" just the push for more of them, as they have proven to be successful ways for neighborhoods to thrive.

So, the whole thing is just a euphemism for gentrification.

This already exists all over middle America. It's called "small towns".

This is Mexico City. Just that no one actually wants to walk because it gets insecure as fuck even in daylight. The more you walk the higher your chances of being mugged.

Also higher density will cause more traffic, so you can take a 15 minute walk and risk getting stabbed or drive 40 minutes to the same place because everyone else is driving to it.

IMNOTRAGED posted...

https://www.dezeen.com/2023/02/20/15-minute-city-edmonton/

Human civilization is going to collapse cause we keep letting fucking idiots like these impact politics

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge. - Isaac Asimov

Are there people who seriously live in suburbs with fuck all in them and think it's good because they can drive 30 minutes to somewhere that has stuff to do?

Are people seriously commuting 45 minutes to drop their kids off to a public school in America? The fuck?

Questionmarktarius posted...

This already exists all over middle America. It's called "small towns".

Small towns are like, specifically an area where this is not the case because many rural small towns do not have grocery stores

probably the shining example of having to drive 45 minutes to buy food

TaylorHeinicke posted...

bet not one of these people walks in their city after 10pm

All I've ever heard is places in cities getting shit for closing so early. People that spend time in cities aren't half as terrified of being in them as people outside. Like, no shit there are high crime areas and that most crime happens in urban areas. Doesn't mean cities are lawless hellholes.

hockeybub89 posted...

All I've ever heard is places in cities getting shit for closing so early. People that spend time in cities aren't half as terrified of being in them as people outside. Like, no shit there are high crime areas and that most crime happens in urban areas. Doesn't mean cities are lawless hellholes.

Its hilarious, and telling, that someone would honestly say something like that tbh

really demonstrates the divide

Thank goodness small towns are holding up the nightclub industry since city folk are too scared.

TheGoldenEel posted...

Its hilarious, and telling, that someone would honestly say something like that tbh

really demonstrates the divide

It's the equivalent of thinking everyone that lives in the country is an inbred ready to help you experience Deliverance.

People really need to get out of their bubbles and experience the world around them. And people like that guy will post some big-brained zinger like "Yeah, it's fine if you stay in the good parts!"

Punished_Blinx posted...

Thank goodness small towns are holding up the nightclub industry since city folk are too scared.

Man, it was so fucking fun in my 20s living on a bus line and being able to get downtown in a 5 minute bus ride, or just walk a few blocks to the more chill section of bars in my neighborhood. shit wed leave after 10pm, get food at 2:30am, walk or bus home at 3am drunk as hell. Nothing bad ever happened

my sisters lived with my parents in the suburbs for their early 20s and it was a half hour drive just to get anywhere fun, but someone had to DD or pay a whole bunch for a cab/uber. totally different world

It's still a bit baffling what people who spent their whole life in cities assume about life outside them.

Collat posted...

It's still a bit baffling what people who spent their whole life in cities assume about life outside them.

The opposite tends to be much more likely.

Notice all the talk about "rampant crime" and not wanting to walk around in cities lol.

COVxy posted...

The opposite tends to be much more likely.

Notice all the talk about "rampant crime" and not wanting to walk around in cities lol.

No one talked about "rampant crime" though. You're just making a whole lot of assumptions