Oh The Urbanity!
4 HN recommenders · recommended in 8 months, 2022–2024
7:10 · 76K views · Jun 14, 2022
Oh The Urbanity! argues that most city dwellers live in dense residential neighbourhoods outside downtown, which can be calm and peaceful. It draws on older, denser parts of Toronto and Montreal.
HN users repeatedly post it to rebut the idea that urban living means Manhattan or Hong Kong apartment blocks.
11 comments from Hacker News
> Everyone is different, but man... I'm the guy that likes to fire up the bbq and chat with neighbors in the backyard while the kids are who knows where (but safe) in the sprawl. I do this in "the city" right now (I BBQed some lamb on Sunday; my neighbour got a new motorcycle (Scrambler 1200XE) and I chatted with him about it). The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (mistaken) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks, which is certainly not the case: * this video Here are some examples houses in an urban area with front yards, back yards, and garages (attached to lanes): * [LINK] * [LINK] A little less square footage: * [LINK] * [LINK] Plenty of that was build pre-WW2 in ways that didn't depend on cars: * [LINK] * [LINK] Suburban design is the worst of both worlds: lacking the density of the urban so infrastructure is inefficient and so is transportation, and basically bulldozing what makes more rural living nice (closeness to nature).
> You live in an apartment and trade away personal space and still have to take a train to work where you get little personal space. You have a limited view of 'urban living'. Want a front yard, back yard, and garage (attached to a laneway)? Plenty of that was built pre-WW2, and there's no reason why it couldn't be again: * [LINK] * [LINK] The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (misguided) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks : * this video Examples (Streetview) of urban tree-lined streets which can support transit and where cycling is practical (and where a car is an option versus a necessity): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] See also: * [LINK] Fifteen minutes pedalling in one direction is downtown, fifteen minutes in the other is farm land.
> Why are we still trying to cram into small spaces? Define "small". Here are some examples houses in an urban area with front yards, back yards, and garages (attached to lanes): * [LINK] * [LINK] A little less square footage: * [LINK] * [LINK] The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (mistaken) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks, which is certainly not the case: * this video Plenty of that was build pre-WW2 in ways that didn't depend on cars: * [LINK] * [LINK] Suburban design is the worst of both worlds: lacking the density of the urban so infrastructure is inefficient and so is transportation, and basically bulldozing what makes more rural living nice (closeness to nature).
> Humans shouldn't be living in shoeboxes stacked 40 floors high. You have a limited view of 'urban living'. Want a front yard, back yard, and garage (attached to a laneway)? Plenty of that was built pre-WW2, and there's no reason why it couldn't be again: * [LINK] * [LINK] The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (misguided) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks : * this video Examples (Streetview) of urban tree-lined streets which can support transit and where cycling is practical (and where a car is an option versus a necessity): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] See also: * [LINK] Fifteen minutes pedalling in one direction is downtown, fifteen minutes in the other is farm land.
> Convince people to live in smaller houses and share walls with their neighbors, and the parking situation would change dramatically. Completely unnecessary. Want a front yard, back yard, and garage (attached to a laneway)? Plenty of that was build pre-WW2: * [LINK] * [LINK] The Oh the Urbanity channel has a video on the (mistaken) idea that "urban living" = Manhattan / Hong Kong apartment blocks : * this video Examples (Streetview): * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] * [LINK] See also: * [LINK] Fifteen minutes pedalling in one direction is downtown, fifteen minutes in the other is farm land.