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Comment by shiftpgdn | Hacker News Reader

Denying mixed use because it might be noisy for hypothetical residents is how we wound up with the current disaster that is American urban/suburban planning

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Are mixed use buildings a problem? I thought the normal problem in America was that zoning tends to prohibit mixing uselage types.

Here [0] is a random street i picked in Paris with mixed use buildings - looks pretty nice tbh-lots of accommodation & amenities, easily walkable, some shops and restaurants.

[0] 61 rue de Passy https://maps.app.goo.gl/14Kxyd9SwARyT79s8

Mixed use is a winner in urban environments. London has a lot of it, and it makes for good, local living.

It'd be funny to take that picture and redo the neighborhood a la "Microsoft Re-Designs the iPod Packaging" [0].

  1. Straighten out that street
  2. Repave those cobbles
  3. Add green lane bike path
  4. Parking meters
  5. ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUXnJraKM3k

Mixed use is not a problem as long as the uses are compatible, shops and housing work well together. Industrial and residential not so much.

BMW's Mini pressing plant (formerly Pressed Steel) is in my home town, Swindon, it's surrounded on three sides by housing and the fourth by a road that has houses on the opposite side.

I don't think it inconveniences anyone.

I'm assuming you're referring to https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5715534,-1.7418073,1186a,35y... ? It looks like there is heavy use of lots of trees to mostly separate it from the housing. It also seems generally to be part of a broader industrial section that is served by freight rail and is relatively nearby to expressway to help minimize the traffic. You are right there are some homes, especially south of the plant, but I think that this example proves how work needs to be done to ensure how industry and residential can coexist in harmony.

Yes of course one has to work at it to get it right.

You know what's inconvenient? Having to live in a homeless camp because rent is so high due to zoning laws like this.

My point was that denying mixed use is what creates the American suburbanization mess. Most cities have limits on delivery hours anyway, making the parent comments concern moot.

Which cities restrict the hours when _warehouses_ can accept or dispatch deliveries? I've never heard of that. Don't many warehouses operate around the clock?

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