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Comment by rr808 | Hacker News Reader

Are they going to add train lines, schools and parks? Or is it just cram in more people into a space until its unbearable. I live in a Jersey City which has sprouted lots of new apartments. Lack of parks and schools are a real problem, at least we have good train service though.

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My colleague lives in a European city which has undergone a building boom, and it was surprising to me how density doesn't just mean more people per area, but also more area per person. A very spacious apartment is much more affordable there than in any major US city, and more people therefore get more space to themselves. It's kind of amazing how much more livable that arrangement is.

Spacious apartments aren't nearly as possible in the US because of various deficiencies in our building codes, one major one being that single stair buildings aren't allowed, which means apartment buildings have to be built like hotels.

Seattle allows single stair buildings.

US building codes aren't national but local. The local may point to one of the national association standards like the IBC or NFPA standards and such. But they then add/remove from those standards as they like.

This is a problem people need to take up on local level.

> Seattle allows single stair buildings.

I know. Nobody else does though.

They still have enough other changes that we can't build something like a cavernous old NYC apartment, though I don't remember the other issues. I think it might be related to nobody wanting to build condos because they'll get sued for it.

I mean is just unbearable. To actually to not have a city with 80+% of single family zoning. Just insane, how can they survive having 2 family live on a plot of land.

Single family homes are literally the least efficient use of space. They are the reason there isn't enough space for parks in the first place.

I agree that you might more schools, but given how much lower the birthrate is, the existing facilities are likely ok.

I think you dont get my point. I lived in London for a decade. There are lots of small units but always parks in the area. Here now the apartments are bigger and more spacious but there are very few small parks. In my area population is up 4x and they built one small extension to the school.

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