Hacker News Reader

deephoneyon How luxury housing becomes affordable

After living in Edinburgh in one of the very nice & ubiquitous 100 y.o. plus tenement flats, I've often wondered about the long-term impact of housing durability on affordability.

deephoneyon No Thanks, Google. I'll Speak for Myself

I'm reminded of a Ben Marcus story that appeared in Harper's a decade ago. People would sneak out of their rooms to place carved wooden likenesses of their faces at the dinner table. The wooden simulacra communed while people took their meals alone in their rooms.

deephoneyon China Is Building a Rain-Making System Three Times as Big as Spain

Scandinavian societies are pretty good at looking after everyone "in" the society, though for outsiders things can be hit and miss.

deephoneyon More evidence of rent declines in Portland

This is exactly what you would expect to see in a city where demand is largely driven by people living and working in the area, but in some large international cities (Vancouver, London I'm looking at you!) Speculation/Investment from non-residents makes up a such a significant part of demand and the highest margin part of that demand, that there is a risk of new builds becoming "empty nest eggs". [1]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-non...