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<br>
Hi Jehan-<br>
<br>
Area code 925 doesn't count as rural in my book, that's for sure;-)<br>
<br>
Until we get down to specific cases and examples there's no way to
make effective comparisons aside from the creative use of rhetoric
both flowery and fierce.<br>
<br>
When I say "rural" I'm not talking about cubicle-dwelling commuters,
but about sustainable communities of friends, e.g. ten people buy a
piece of land, build on a small part of it, subsistence-farm another
part of it, and leave most of it wild. They have telecommuter jobs,
or jobs in the local area (which they may get to via bicycle or
home-brewed electric vehicle), and share transport on days when they
have to go into town. <br>
<br>
Of course the commuter who drives from 925 to 415 daily, is an
ecological disaster. Not only that, but the extreme high
temperatures in parts of 925 lead to a huge air conditioning load on
the power grid. I'm surprised you didn't mention that part. <br>
<br>
Speaking of electricity: From one of my clients that's a major
regional solar contractor, I discovered that the average household
electricity consumption in the Bay Area is in the range of about
2,000 - 3,000 KWH/month for four people, or about 500 - 750
KWH/month/person. I nearly shat a brick when I heard that. And
that's for personal use only, not counting the electricity used in
their offices to which they commute. <br>
<br>
My monthly electricity consumption is about 130 - 150 KWH/month for
personal use, and another 30 KWH/month for work-related equipment
that would otherwise be "hidden" if it occurred at an office
elsewhere. In my best month I got it down to about 130 total, which
is about 100 for personal and 30 for work. In a recent experiment
to see how high my power consumption gets if I leave lights on etc.,
it came in around 250 KWH for the month: which is still _half_ of
per-person average for the area. I couldn't get it up to 500
KWH/month unless I left all the lights on 24/7 and bought a
big-screen TV or something. <br>
<br>
More later...<br>
<br>
-G.<br>
<br>
<br>
======<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 13-06-11-Tue 6:19 PM, Jehan Tremback
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CABG_PfRAgAOz6yoPizKYCPRzk5YEO+JmJhGTyM12_z0gU_dW6A@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Are you telling us that high density urban housing
is not more efficient than sprawled out rural housing? Keep in
mind that the vast majority of people will not be subsistence
farming. Also, as it relates to the Bay, people are not going to
be going back to the land because of SF rent. They will move to
Walnut Creek and sit in traffic for 2 hours a day, burning gas.
<div>
<br>
</div>
<div style="">-Jehan</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 6:01 PM, GtwoG
PublicOhOne <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:g2g-public01@att.net" target="_blank">g2g-public01@att.net</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <br>
Hi Jehan;-)<br>
<br>
Ahh, the good ol' city mouse vs. country mouse arguement.
If we avoid ad-homs this should be fun.<br>
<br>
First of all, a-priori generalizations are a-priori
invalid. Individual ecological impact depends on
lifestyle and employment, which vary widely for both city
and country. <br>
<br>
One of the largest impacts is commuting by automobile. A
country mouse who's a telecommuter will have a zero
commuting impact. A city mouse whose workplace isn't
served by public transport will most likely end up driving
to work. That comparison, in and of itself, falsifies
your generalization. <br>
<br>
Are you willing to argue publicly that all the city mice
whose places of employment aren't served by public
transport, or who work late/overnight shift and live or
work in places where taking public transport is overtly
dangerous, should quit their jobs and seek employment
elsewhere? <br>
<br>
Re. smaller apartments: Can you operationalize your
variables? How small? Have you ever drawn a floorplan
for one? I've drawn plenty of floorplans, down to 160
square feet, and I'll gladly show them to you any time we
have a chance to get together. <br>
<br>
Re. highrises: Can you operationalize those variables
too? How does the water get in, how does the sewage get
out, and where does the money come from to rip &
replace the existing underground infrastructure for that
purpose? And what do you do with a 10- or 20- story
building full of people, after the expected 7.0+ on the
Hayward or San Andreas takes out the power grid, water
mains, and sewer mains, for a period of weeks to months?
(We'll assume the building remains standing, though that
can't be taken for granted.)<br>
<br>
Also about highrises, what do the children do at
playtime?, where does the food come from to feed all those
people in the high-density highrises?, and how does the
food get there? Who has ownership? Who has control? Who
makes the rules? <br>
<br>
Sweeping generalizations are easy; designing in detail and
walking the talk isn't. <br>
<br>
In the next round I'll describe what I do about water,
electricity, gasoline, and refuse.<br>
<br>
Cheers- <br>
<br>
-G.<br>
<br>
<br>
=====
<div>
<div class="h5"><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<div>On 13-06-11-Tue 9:34 AM, Jehan Tremback wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr"><span
style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">"Also
there's a difference between a 160-square-foot
house you build for yourself on land you and
your friends own, and a 160-square-foot cell in
an apartment complex that some developer builds
as a means of extracting more money from the
tenants."</span><br>
<div><span
style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br>
</span></div>
<div class="gmail_extra">If you want to go out to
the country and build a house on cheap land,
that's your choice. You will be damaging the
environment with your inevitable automobile use.
If you want to live in the city, as many of us
do, you will have to deal with the fact that
many other people do as well.</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">There are 2 ways to get
more people onto a smaller piece of land-</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">1. Smaller apartments (I
put tenants subdividing apartments in this
category as well)</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">2. Replace 1950's style
suburban houses with high rises.</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">These facts are
completely independent of whatever system of
government and economy.</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">-Jehan<br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at
4:32 AM, GtwoG PublicOhOne <span dir="ltr"><<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:g2g-public01@att.net"
target="_blank">g2g-public01@att.net</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px
#ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <br>
Yes, there are a few intentional
communities from the 1960s that
succeeded. Twin Oaks is one. The Farm is
another. There are others, less well
known.<br>
<br>
There are a bunch of books (Commitment and
Community, Builders of the Dawn, others),
and there are also the websites for the
Federation of Intentional Communities, the
Federation of Egalitarian Communities,
Communities magazine, and others.<br>
<br>
Why Americans buy huge houses: "because
they can."<br>
<br>
Hong Kong & Tokyo apartments are quite
a bit larger than those prison-sized apts
that are being developed in the USA now.
Really: the goal isn't sustainability or
affordability, it's the 1/3 increase in
rent per square foot, compared to 1- and
2-bedroom apartments. Also there's a
difference between a 160-square-foot house
you build for yourself on land you and
your friends own, and a 160-square-foot
cell in an apartment complex that some
developer builds as a means of extracting
more money from the tenants. As in, the
difference between a nest that a mouse
makes for itself, and a standardized
mouse-cage in a laboratory. It's all
about autonomy and control. <br>
<br>
Solutions: that would make an interesting
discussion topic some night, and/or we
could open up a thread here. <br>
<br>
Ex-felons selling Christmas trees:
Probably a carefully self-selected group,
with a common goal to avoid further
trouble with the law, and very strict
internal rules. The risk of going down
the spiral back to prison is a powerful
motivator. And the difference between
strict rules by voluntary consensus, vs.
strict rules by order of the Warden, makes
all the difference.<br>
<br>
I wasn't proposing absolute socialism or
bust. Only "socialism for everyone or for
no-one," rather than the status-quo of
"socialism for the rich, social darwinism
for the rest of us." A little dose of
socialism, applied equally across the
board, does wonders. Compare quality of
life in Northern Europe, to quality of
life here. <br>
<br>
The single largest predictor of violent
social unrest, is the disparity of income
between the top and bottom in a society.
A little socialism buys a lot of peace. <br>
<br>
-G.<br>
<br>
<br>
======
<div>
<div><br>
<br>
<br>
<div>On 13-06-10-Mon 11:49 PM, Romy
Ilano wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>Are there any alternative
living spaces from the 1960s that
experienced success? </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Perhaps we could learn from
their example. There was a big
coffee table being passed around
about communes etc three or four
years ago-- forget the title </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Usually I find that people have
attempted to tackle these problems
in the past. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Also from the conversation it's
not immediately clear to me what
the clearest solutions or
motivations to the problems if
any would be. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>For me I don't understand why
Americans have a burning desire to
buy houses too large to live in,
too expensive to buy, too costly
to maintain ... The single
occupancy small rooms were derided
as being anti sex??? Yet to me
those are as large as what you
would find in Hong Kong or Tokyo </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>There's the Kearny street
project which sells the Xmas trees
and rehabilitates Ex felons. They
have shared living quarters along
with the self run businesses and I
don't think there are guards..
It's all regulated by the
participants . </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I do not agree with the zero
sum solution of absolute socialism
or bust. It's like saying there
should be no unions. It's very
extreme </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
<div>---</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Romy Ilano</div>
<div>Founder of Snowyla</div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.snowyla.com"
target="_blank">http://www.snowyla.com</a></div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:romy@snowyla.com"
target="_blank">romy@snowyla.com</a></div>
</div>
<div><br>
On Jun 10, 2013, at 19:50, GtwoG
PublicOhOne <<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:g2g-public01@att.net"
target="_blank">g2g-public01@att.net</a>>
wrote:<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div> <br>
"Suddenly $5,000 is the new
$3,000": Instant viral meme,
good one Andrew!<br>
<br>
And $30,000/year is the new
$60,000/year, thanks to all
those H1B visas driving down
wages. <br>
<br>
This is the interesting thing
about "markets": <br>
<br>
When rents go sky-high, that's a
"market" and the plutocracy
chants that the Holy Invisible
Hand should reign supreme. But
when employers can't find people
who'll work on farms for
$3.00/hour, or write code for
$30,000/year, then it's time for
a little socialism for the
plutocracy, by way of opening
the H1B floodgates. And that
makes property owners happy too,
so it's a two-fer!<br>
<br>
"Jobs Americans won't do" is
what economists call a "price
signal", which translates as
"jobs Americans won't do AT THAT
PRICE." If the plutocracy was
at all consistent (ha ha funny)
they wouldn't go running for
socialistic interventions to
drive down labor costs, they'd
suck it up and pay the market
price, whether that means paying
farm workers $15/hour, or paying
coders $60,000/year. <br>
<br>
There's a reason it's more
difficult to get into DSNY
(Department of Sanitation, City
of New York) than it is to get
into Yale. It's spelled
U-N-I-O-N.<br>
<br>
Socialism for all, or socialism
for none!<br>
<br>
-G.<br>
<br>
<br>
=====<br>
<br>
<br>
<div>On 13-06-10-Mon 4:59 PM,
Andrew wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Lets be clear
that no one is arguing there
should be less housing in
SF. The argument is that
current housing in SF is too
expensive and vacant. There
isn't a scarcity as much as
a price fixing scheme going
on. The only purpose for
building new units is for
the developers and landlords
to get in on the scheme
while it's hot, hoping for
the market to bounce back
and suddenly $5,000 is the
new $3,000 in SF and they
are sitting on prime real
estate. In the meantime the
units will remain vacant or
just rented out (or leased)
to people moving in to the
City for work.<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 4:32
PM, GtwoG PublicOhOne <span
dir="ltr"><<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:g2g-public01@att.net" target="_blank">g2g-public01@att.net</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote
class="gmail_quote"
style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px
#ccc
solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
text="#000000"> <br>
That $5,000/month 2-BR
apartment translates
to $60K/year for rent,
which means that the
owner isn't even going
to look at anyone with
an income below $180K,
or a married couple
with joint income of
$180K and perfect
credit ratings. <br>
<br>
Re. "many levels of
rich": the average
millionaire is closer
to his/her gardener in
terms of net worth,
than to the plutocrats
(but most millionaires
have no clue about
this). In any case,
there are enough
people in the 1% to
account for 95% of the
spending in the
economy (keyword
search "plutonomy" and
look for the report
that was leaked from
one of the major banks
on that topic), so the
bottom 99% is almost
irrelevant ("supply
and demand" for human
lives, again).<br>
<br>
Re. "at whatever level
a developer wants to
provide more housing,
I'll say YES DO
IT..." Be careful
what you wish for...<br>
<br>
Re. "tall
buildings..."
(preceding email):
When the inevitable
7.0 on either the
Hayward or San Andreas
occurs, even if the
building remains
standing (this can't
be taken for granted
either, given the
problems with the
imported steel in the
Bay Bridge) power
& water will be
out for weeks,
possibly months in
some areas. Elevators
and air conditioning
won't be working in
those buildings. So
now you have highrises
full of people, some
of whom are elderly,
disabled, or have
small kids, with no
food or water, and no
sanitation. Asking
neighbors to carry
food up the stairs
might work, but
lugging water up ten
or twenty flights is a
non-starter (a 2-day
supply for one person
for drinking and
cooking, is about 25
lbs.). <br>
<br>
Even
earthquake-denialism
doesn't help us,
because adding
high-rises adds demand
for water, sewer, and
parking, all the
time. Assuming that
most high-rise
residents won't have
cars doesn't help
much, because some
will, and those will
still add up to more
cars than there is
space to park them.
Water and sewer are
the biggies, and any
move toward highrise
development will
require digging up
streets and installing
new water & sewer
mains, which translate
to higher costs either
in rent or in taxes.<br>
<br>
Albert Einstein was a
pacifist, and Edward
Teller was a hawk.
Both agreed that the
exponential function
is the most dangerous
math on Earth. <br>
<br>
-G.<br>
<br>
<br>
=====
<div>
<div><br>
<br>
<br>
<div>On
13-06-10-Mon
3:41 PM, Sonja
Trauss wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>Yeah
Jehan that's
how I
understand it.
<br>
<br>
</div>
Eddie's
scenario
though is that
rich_guy CAN'T
move into the
nice new apt,
because before
he gets there,
some
rich_guy_2
moves into the
apt from
Mountain View,
and <i>rich_guy_2
would not have
moved into SF
if the new
apartments
hadn't been
built</i>. <br>
<br>
</div>
This is a
scenario, so
we should
explore its
antecedents
and
consequences.
<br>
<br>
</div>
My first
response is -
so what if
this happens.
In this
scenario rents
go neither up
or down. I
don't think
it's realistic
to expect that
all new
building will
be taken up
like this,
but, since I
don't know the
future, it's
worth
imagining this
extreme
outcome and
asking, is it
bad? if it is
bad, is it so
bad that we
shouldn't take
the risk of it
happening? I
don't see it
as bad. Like I
said before,
it will have
no net affect
on rent, so we
lose nothing,
and there
might be
ancillary
benefits: my
$13 jam
business might
improve, or my
$75/ hour
personal yoga
coach
business.
Maybe I'm a
social worker,
and this means
there will be
more money in
the city
budget for my
organization.
whatever. <br>
<br>
</div>
Next, more
interestingly,
let's consider
what could
possibly cause
rich_guy_2's
behavior.
Usually people
move to be
closer to
work, to be
closer to some
fun city
center, to be
closer to
family, they
make the
decision and
then they look
for housing.
They do not
hear of new
housing being
built and say,
on that fact
alone, 'I will
now move!' <br>
<br>
</div>
If someone
hears of new
housing being
built, and he
then says, 'I
will now
move,' it is
because he is
(1) very
strict about
only living in
brand new
housing (not
likely) or (2)
RESPONDING TO
AN INCREASE IN
SUPPLY AT HIS
PRICE POINT. <br>
<br>
</div>
Have you ever
heard someone
say "there are
no available
apartments in
SF"? Of course
he doesn't
mean there are
no available
apartments, of
course there
are
apartments: <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/"
target="_blank">http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/</a>
there's a
$5000 2
bedroom at the
top of the
list. What he
means is
"there are no
available
apartments in
SF at my price
point." So,
this person,
who wants to
spend say,
$3000 for a
nice 2 bedroom
lives
somewhere
else, and
waits for the
supply of
$3000 2
bedroom
apartments to
increase. This
is rich_guy_2.
This person is
currently
priced out of
San Francisco.
Hard to
believe, but
true, there
are many
levels of
rich. You can
be house
shopping and
be priced out
at almost any
price point.
I'm
sympathetic to
people that
are priced
out. I don't
want to see
anyone priced
out. I'm not
going to
discriminate
based on
income high or
low. No one
should be
priced out. If
you can pay
$300/mo or
$3000 you
should be able
to find
something you
think is
reasonable in
this town. The
supply of
housing in SF
is too small
at all but the
highest price
point. At
whatever level
a developer
wants to
supply more
housing, I
will say YES.
DO IT. <br>
<br>
</div>
MOREOVER. If
it's expensive
to build,
developers
will only be
able to afford
to build high
priced
projects. One
of the things
that makes
building
expensive is
fighting with
neighbors. So
its ironic
(and a little
sad) to see
people who
want lower
priced housing
doing things
that make
building
expensive. I
think I said
this in
another email,
but if a
smaller budget
developer
wants to build
a cheaper
project, but
sees that even
the very rich
developer can
barely get his
project
finished
because he has
to spend time
and resources
fighting with
neighbors,
then the
smaller
developer will
be like forget
it, I can't do
this. <br>
</div>
<div
class="gmail_extra"><br>
<br>
<div
class="gmail_quote">On
Mon, Jun 10,
2013 at 1:46
PM, Jehan
Tremback <span
dir="ltr"><<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:jehan.tremback@gmail.com"
target="_blank">jehan.tremback@gmail.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote
class="gmail_quote"
style="margin:0
0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px
#ccc
solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">@Eddie-
Sorry about
the eye! That
was the
default Ubuntu
avatar, and it
somehow got
synced to my
email when I
ran Pidgin. So
the eye is
actually open
source! I'll
get rid of it
though if you
want.
<div> <br>
</div>
<div>I'll go
over this
briefly, but
there are
better
resources out
there. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Let's say
rich guy can
afford $3000
dollars a
month and
wants to live
in SF. So
landlord
charges him
$3000 for an
apartment
because it
isn't a
closet. Since
there is
nowhere else
to live in SF,
rich guy pays
this. New
luxury
building opens
across the
street with
really nice
new apartments
for $3000 a
month. Rich
guy decides to
move, and
landlord puts
apartment back
on the market
for $3000. But
because all of
the other rich
guys are also
living in the
new luxury
building,
landlord finds
no tenants.
Next month,
landlord is
forced to
lower rent to
$2000 and 4
hackers move
in. This is
how the market
works.</div>
<span><font
color="#888888">
<div><br>
</div>
<div>-Jehan</div>
</font></span></div>
<div
class="gmail_extra"><br>
<br>
<div
class="gmail_quote">
<div>
<div>On Mon,
Jun 10, 2013
at 11:46 AM,
Sonja Trauss <span
dir="ltr"><<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:sonja.trauss@gmail.com"
target="_blank">sonja.trauss@gmail.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote
class="gmail_quote"
style="margin:0
0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px
#ccc
solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<div>
<div>Ok so
your position
is that the
whole of the
new housing
will be taken
up by people
who don't
currently live
in SF, want
to, but won't
move into SF
unless new
housing is
built.
<div> <br>
</div>
<div>Can you
describe what
it is about
the new
housing that
will make
people who
already have
stable,
adequate
places to live
elsewhere move
into it, when
they've
already
decided theyre
not interested
in living in
any of the
currently
available sf
housing? Does
this question
make sense?
What's special
about the new
housing? What
would make a
person move to
SF Only If new
housing is
built? What is
the scenario.
I can think of
two. One silly
and one not
silly. <span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div><br>
On Sunday,
June 9, 2013,
Eddie Che
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
class="gmail_quote"
style="margin:0
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<div>
<div> Oy,
greetings.
First of all
that Eye is
really
hateful, let's
tone<br>
that down a
little! I've
been against
the eye
because it is
oppressive<br>
so, chill.
@Jehan.<br>
<br>
Building will
increase the
population in
San Francisco.
Not house the<br>
houseless and
not bring down
rents. These
are upscale
(condos?)<br>
apartments,
bringing the
added keyword
of
gentrification.<br>
<br>
I like the
Spain example.
Government
here (County,
City, State,
and<br>
National)
could give
land that is
being held by
it, eg around
highway<br>
off-ramps or
hills or
wherEVER to
folks who are
disenchanted
with...<br>
corporate
rule.<br>
<br>
"liberating
land from
private
control and
corporate
interests and
for<br>
the common
good of all
people."<br>
<br>
Can we hack
that?<br>
EMCHE, in a
tree.<br>
<br>
PS by the way,
surprising
about SF's
vacant housing
units @<br>
<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/sf-leads-bay-area-vacant-homes/"
target="_blank">https://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/sf-leads-bay-area-vacant-homes/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On Sat, Jun 8,
2013 at 6:41
PM, GtwoG
PublicOhOne
<<a
moz-do-not-send="true">g2g-public01@att.net</a>>
wrote:<br>
><br>
> Imagine a
news headline
saying "Good
news for the
economy: food
prices are<br>
> up for
the third
month in a
row!"
Food-owners
would
celebrate, and<br>
>
foodless-rights
advocates
would protest,
but nothing
would change
unless the<br>
> entire
system of
food-speculation
was curbed.<br>
><br>
> Or
imagine this:
Dateline:
Marinaleda,
Spain.
Municipal
government
GIVES<br>
>
dispossessed
people the
land and
building
materials to
build their
own<br>
> homes,
and pays
contractors to
provide
assistance
with the
high-skill
parts<br>
> such as
plumbing.
This is REAL
and it's
happening NOW.<br>
><br>
> <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22701384" target="_blank">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22701384</a><br>
><br>
> "In the
wake of
Spain's
property
crash,
hundreds of
thousands of
homes have<br>
> been
repossessed.
While one
regional
government
says it will
seize<br>
>
repossessed
properties
from the
banks, a
little town is
doing away
with<br>
> mortgages
altogether.
... In
Marinaleda,
residents like
42-year-old<br>
>
father-of-three,
David Gonzalez
Molina, are
building their
own homes.<br>
><br>
> "The town
hall in this
... town an
hour-and-a-bit
east of
Seville, has
given<br>
> David 190
sq m (2,000 sq
ft) of land.
... The
bricks and
mortar are
also a<br>
> gift...
from the
regional
government of
Andalusia. ...
Only once his
home is<br>
> finished
will he start
paying 15
euros (£13)
[approx. $26]
a month, to
the<br>
> regional
government, to
refund the
cost of other
building
materials. ...<br>
><br>
> "...[The
town's] Mayor
Juan Manuel
Sanchez
Gordillo is
known for
occupying<br>
> land
belonging to
the wealthy in
Andalusia. ...
Last summer,
he and his<br>
> left-wing
union comrades
stole from
supermarkets
and handed out
the food to<br>
> the poor.
"I think it
is possible
that a home
should be a
right, and not
a<br>
> business,
in Europe", he
argues. Mayor
Sanchez
Gordillo pours
scorn on<br>
>
"speculators"....<br>
><br>
> ---<br>
><br>
> Think
outside the
box, and you
might end up
thinking like
Mayor Sanchez<br>
> Gordillo.<br>
><br>
> What
happens when
home prices
and rents keep
increasing
while average
income<br>
> levels
have barely
budged since
1974?<br>
><br>
> What
happens to the
lives of
people, when
the health of
an economy in
large<br>
> part
depends on
relentless
increase in
the price of a
vital
necessity that<br>
> is also a
fixed
resource, such
as the square
footage in
which to eat,
sleep,<br>
> and wash?<br>
><br>
> Meanwhile
developers are
building
"luxury"
apartments,
but the number
of<br>
>
"affordable"
units isn't
specified and
always turns
out to be less
than<br>
> first
claimed. How
is it that
anyone has a
"right" to
luxury, at the<br>
> expense
of others'
poverty and
homelessness?<br>
><br>
> At root,
this isn't a
race issue of
black and
white, though
the guardians
of<br>
> privilege
benefit
mightily when
it's framed
that way, and
people who
have<br>
> common
cause are
divided
against each
other. At
root, it's a
class issue of<br>
> green and
red.<br>
><br>
> Land
speculation is
a broken
machine
running an
obsolete
operating
system,<br>
> that's
begging to get
"rooted."<br>
><br>
> -G<br>
><br>
><br>
> =====<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> On
13-06-08-Sat
3:06 PM, Sonja
Trauss wrote:<br>
><br>
> I know,
it's so
outrageous.
This line,
"The notion of
smart growth —
also<br>
> referred
to as urban
infill — has
been around
for years,
embraced by a<br>
> certain
type of
environmentalist,
particularly
those
concerned with<br>
>
protecting
open space."<br>
><br>
> Yeah, the
type of
environmentalist
that is an
environmentalist
- what is<br>
> this
supposed to
mean!<br>
><br>
> Also I
guess (I hope)
these
progressives
don't realize
that in
opposing<br>
>
development in
Bayview, they
are
contributing
to keeping
blacks overall<br>
> poorer
than whites.<br>
><br>
> Putting
renters aside
for a minute,
let's consider
similarly
situated black<br>
> and white
homeowners, in
similar income
black and
white
neighborhoods.
If<br>
> these
neighborhoods
are in a city
that is
growing in
wealth and
population<br>
> (like san
francisco)
both
homeowners
should be able
to look
forward to
their<br>
> house
values
increasing,
right? NO.
House values
at first only
increase in<br>
> the white
neighborhoods,
because the
new residents,
moving to SF
from all<br>
</div>
</div>
<div> > --<br>
Eddie Miller,
BU '10<br>
<a
moz-do-not-send="true">eddiemill@gmail.com</a> |
<a
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href="tel:440-935-5434" value="+14409355434" target="_blank">440-935-5434</a><br>
<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://Facebook.com/eddiemill" target="_blank">Facebook.com/eddiemill</a>
| <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://Twitter.com/eddiemill" target="_blank">Twitter.com/eddiemill</a><br>
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