Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6095|eXtreme to the maX
So you're planning a tofu farm.
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Larssen
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unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Continuing to expand cities and infrastructure the way we currently do is unsustainable. Sand alone is not an infinite resource.
Can you elaborate?
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6095|eXtreme to the maX
Sand suitable for concrete is actually in sort supply now.
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Larssen
Member
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Didn't know. Do we have alternatives to concrete?
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6095|eXtreme to the maX
I don't know, refurbish the buildings we already have? Actually concrete can be recycled and reused fairly effectively.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2019 … future_rss

Best option, again, would be to cap population.

Last edited by Dilbert_X (2020-06-17 01:11:26)

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Larssen
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Most western countries have stagnant population growth so I don't think capping population would be necessary, rather find a way to make other parts of the world as prosperous as ours.
uziq
Member
+492|3441

Larssen wrote:

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Continuing to expand cities and infrastructure the way we currently do is unsustainable. Sand alone is not an infinite resource.
Can you elaborate?
building is the least sustainable activity imaginable. the fact that so many modern architectural practices use 'sustainability' as some mantra is purely hilarious. buildings have huge carbon footprints. it is better not to build at all, or to repurpose, refurbish, extend, recycle, etc.

my gf is an architect so i could get you a precis of the issues in architecture if you're genuinely interested.

capping population is not going to happen. amazing that the guy who is adamantly against any sort of supra-national or global effort to tackle tax reform and tax evasion is in support of a magic system in which everyone's basic biological functions are policed and limited.
Larssen
Member
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I know construction produces a lot of pollution, but there's other issues as well. Not sure if it's as prevalent where you live but cost of living in internationalised cities like london for example is out of this world. I'm less affected because I have a rather good income, but the quality of life one can secure in these places on an average wage is sliding. Yet you have to live in or near these cities as that is where most (reasonable) work opportunities can be found. Building more housing is a must.

Last edited by Larssen (2020-06-17 02:43:07)

uziq
Member
+492|3441
affordable housing, yes, sure, not apartment blocks in cities.

bristol is up there with london and getting worse. it’s a very small city with a lot of people trying to get on the ladder. a lot of people leave london and come here, which brings up the prices a lot; it’s within commuting distance of london, too.

it will probably be better to switch working patterns and stop insisting that people commute in to giant office blocks located in metropolises, 5 days a week, from dozens of satellite towns. remote and flexible working should be encouraged. people should travel less often. affordable housing can be built in bulk in the counties and countryside. we’ve done it before in generations past with more wherewithal.
Larssen
Member
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I agree, for one I hope this pandemic will normalise work from home arrangements for at least 2 or 3 days a week in most companies. But I don't think large companies will leave cities like london or paris. The physical proximity of financial hubs, national political leadership and their clients/competitors is in many ways invaluable.

But there's still tons of not very well paying jobs in retail, construction, catering &  restaurants, bars etc. concentrated in these cities in which it's impossible for people to work from home. I'd like to avoid saddling these demographics with 1-2 hour commutes because they can't afford living closer to work. Big appartment blocks in cities seems like a cost efficient way of using space and providing affordable and/or public housing if it's subsidised.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6095|eXtreme to the maX

uziq wrote:

capping population is not going to happen. amazing that the guy who is adamantly against any sort of supra-national or global effort to tackle tax reform and tax evasion is in support of a magic system in which everyone's basic biological functions are policed and limited.
I'm fine with tax reform and dealing with tax evasion, but if you're in favour of wealth distribution I think you should start with redistributing some of your own.
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uziq
Member
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tax reform is wealth redistribution, stupid. i am not proposing that we appropriate the properties of the rich like the bolsheviks. i'm talking about adjusting the tax rates and progressive taxation curve so that the people who are currently going hundreds of millions into the black based off global financial instability and huge amounts of quantitative easing actually fucking PAY their share.

@larssen

yes, that's very true. the character of inner cities has changed from one of service/essential workers crammed together in 'undesirable' high-density living to one in which the centre of every city is a pristine, hollow glass core, full of 'investment' cubes, concentrated foreign wealth, and upwardly mobile yuppies who want to walk to work.

that could conceivably change if many of the aforementioned high finance/tech companies pivot away to working from home more often. i don't see that happening anytime soon, though. the property-investment bubble is too self-serving and self-perpetuating. councils love selling off building projects and plots of land to fashionable international architects or building firms who can come in and put up another sculptural glass wedding cake of a building. 'mixed-use'! i.e. corporate offices/open 'collaboration and groupthink spaces', luxury accommodation, and boutique retail. all oriented around a perfectly yuropean 'plaza' with a piece of dogshit tortured-metal 'public sculpture' in the middle. et voila! and nobody involved in any of the major transactions pays any fucking tax. wooopee!
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6095|eXtreme to the maX
I think more could be achieved through crushing tax evasion than tweaking the tax rates. Corporations and the super-rich typically pay nothing at all.

Stupid architects who design inefficient buildings which need a gigiwatt of aircon to be bearable need to be purged. Its less of a problem these days.

This is possibly the stupidest building in a long while.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/dest … l-opening/

But every window and panel is unique! Well so fucking what, and what was the point of spending $1bn on a building which is going to be unused for 90+% of its life?
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Larssen
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It's funny how former kinda run down public housing for labourers that was built in these cities at the turn of the last century now costs upwards of 1 million.

Anyway, because of the above outlined reasons I reckon local/national governments have to intervene in the housing situation in internationalised cities, which usually function as the economic motors of their respective countries. Logic more or less dictates population growth will continue to be concentrated in these urban centres and unless a massive amount of money is invested in highrise public housing, prices will skyrocket and it will become a home mostly for the rich (not even yuppies). Like what seems to be the case in the centre of new york and other comparable cities. Hence the singapore example, where the government owns most highrises on a 99-year lease, securing affordable housing for all income brackets that isn't terrible.

Last edited by Larssen (2020-06-17 03:44:55)

uziq
Member
+492|3441
i've mentioned it here before, but the simple reason that governments say a lot about 'the housing crisis' but then do nothing about it is because the entire banking system is all-in on the housing bubble. the subprime mortgage crisis was an obvious example; but it goes much deeper than that.

something like 70% of all UK banks' investment wings have their money in mortgages, property, and land. if any government decides to build lots more affordable housing, and to suddenly vastly devalue property as a result, then the banks are going to beach themselves and the whole thing will go to shit.

the entire system is predicated on this rampant over-speculation on property.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6095|eXtreme to the maX
Property can't be built fast enough to devalue it, in any case pakistanis will fill any available govt housing.
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Larssen
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Well in that case we're even more clearly heading towards a system where your socioeconomic status will be defined by your location. Pristine and modern city centres with shitty outer rings where the plebs reside - like what seems to be the case in many developing nations.
uziq
Member
+492|3441
if we had construction here on the scale of the 50s and 60s, i.e. putting up entire new towns and cities, hundreds of housing developments, etc., then the bottom-end of the housing market would absolutely fall out.

the numbers of pakistani immigrants per year is in the low 10,000s. it's trivial.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6095|eXtreme to the maX
Yeah but they pop out inbred kids with their cousins like crazy.

'Born in Bradford' is an accepted medical term now.
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uziq
Member
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you really are so in touch with your country. i feel quite sorry for you, actually, imagining you are still 'british' and yet pumping out tabloid tropes from the 1970s. how long have the bradford pakistani been established for, now? three generations? five generations? you sound about as outmoded as a skinhead. oi oi!
Jay
Bork! Bork! Bork!
+2,006|5347|London, England

uziq wrote:

Larssen wrote:

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Continuing to expand cities and infrastructure the way we currently do is unsustainable. Sand alone is not an infinite resource.
Can you elaborate?
building is the least sustainable activity imaginable. the fact that so many modern architectural practices use 'sustainability' as some mantra is purely hilarious. buildings have huge carbon footprints. it is better not to build at all, or to repurpose, refurbish, extend, recycle, etc.

my gf is an architect so i could get you a precis of the issues in architecture if you're genuinely interested.

capping population is not going to happen. amazing that the guy who is adamantly against any sort of supra-national or global effort to tackle tax reform and tax evasion is in support of a magic system in which everyone's basic biological functions are policed and limited.
Your gf is a moron. We've established this previously.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
uziq
Member
+492|3441
i don't recall ever talking about her before. she's at the best school in the world for her discipline and has worked for several top firms. she speaks three languages fluently and is an accomplished film-photographer in her spare time, being paid commissions and doing magazine work. she's doing OK i think.

this is a bit like when you dissed AOC, a person whose capabilities and intellect overpower your own in every single way.

we get it, you hate women and find talented ones intimidating.
Jay
Bork! Bork! Bork!
+2,006|5347|London, England

Dilbert_X wrote:

I think more could be achieved through crushing tax evasion than tweaking the tax rates. Corporations and the super-rich typically pay nothing at all.

Stupid architects who design inefficient buildings which need a gigiwatt of aircon to be bearable need to be purged. Its less of a problem these days.

This is possibly the stupidest building in a long while.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/dest … l-opening/

But every window and panel is unique! Well so fucking what, and what was the point of spending $1bn on a building which is going to be unused for 90+% of its life?
Fucking hideous. ye gods
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
Jay
Bork! Bork! Bork!
+2,006|5347|London, England

uziq wrote:

i don't recall ever talking about her before. she's at the best school in the world for her discipline and has worked for several top firms. she speaks three languages fluently and is an accomplished film-photographer in her spare time, being paid commissions and doing magazine work. she's doing OK i think.

this is a bit like when you dissed AOC, a person whose capabilities and intellect overpower your own in every single way.

we get it, you hate women and find talented ones intimidating.
That's nice. She knows nothing about the construction industry or its environmental issues.

We've talked about it previously, and you tried to use her "expertise" to form your argument. Old buildings are energy hogs because they are leaky. They are full of asbestos, and they cost a fortune to operate and maintain. She, and you, do not know what you are talking about.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
uziq
Member
+492|3441
that's my view dipshit, not hers.

and the problem with much of the 'sustainable' new builds that go up in UK cities today is that they are built to last for 20 years. then they are pulled down and started over with again. the 'legacy' of all the modern builds in the 1970s and 1980s is that they don't exist anymore.

Last edited by uziq (2020-06-17 04:22:23)

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