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Comment by microcolonel | Hacker News Reader

I don't want to live in California, but it seems like a lot of the recruiting and employment matchmaking systems these days focus almost entirely on the SF Bay area.

Added: I think the hype might have pumped the job market too full, and net outflows are the only way for the system to concentrate more desirable candidates, with employee compensation being the signal.

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I'm thinking it might be worthwhile to engineer a scalable, high-traffic city(maybe city's the wrong word, it could be sprawling and fast, instead of dense and slow) from the ground up, somewhere there isn't one already. You don't need to build the transit immediately, you just need to have the restraint to reserve the space for a time when you will want it. Other useful constraints aside from transit reservations, might include: setting aesthetic standards (line of sight corridors[through zoned height restrictions] to natural beauty, stylistic restrictions, above-ground pedestrian accommodation planning), extensive mixed-use zoning in the sprawl, multiple downtowns (hierarchy of pedestrian/two-lane/light rail accessibility > main street/express light rail > freeway/full sized rail arranged in superblocks).

Added: Three-dimensional land parcels would solve a lot of the problems with properly valuing natural beauty, direct sunlight, and underground access.

Added: Environmental (noise[aggregate peak SPL, loudness], ground vibration[aggregate peak amplitude], air pollution[aggregate peak particulates, ozone, maybe fuel fumes, maybe heat], ground pollution, EMR [including radio and light]) sensor networks could be used to make it simpler to uphold agreements and ordinances, or litigate environmental property devaluation or damage (reduction in air quality, disturbance of quiet, excessive night time light, ground shaking). You could also include on-board detectors for things like gunshots, car crashes, or desperate cries for help, to aide emergency services. Data like these could be made completely public so that public offices don't need to waste their time determining access.

Or just copy Singapore.

I'm from Singapore, what about it?

Dense but nice to live in. Good public transportation and on-call options. Commute time is shorter than what is required for many people in the Bay Area.

What do you think?

GP is complementing Singapore on its transport infrastructure.

Singapore does some of these things, sure, but not everything is great about the way they end up doing it. Sprawl is impossible in Singapore, but usable sprawl is a special strength of the United States. I think that if you tried to do Singapore again, you'd be missing out on an opportunity for people to live in houses (which most people greatly prefer to apartments) and mixed-use low-rises (the hallmark of a beautiful, lively city) still without missing out on sub-half-hour commutes.

Singapore also has the problem of being tyrannical in basically every way except the economic, I figure it should be legal to walk around nude in your own house, and also legal to chew gum.

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