Comment by honksillet | Hacker News Reader

Comment by honksillet | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

While this is an interesting exercise, it feels amateurish. Urban development is not a new field. Starting from a blank slate is a phenomenal opportunity but don't try to reinvent the wheel.

Also, Texas is a big place. It spans multiple climate zones. The author seems to be describing West Texas but other parts of the state are completely different.

My advice * It's hot! (And often very very humid depending on local. ) You need AC. * The worst part of Texas towns are 4 lane highways bisecting most of them. Avoid that... * But you still have to plan to allow people to use cars. That has to be incorporated into the design. As does pedestrian and cycling life. All need to be facilitated to some degree. * Sidewalks, please. I've lived in FL, OR and now TX in the past 5 years. Far to many residential streets in all these places completely lack sidewalks. It makes taking an evening stroll with the family stressful when you are sharing the space with cars. * Parks. Can't have enough of them.

"You need AC", "You need cars" ... I lived for 4+ years in Phoenix, Arizona and I tell you that humans can live without those two things with the right design. We're way too far into the modern way of thinking that we almost take these things for a given ... It's a huge blindspot. I grew plants here in the desert, I lived without AC, I never had a car and all of this when everything around me has been designed in what I think is the worst way possible ... People think in linear terms but forget that managing heat for example should be approached holistically as different element will augment each other ... etc. It can be done with low tech and there is research to back this up (look up "urban heat ASU").

>managing heat for example should be approached holistically

Agreed. Also behaviorally. So many people would tell me I was crazy for living without A/C while they were standing in their house with the blinds open, windows closed, dishwasher and stove on in the middle of the day. If you make your home into a greenhouse with a heater in the middle, yeah it's gonna be hot - maybe don't do that.

But I think my last phrase is the issue. People really hate having to not do what they want, when they want. Like not cooking or whatever until the cool part of the day, when the heat can be managed by ventilation.

My house is well insulated, I keep the blinds on sun-facing windows closed during the day; I have 12' ceiling in my living room and I'm smart enough to not run the dishwasher or clothes dryer during the day. The refrigerator I can't do anything about. However, I'm not crazy enough to think I can live without A/C in a Minnesota summer.

Part of his technique is to plant tall shade trees on every street, shading both streets and houses.

I live on a dirt road. The ambient temperature above the surface is noticeably less than on asphalt: the instant you turn off a main road onto the gravel, you can feel the temperature drop.

I also neglected to add that I have shade trees :-)

He is not re-inventing the wheel, he doesn't have in mind what you are describing. The author is describing a typical european town, that you see in germany, italy, or england, (most were build during medieval times).

You just described a typical suburban 'smart development', which is not dense at all by european standards, and really it is just like a typical strip mall area eveloved a bit, but still way behind.

He is, there's plenty of small towns in Texas inspired by what you see in Germany, the author just hasn't visited them. Texas has a massive Irish, Czech and German populations and culture. Dublin, TX is one of many examples (pop. 3,654). Like pretty much all Texas small towns it has a downtown you can walk end to end within 15 minutes. One main street going through it. Local coop and most things you need. What did I miss?

Fredericksburg & New Braunfels have major German culture and German buildings from the 1800s, but they are larger cities now as they have expanded, but the downtown areas reflect what you guys want, but ya' know, connected to the world via roads.

Most of Texas small towns have co-ops, communities of 3000 give or take, and it's all walkable and drivable (usually one road going through them linking towns via backroads)

Usually they are pretty self sufficient because they are isolated, but you still need roads to connect the outer farms and other towns for supplies to reach downtown, and when you want to travel to bigger cities for larger hospitals, cinemas, family, clubs, etc. In West Texas you need it especially because good luck growing anything there.

This author is just ignoring existing culture and trying to apply direct European culture ignoring the fact that immigrants from those cultures have already merged and influenced small towns across Texas.

My advice, take a road trip through the backroads that connect Texas, you'll get a large dose of many cultures, nice people, great food, and massive highschool football games for entertainment on Friday nights.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com