Doesn't this show it could be fair to say that there is a crisis event if it might not be broad based?https://bsky.app/profile/kevinerdmann.bsky.social/post/3m63kr3twfc24

and again, I'm not talking about density at all costs, we've had bad tenements in the past, this as about recognizing that we can shape things through policy that we think are better

and if it shows that policy has shaped preferences in the past, we can now also shape preferences in the future that promote what we all deem are better, healthier, and more productive land uses

it's not even to convince them they don't like suburbs... it can just be that I think there are better land uses, density has a lot of benefits to health, it allows for transit and better sharing of infrastructure, it lets more people live close together and interact

You can argue that policy choices were made based on preferences but you can also look to the history of how those policy choices were made and not just assume “it is how it is because it’s what people want”

Environment has an effect on preferences, ask someone in Houston if they prefer biking to work or taking a car. Ask someone in Amsterdam, you will get very different answers that have a lot to do with the environment

because I don't think it's undeniably true! I think some people like suburbs, suburbs can be nice, but I don't think it's that simple given the history and policy in this country

like if people could have the amenities of cities without the downsides of cities, my feeling is cities are a lot of people's preferences compared to nice suburbs, but again hard to do

okay, one more thing I concede. I think people might have a preference for space and privacy. I think though the bar is lower for how nice a suburb can be while the bar for a denser city is so much higher but historically we just don't make cities as nice as they can be because it's a hard problem

I mean I guess this is the part where I agree, I think yimbys maybe don't acknowledge the world we live in in the US. It's not necessarily that people prefer it in a vaume IMO but culturally we do at this point, which sucks

Again, your hunch, I know a lot of people who would like enough interior space for kids rooms but have a walkable/bikeable neighborhood for their kid and a park nearby

I could be wrong! but what are the real options in this country for a mid-rise neighborhood that is actually well connected to an entire city or region by transit? We have pockets sure, but they are just pockets or NYC

fair, but I don't think that's the full picture. A lot of people just grew up in the suburbs or think that the natural path in life is to buy a single family house. I just don't think people telling you their preference in a system that makes it the default choice is telling you much

like, my hunch is that many families given the choice between suburbs or mid-rise dense cities with family size room counts and access to transit, the preference would be for the latter, but our system does not make that a viable choice for many

I mean, this still doesn't prove your point, we have made the suburbs desirable in this country for many reasons, that still doesn't prove it's the preference for people when many policy preferences explain the vast sprawl in our country