[HN Gopher] The Silicon Valley Elite Who Want to Build a City fr...
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       The Silicon Valley Elite Who Want to Build a City from Scratch
        
       Author : pulisse
       Score  : 40 points
       Date   : 2023-08-25 20:05 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nytimes.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nytimes.com)
        
       | black_13 wrote:
       | [dead]
        
       | jeffbee wrote:
       | "Tens of thousands of homes" on 55,000 acres doesn't sound like a
       | city, it sounds like more climate-torching bullshit. The Flannery
       | parcels are nowhere near any kind of transportation facility, so
       | unless they are planning a maglev to Sacramento, and unless the
       | project is in fact 54,900 acres of open space and 100 acres of
       | urbanism, than I remain highly skeptical.
        
         | pulisse wrote:
         | I'd really like to know whether they considered wildfire risk
         | when they hatched this plan back in ~2017.
        
         | smugma wrote:
         | Antioch BART is just a few miles away. Of course, there's a
         | river in the way so that would be a 30 min drive unless they
         | extended the line (would take 20-40 years?)
        
           | jeffbee wrote:
           | My friend, have you ever ridden from Antioch BART?
        
             | labrador wrote:
             | Ok, I'll bite. What's so bad or good about Antioch BART?
        
       | kazen44 wrote:
       | oh look...
       | 
       | some other "tech elite" of his time actually already did this[0]
       | 
       | [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordl%C3%A2ndia
        
       | somethoughts wrote:
       | I think what makes the most sense is to build in plans for future
       | high density from the get go when the zoning is being first
       | written.
       | 
       | So the residential zoning starts out as 8000 square foot lots but
       | each lot is enabled in the future for high density 3 story
       | residential in 30 years. Commercial zoning is enabled for high
       | density residential towers in 30 years as well.
       | 
       | Additionally, while it's still farmland, demarcate the right of
       | way for future train lines, bike paths mass transit and
       | freeways/underpasses.
       | 
       | I think what chafes NIMBY home owners is that the developers are
       | able to change the residential single family zoning to high
       | density residential post facto - and pocket the spoils. Basically
       | changing the rules of the game via lobbying city council members.
       | Meanwhile the rule following NIMBY home owner's zoning remains
       | unchanged and they just have to deal with more traffic and less
       | sunlight.
       | 
       | And then make all home/property buyers sign documents attesting
       | that this is the city charter and cannot be changed.
        
       | tspike wrote:
       | https://archive.is/1cYIj
        
       | melenaboija wrote:
       | Interesting (and with some paranoia) discussion about this topic
       | one month ago.
       | 
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36816387
        
       | smugma wrote:
       | "[Investors] include Mr. Moritz; Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-
       | founder, venture capitalist and Democratic donor; Marc Andreessen
       | and Chris Dixon, investors at the Andreessen Horowitz venture
       | capital firm; Patrick and John Collison, the sibling co-founders
       | of the payments company Stripe; Laurene Powell Jobs, founder of
       | the Emerson Collective; and Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross,
       | entrepreneurs turned investors. Andreessen Horowitz is also a
       | backer"
        
       | msie wrote:
       | My crazy/naive idea is to build stable countries in South America
       | and Africa to attract migrants and asylum seekers. It would be
       | more economic and palatable than tackling regime change/culture
       | change in troubled countries (mexico, el salvador, iran,
       | afghanistan) where these migrants came from and lessen the need
       | to beef up local infrastructure. Isn't this how cities emerged in
       | the past?
        
         | cellis wrote:
         | You can't build stable countries in those places as long as
         | narcotraffickers and commodity smugglers exist, and they will
         | exist as long as we have repressive laws on drug use (in the
         | United States and other Rich Nations) and sanctions on
         | commodities from the same. The problem is these combined
         | policies incentivize defacto states that aren't democratic and
         | will extort or thwart any well meaning developers. In countries
         | without a strong rule of law you won't get far (absent finding
         | a way to monopolize force yourself).
        
           | toss1 wrote:
           | >> (absent finding a way to monopolize force yourself)
           | 
           | Exactly this.
           | 
           | Any person who wants to live a self-determined life, and have
           | a self-determined govt must be (individually or collectively)
           | better armed and better prepared than everyone form the
           | wannabe local lunch bully, regional warlord, or national
           | authoritarian. IF not, they will take your lunch and your
           | government every time.
           | 
           | The GP's plan is great, but (s)he will need to start with a
           | significant well-managed armed force. Otherwise, the local
           | drug lord, warlord, mafia don, or authoritarian will ignore
           | you until you create value, then decide they want it for
           | themselves. If you cannot defend it, it will be theirs until
           | they destroy it.
        
         | hgsgm wrote:
         | UK has an agreement with Rwanda to send refugees to Rwanda.
         | 
         | But the UK High Court nixed it, because Rwanda is "not a safe
         | country".
         | 
         | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda_asylum_plan
        
           | gizajob wrote:
           | There's a big difference between needing asylum and needing
           | asylum in a stable country with universal healthcare and a
           | benefits system.
        
         | jacknobody wrote:
         | The country you seek is called Heaven. I don't blame you for
         | recognising the need - I'm the same. Sadly many of our
         | companions would rather see themselves in charge, just to make
         | sure everyone is treated justly of course, but that always
         | causes Hell for somebody.
        
           | imbnwa wrote:
           | Outer Heaven?
        
           | azmodeus wrote:
           | Building heaven on earth is a good aspirational political
           | goal.
        
             | nicup12345689 wrote:
             | Immanentize the Eschaton am I rite?
             | 
             | Just like the Gnostics, Marxists, communists, Obama, Trump
             | ...
        
             | jacknobody wrote:
             | Yes!!
        
         | nicup12345689 wrote:
         | You think it has not been tried by the people in those
         | countries?
        
         | MrMan wrote:
         | [dead]
        
         | RGamma wrote:
         | [delayed]
        
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       (page generated 2023-08-25 23:01 UTC)