In the US you can be kicked out of your apartment with only 60 days of warning without cause (the owners only have to claim they need it for personal use or some other bs).
That is part of why people hate renting. 60 days isn't enough time to find a new place, pack everything up, and move all while working 50 hours a week.
The people who have the most wealth and power over the markets are the very same people who bribe / lobby/ donate to politicians to write the zoning laws that contribute to the housing crisis.
Consider this, you are a wealthy property developer. Are you going to lobby the government to do things to bring down the cost of housing? Fuck no. You're going to do the opposite. The more expensive housing is the more money you make.
People need to realize the US only pretends to be a democracy. We get to pick which individuals get to sell us out to the lobbyists and donors and without fail both parties put on a big show of political theater but then meet with lobbyists in private and sell us out. A democratic republic if only democratic if the elected reps represent the will of the people, which they don't.
I would even argue that a two party system is deeply undemocratic and that we will never be a real democracy until we adopt a multiparty system, ban super PAC donations, and ban paid lobbyists.
Neither shows a completed city, but with a little imagination you can imagine businesses on the ground floor of the apartments and dense walkable areas connected by light rail or bus. The example on the right has room to build all the stuff people need.
But the urban sprawl development doesn't have room to build businesses. It would need to destroy another island and build roads for every individual to commute each and every day.
So would you rather have dense, walkable cities that destroy half of nature, or would you rather have urban sprawl which destroys all of nature and then has a housing crisis because it is logistically impossible to build individual houses for 10 billion people?
Let me guess, the walls seemed "paper thin"? That is very easily fixed by basic sound proofing and insulating shared walls. Or by using brick or concrete. I lived in an apartment with 3 other guys that had brick walls and I could scarcely hear anyone. It was amazing.
A good start, but Jesus, why haven't they planted any trees?
Too true. I would give my right hand to live in Europe rather than the US.
I just read a story where a cop visited someone based on a noise complaint and ended up gunning the young Airman down while he was on a video call with his mother and gf... So from my perspective, cops are the danger.
Neolibs sell us out to big oil just as much as neocons do. The root problem is capitalism. You cannot fight against climate change without fighting against capitalism
When I worked in healthcare there were days where I clocked in at 7am and was forced to keep working until 11pm without any lunch or dinner break. Worker rights in the US are almost completely non-existent and the way some workers get treated is hellish
at some point people will have to start owning their consumption patterns.
Next time you are buying groceries, don't buy anything that has any plastic in the packaging and then get back to us on how avoiding plastic is merely a matter of choice.
Nearly all clothing is full of plastic these days as well. Plastic from china is just as bad for the environment as plastic from any other country.
Critical thinking is essentially learning to ask good questions and also caring enough to follow the threads you find.
For example, if mental health is to blame for school shootings then what is causing the mental health crisis and are we ensuring that everyone has affordable access to mental healthcare? Okay, we have a list of factors that adversely impact mental health, what can we do to address each one? Etc.
Critical thinking isn't hard, it just takes time, effort.
Basic sound proofing can make apartments very quiet. We could pass regulations requiring sound proofing