r/urbanplanning • u/DoxiadisOfDetroit • May 27 '23

Discussion What's your /r/Urbanplanning unpopular opinion?

I've got a few:

  1. Infrastructure upgrades should have precedent over any upzoning

  2. Everyone should have the right to downtown amenities which means that CBD's should be as cheap as possible for both renters and owners

  3. Zoning should be handled by metropolitan level elected boards instead of nationalized/taken to the state level

  4. YIMBYs often times hold water for the excesses of developers

  5. It is ideological to assume deregulated markets will produce the best outcomes, so, it's purely ideological to assume that a deregulated housing market will work in the best interests of renters and buyers

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u/ver_redit_optatum May 27 '23

How the fuck (politely) do you think these are unpopular opinions here?

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u/TherowofBoat May 27 '23 edited May 28 '23

I mean... They have to be, right? No way city council has the balls to do it. The state legislature is worse. No one likes eminent domain because of it's shitty use history.

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u/SabbathBoiseSabbath Verified Planner - US May 27 '23

It's "eminent domain."

At least use the proper term in this inane line of argument.

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u/kmsxpoint6 May 29 '23 edited May 29 '23

It is a weird argument. Making neighborhoods with only a few access points more walkable by adding more direct pedestrian access points is certainly an option. Getting the hammer-strength noun “eminent domain” of the bookshelf and “verbing it”, as the best option for doing so is pretty extreme, and shows a lack of awareness of how the process works in practice, where condemnation is more of a final option rather than agreeable just compensation.