balancing cities....
cities should be balanced.... in so many ways.... they should have a similar number of democrats as republicans.... you should make an effort not to surround yourself with yourself.... not to surround yourself with like minded people.... it is detrimental to your health.... it is detrimental to society.... and yet.... most cities choose a side.... and then try to push away the other side.... however.... this chapter is about the environment.... eye will talk about other types of balance in other chapters....
right now.... cities compete for businesses.... back in the day.... they wanted walmart to come to town.... because it brang jobs.... it brang tax revenue.... so.... they would complete for walmart.... and they compete for other big businesses.... another reason that they compete for businesses.... is because new businesses raise the property value of a city.... and then.... many cities will strive to have MORE jobs than housing.... making the workers compete for residences close to their jobs....
consequently.... the city of manhattan grows by one point five million people during the day.... the population nearly doubles.... twice as many people work in manhattan.... as people who live in manhattan.... the same phenomenon happens in my city.... boulder.... the poplulation grows during the day from about one hundred thousand.... to one hundred and sixty thousan.... consequently.... the price of housing is very expensive in both cities.... in manhattan.... housing prices range from eight hundred dollars a square foot to seventeen hundred dollars a square foot.... in boulder.... housing prices average six hundred dollars a square foot.... in comparison.... the price per square foot is three hundred dollars in longmont.... and the price per square foot is one hundred and seventy five dollars in cheyenne wyoming....
cities.... like people.... are greedy.... my city.... the city of boulder.... allowed google to build a three hundred and thirty thousand square foot campus smack dab in the middle of boulder.... employing around fifteen hundred people.... a first.... until google..... the city did not allow large corporate campuses in the middle of boulder.... large companies.... like ibm.... and storagetek.... had to build their campuses outside of the city.... where they would not create traffic congestion.... not only should the google facility have been built outside of boulder.... but.... it should have been built in detroit.... a city on the decline.... a city with plenty of empty houses.... just waiting to be filled by google employees.... eye went on a little side step there.... because eye am pissed that my city let google in.... eye am pissed that they are destroying a once protected.... a once pristine city....
my real point.... is that cities should be balanced.... they should house the same number of people that they employ.... eye went to the hair salon many years back.... and not one single stylist lived in boulder.... they drove in from other cities.... from louisville.... from longmont.... from denver.... because the cost of housing is too expensive for people who work in the service industry....
rising house prices certainly benefits the homeowners.... in a city that is growing.... but falling house prices destroy people who are unfortunate to live in declining cities like detroit.... and rising house prices is accompanied by rising rent.... creating two classes of citizens.... the owners and the renters.... in a growing city.... homeowners make money.... for doing nothing.... in some cities.... they make more money in a year.... than they make at thier job.... but the rising prices.... push out renters.... they push out service industry professionals.... who cannot affort the rising rents....
in a balanced city.... there is not a dichotomy.... between the owners and the renters.... AND.... the main point of this chapter.... there is far far far less pollution.... when someone lives in the city they work in.... their gas consumption is cut in half.... sometimes more.... once again.... we have faulty priorities.... cities are putting the wealth of the homeowners.... against the lifestyle of the renters.... cities are putting the wealth of the homeowners.... ahead of the benefit to the environment....
just by a rough and crude estimate.... eye estimate that the city of boulder alone.... could cut miles driven by its citizens.... by one point eight million per SINGLE day.... and they could gut gasoline consumption by sixty thousand gallons per SINGLE day.... IF.... they had a balanced city.... IF.... they could house the same number of people as they employ....
and.... boy.... the citizens of boulder.... the homeowners.... are going to hate me for pointing this out.... because.... eye am suggesting.... that we put the environment.... in front of their unearned wealth.... and.... eye am suggesting.... that we balance out the power.... between the renter.... and the homeowner....