pillbinge t1_ixjn4hp wrote
Reply to comment by 3720-To-One in The lack of homes could strangle our life sciences industry: Why the concentration of biopharma in Cambridge and Boston would ratchet up costs, exacerbate the housing crisis, and pitch the region from its throne. by writethefuture3
So you're in the phase where you're growing up. That's fine. I was there too. There's a bigger picture you'll get eventually, when the numbing encroach of something bigger turns everything the same.
You can keep saying that "my" suburb, which is a city, doesn't exist in a vacuum, but I have everything I need here. And, when you say it, it still has the unspoken element of "and it should give way to Boston". Boston built up because companies could take advantage of what was in place. That may not exist, and the problems created today didn't exist before. These are problems we have to manage because of them.
>This entire half of the state
The whole state does, as do other countries. It's due to the financialization of housing as an appreciating asset at all, and increasing populations that aren't sustainable, and that are concentrated in fewer places.
Build a lab in Douglas, MA. But converting more space to lab space to homogenize the world isn't going to help. You're going to whine about this for the rest of your life if you don't recognize the real issue.
>It’s the epitome of “I got mine, fuck everybody else.”
It isn't, but I get why you need to think that.
3720-To-One t1_ixjrh00 wrote
Yes it is, dude. It’s selfish.
NIMBYs come up with all sorts of excuses as to why their precious little suburban should never have to change or adapt, or allow anything other than SFHs to get built.
Everyone thinks their little suburb is special and precious, and ordained by god.
And yes, they restrict new development because they think that it’s the local government’s job to artificially inflate the values of their homes.
And yes, most people living in suburbs work in the city.
Again, suburbs don’t exist in a vacuum.
But I get it, you’ve got all your NIMBY talking points down pat. Your suburb should never have to change.
“I got mine, fuck everybody else.”
There’s high demand to live in this state. The state needs to build more higher-density housing, INCLUDING in suburbs.
pillbinge t1_ixkxd5h wrote
>Everyone thinks their little suburb is special and precious, and ordained by god.
You're going through something, and that's fine. But people are allowed to like their town without thinking it can only increase in importance if it becomes a part of something bigger that is already established.
The fact you think I'm a NIMBY is precisely what's throwing you off. I'm for more housing. I'd love that housing here. I can just look around at what's being built, how badly it's built, and how horribly it affects the areas around us to know that it isn't working. Your approach isn't working. We're basically trying it now, whenever a massive complex goes up.
>There’s high demand to live in this state. The state needs to build more higher-density housing, INCLUDING in suburbs.
Sounds like you think government exists to cater to people's needs in some sort of consumerist manner. I feel really bad for you. Especially when the demand to live in the area comes from the historic ignoring of other parts of the state. Real estate is far cheaper and abundant farther West. But sure, build up some of the densest towns in the entire country again.
wallet535 t1_ixl3qx9 wrote
I think your basic point is that companies should look beyond metro Boston. As someone who grew up in rural Central Mass. and who now lives inside Route 128, I would love to see a lab go into my hometown. The problem, however, is the needed labor isn’t out there in the sticks. Just like a trucking company can’t locate to somewhere far from interstates, knowledge-based industries can’t locate far from their workers. Biotech ain’t going there, trust me. The modern-day mill is a lab or an office tower. Mill towns were built back in the day for their workers, but somehow we don’t want to give today’s equivalent workers that same housing security. This might help to explain why your attempt to don the mantle of the older and wiser rings a bit hollow. I’m sorry if that sounds a bit rude, and it’s not my intention to insult, but that’s the reality today.
pillbinge t1_ixtcm10 wrote
There are far too many people here who are reading something like "don the mantle of the older and wiser" when I'm chiming in with what I've reflected on and nothing more. It's very bizarre, and I feel bad for a lot of people. Maybe there's something about internet comments that cuts right into people. I don't know. I'm not giving any "wise" statement like that. Your comment doesn't sound rude, it sounds kind of sad and misguided.
More to the point, this is a fundamental problem with government getting involved but not totally, and only in some areas. They aren't going to move there but that's a problem to overcome. If not, we'll keep getting the situation we have now where apparently these labs can be funded by intricate laws about money that protect them but we can't get the work to places that could use it.
wallet535 t1_ixteimq wrote
It's hard to take you too seriously, because you told u/3720-To-One: "So you're in the place where you're growing up.... I was there too. There's a bigger picture you'll get eventually...." If you actually feel bad for people, quit posting word salad and start advocating for policies that might actually help them.
pillbinge t1_ixviir4 wrote
It's probably hard to take me seriously because that wasn't a conversation with you or for you, but internet forums trigger something in your brain to make you feel like you're in the thick of it.
>start advocating for policies that might actually help them.
Literally what I'm doing. You keep going on about how things should be while we can see things slide more and more where you don't want them to be.
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