VulcanVulcanVulcan t1_j1qs8u0 wrote on December 26, 2022 at 5:39 PM

Reply to comment by BrightThru2014 in In your opinion what is the most aesthetically pleasing residentialarea in the district? by jurgenius87

Do you think famously existentialist Parisians have great mental health because their city was has consistent architecture? I think that extremely high housing costs driven by NIMBY opposition to new development affects peoples’ mental health far more than like, building aesthetics. Lots of things go into crime and satisfaction, etc. and there’s zero evidence that building aesthetics have a big impact when all factors are taken together. Seems weird to design a city at great expense for small mental health benefits.

I’m all for building things more beautifully, but in the end it’s totally subjective. I think Tokyo and Hong Kong and Seoul are beautiful. Does that mean we should design DC to look like that?

BrightThru2014 t1_j1rdhvo wrote on December 26, 2022 at 8:14 PM

It’s not at great expense!!! You really have no idea what you’re talking about — after taking into account the cost of the land itself plus the foundation, all of the interior of the building, etc embellishments on the exterior are a marginal cost. Nobody is supporting NIMBYism, but why should we accept new housing that looks like the same cookie cutter blocky condos that are going up in every new development from Boise to Raleigh to Phoenix, when we could build buildings that look like DC and are almost universally preferred by anyone that’s not a developer.

Do you agree that all else held equal architecture for new buildings should reflect the democratic aesthetic preferences of the vast majority of the populace? Because that’s the reason why the Seoul and Tokyo example doesn’t make sense — people want traditional middle-density architecture like they see in upper NW and Capital Hill. Either you respect what people want or you tyrannically impose your own aesthetic tastes on others.

VulcanVulcanVulcan t1_j1rqx6f wrote on December 26, 2022 at 9:55 PM

I generally don’t think “people” should determine what a person decides to build on private property, no. The “traditional middle-density” architecture in those neighborhoods you like is insufficient to accommodate a growing and prosperous DC. If you want to bulldoze McLean to build rowhouses, that is great, but those same rowhouses are standing in the way of reduced housing costs in DC. Single-family rowhouses are less dense than a five-story building.

The democratic aesthetic preferences of a lot of people would be simply “whatever prevents new development in my neighborhood” and that is insufficient in my view.