Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

warnelldawg t1_j07xstv wrote

Transit is obviously a big factor, but I think the bigger factor is how Carbon intense SFH McMansions are.

65

obvious_bot t1_j08h3pj wrote

Part of how carbon intense they are is because they don’t get any transit though

19

warnelldawg t1_j08hglh wrote

Bigger house equals more energy for heating and cooling, can hold more crap (which has embedded carbon), takes more material to construct among other things.

Shows once again that the most sustainable forms of life is via density.

20

4look4rd t1_j09wunx wrote

It’s not just the size, it’s the low density.

Low density means you need more roads which are very carbon intensive, additionally it also means you have to drive everywhere. While in a city walking and biking are viable options in the suburbs moving as little as half a mile often means crossing multiple lanes of traffic, no side walks, and businesses that are built for cars and not people. To compound this even further, it’s not just that one person has to drive for pretty much everything, but everyone has to drive to get anything done which further increases the need of car infrastructure.

Suburbs are not scalable, they need to die as soon as possible, and at the very least we should tax their inefficiencies through a land value tax.

11

Tony0x01 t1_j0a1mzy wrote

I think you're more correct. A household's home energy usage is the primary contributor to emissions, moreso than transit. I strongly suspect OP of this thread is mistaking correlation for causation.

2

the_bagel_warmonger t1_j0bgwaa wrote

Transit access usually leads to increased density because people want to live near transit. That's why transit oriented development exists. Second order causation would still be causation.

2

Tony0x01 t1_j0dy848 wrote

I agree. I guess then it comes down to whether the density was there first or the transit.

1

Free_Dog_6837 t1_j0cyrzh wrote

yeah compare gaithersburg, which has no metro (or at least you have to drive or bus to shady grove) but has high density, with the maryland side of chevy chase, which is right by the bethesda metro but is all large SFHs

1

the_bagel_warmonger t1_j0bgqrz wrote

Okay but transit access usually leads to higher density because people want to live near transit. That's why transit oriented development exists.

2