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How Suburban Development Makes American Cities Poorer [ST02]

46 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
1 HN user recommended this explainer1 month2021–2024 score 1.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Cited in urban planning threads as an accessible explanation of why low-density suburbs cost more to maintain than they bring in.

Not Just Bikes contrasts traditional and suburban development in North America. It looks at the financials behind each pattern and argues that suburban development leaves cities unable to pay for their own infrastructure.

“Not Just Bikes is a great channel on urban development” (HN, 2021)

1 strong recommendations · 4 citations · Explainers · intro

5 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@Rendello Jul 2021 Strongly recommends
on HN thread We’d rather have the iceberg than the ship
Not Just Bikes is a great channel on urban development, and he did a series on Strong Towns' ideas specifically. I like this one, "How Suburban Development Makes American Cities Poorer". [this video]
Explains how suburban development makes cities poorer

Citations, criticism and jokes

@imtringued Jan 2021 Cites it
on HN thread Americans Don’t Know What Urban Collapse Looks Like
That's a problem with suburbia. You need a lot of road per house. The tax money you receive doesn't cover maintenance. Even the worst city blocks bring in enough tax revenue to maintain their roads. [this video]
Suburban road costs exceed tax revenue
@rglullis Jul 2024 Cites it
on HN thread If we want a shift to walking, we need to prioritize dignity
Holy shit, talk about reading things out of context. You, dear sir, have absolutely nothing in common with the average North American who lives in the suburbs. The question was not directed at you. If you want to at least try to understand the context before jumping to give your opinion and share with us your psycho issues, try watching [this video]
Context for the suburban question

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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