1. He remarked on the esthetic problems of hilltop houses between
here and Moscow Mt. I know people who have built such houses. They
love having sweeping views from their property and would have
bitterly fought the idea that they couldn't build there just because
others don't like having their view of the Mts. despoiled.
2. He made the point that the costs of dispersed residential housing
falls on others, and that one of the ways to control development
other than zoning was through impact fees. Of course, the Idaho
Legislature refuses to let counties other than Ada assess impact
fees. Is there any prospect of changing this, given the general
mind-set against "taxes"?
3. He pointed out the inefficiencies inherent in conventional housing
developments: residential streets flowing into high-speed connectors,
cul-de-sacs requiring inefficient traffic patterns, difficulty of
serving by public transit, inability to walk to commercial centers,
monotony, lack of mixed types and economic levels of housing, etc.
Still, I wonder how many of these factors have been built into the
public taste simply because of their ubiquity, to the point where
the public expects to find them in developments. Houses on
cul-de-sacs are actively sought after because of reduced traffic
past the house. I doubt that having to jump into the car to buy a
loaf of bread bothers many people--it's just a given fact of life.
The row upon row of two car garages fronting houses are hard to avoid
given that almost all modern house plans feature them and people look
for the shortest path from garage to kitchen when assessing a house.
Try to sell a house without an attached garage sometime.
And, does anyone in suburbia seriously take into account the availablity
of public transportation when buying a house?
As for mixed housing, I think few people in Moscow would actively
seek out a house next to an apartment building--they want separation
from students. Does this turning inward, away from community stem
from our built environment, or are our communities a reflection of our
private attitudes? Does the desire for "five acres in the country"
stem from a need to hold others at bay? Do we really want social
interchange with the folks next door anymore?
Ron Force rforce@belle.lib.uidaho.edu
Dean of Library Services (208)885-6534
University Of Idaho fax: (208) 885-6817
Moscow, ID 83844-2371
"Every man must die sooner or later, but good books must be conserved"
Don Vincente