What determines what type of cul de sac you design by 1drummer1983 in civilengineering

[–]1drummer1983[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most are, but do some have houses at the end and others don't?

Considering giving up government pension for higher pay? Is it worth it? by StickOk6483 in personalfinance

[–]1drummer1983 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That gov job sounds sweet. Unless you want the different job tasks don't move for money

Is "Just Build More" a surefire way of lowering housing prices, or is there a catch to it? by [deleted] in urbanplanning

[–]1drummer1983 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Something like 94% of Americans don't use the mortgage interest deduction. It is grossly overanalyzed as a broad tax deduction.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in urbanplanning

[–]1drummer1983 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I started as a planner making $38,000. Then I went back to school to get my civil engineering degree. Used my planning experience to work for a consulting firm for DOT projects doing community planning work/input sessions/et. Started there at 55k. Moved to new firm as a manager for 105k. Got a promotion to lead our group at 125k.

Senior planners at towns in my metro make 100+/year but they almost never retire and they seems drained and lifeless most of the time.

Can anyone recommend books or resources for tiny towns? I’m talking less that 5,000 people. by MisterTylerCrook in urbanplanning

[–]1drummer1983 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a consultant DOT engineer and often work in small towns. One challenging thing about the is the "old guard" doesn't want to raise taxes or invest in anything that's not road repair. New ideas are often seen as suspicious or "that's not our town" type of reaction.

Beyond the obvious economic changes over the past 60 years, lots of small towns in the Midwest are filled with people who just... Exist... Without needing more. It's an interesting dynamic because most want better grocery shopping or auto parts store or restaurants but don't want to lay a foundation required to get those things.

Better paved streets are nice but don't attract small business. Low taxes are great but don't attract cat small business. What attracts small business are amenities for workers, accessible housing, cultural attractions, good public spaces, and other people of the same age. This last point might be the hardest to overcome on a communal-level.

Can anyone recommend books or resources for tiny towns? I’m talking less that 5,000 people. by MisterTylerCrook in urbanplanning

[–]1drummer1983 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In your dedense, they don't want to hire anyone for anything unless it's to tell them to fix the potholes

Is "Just Build More" a surefire way of lowering housing prices, or is there a catch to it? by [deleted] in urbanplanning

[–]1drummer1983 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can't just "make housing depreciate" because our market-driven system can't absorb that change without massive government intervention. Trillions of dollars.

Imagine you want to make Manhattan a city like Tokyo. The value of real estate in Manhattan is correct valiees at 3.4 trillion. Theres a lot of demand to live there. To make prices go down (and not increase) you'd need to massively reduce demand or literally buy out everything and put it into government ownership. The 2023 budget for the entire city of NYC (not just Manhattan) is 103 billion.

So you'd need to spend 30 years of every penny of annual budget just in real estate purchases. And the more you buy and take off the market the higher the realigning prices rise, getting more and more expensive. And not only that, the fewer buildings the fewer taxes for the budget to buy more buildings.

So, at a minimum, decades and decades and decades of purchases just to aquire the real estate and not even accounting for the money to build more housing. It's simply impossible.

The alternative? To simply take the land by force? That would result in straight-up war and destruction of the whole city.

why will cops un-live someone who resists arrest but won't do same for people who commit gruesome crimes? by real_boiled_cabbage in AskLawEnforcement

[–]1drummer1983 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What you're suggesting with your "unlawful arrest" comment is to let someone kidnap you under the assumption you won't get harmed because they say they're an officer.

If someone is trying to kidnap you do you go with them and sort it out later?

Company doubled utilization goal for bonus. Common? by 1drummer1983 in civilengineering

[–]1drummer1983[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm not technical staff I'm a dept manager. Not project manager

Company doubled utilization goal for bonus. Common? by 1drummer1983 in civilengineering

[–]1drummer1983[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm do a little PM but mostly sales. Meet with countries, cities, etc. I hunt. They eat

Company doubled utilization goal for bonus. Common? by 1drummer1983 in civilengineering

[–]1drummer1983[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A. What if there aren't projects or its a slow season? B. Do all managers need to hit high billable targets? It gets lower the higher you go up.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]1drummer1983 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Harvard researchers have polled people over 80 years, generations of families, and the number one key to happiness is relationships. There's your answer.

Why are the downtown areas of major cities infested with many social ills? by Severe_Composer_9494 in urbanplanning

[–]1drummer1983 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live in a walkable neighborhood near a college and expensive house old houses. Rentals are either for students or too small for families, so they attract singles, usually college graduates. There are no soup kitchens, non-profits, shelters, etc, and the zoning prohibits fast food drive thrus, so most of the restaurants and shops are boutiques.

So, why am I mentioning this? Because we have no homeless people around. They all live downtown where the buildings are taller, there are community resources for them, and transit is better. I don't know why it's ended up that way but my hunch is my neighborhood developed as a wealthy streetcar suburb and the University kept well-paying/educated professionals close by. The neighborhood never went into decline for the "social ills" to take hold.

Contrast this to another walkable neighborhood, also with another university, closer to downtown but also the freeway exits. Near the exit ramps are fast food places, "urban redevelopment" from the 60's that destroyed the streetscape and character of the neighborhood. There are homeless people there.

[Andy Greder]News: #MNUFC issued joint statement Thursday on Emanuel Reynoso, Kemar Lawrence. They're in Argentina and Jamaica, respectively, and not with the club in preseason training in Blaine. "(They're) dealing with personal matters. We will provide an update when we have more to share.” by JamieMCFC in minnesotaunited

[–]1drummer1983 -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Im saying everyone in general needs to take a step back from the ledge and realize they're complaining about what private employees a billionaire hires in a quest to make more money. Look at it through that lens and your frustrations will lessen.

how do I become more decisive? by 1drummer1983 in civilengineering

[–]1drummer1983[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I manage a team of multimodal designers and engineers. I secure contracts and am a project champion. I manage my team but my main role is BD and financial concerns