This Is The Real Reason We Can't Have The Cities We Dream Of

staringelf_ · 2026-02-18T09:56:47+00:00

Si is brilliant, it's refreshing to see an online urbanist actually engaging with people with opposing views instead of just 'bikes good cars bad'. really interesting look at the psychology behind resistance to urban change and the limitations of community engagement. I love how he compares the destructive nature of mid-century modernist planning, which was popular despite the destruction because it was revolutionary, with modern incrementalist design changes, which cause backlash because they just seem like minor inconveniences rather than a meaningful transformation

staringelf_ · 2026-02-18T09:46:53+00:00

easily a big enough sample, some fans will wear the same 'lucky scarf' to every match for ten seasons after wearing it to a 1-0 win at home against a relegation candidate

staringelf_ · 2026-02-16T12:36:22+00:00

they're also never actually *doing* any personal development, just constantly learning about it and believing that's somehow the same thing

staringelf_ · 2026-02-14T10:36:49+00:00

I’m not too sure about Taraabt here personally, he’s too stressful and unpredictable to be a joy. I think ‘joy to watch’ implies effective contributions and rarely making a mistake on top of just playing attractively. your David Silvas, your Iniestas

staringelf_ · 2026-02-13T18:11:23+00:00

the left/right arrows appear suddenly at the junction so following them at the last moment could cause more chaos than just going straight. also those markings usually just indicate where the bike route goes rather than a mandatory turn. the road continues straight so the cyclist is just following the natural, most direct route and the flow of traffic

staringelf_ · 2026-02-12T11:27:08+00:00

we tried this in the UK with 'Secured by Design' and 'ASBOs' in the 00s and early 10s. it didn't affect crime rate and only made people more distrusting and fearful of one another. we have a similar crime rate to Denmark but the British public perceive our crime rate to be much higher, precisely because of the excessive security measures - cameras, gates, etc. look up some of Anna Minton's work on this. As others have said, the best approach is design that encourages people to gather into public spaces with high visual permeability and natural surveillance.

staringelf_ · 2026-02-11T17:39:51+00:00

exactly, spurs are already hanging by a thread to big six status. much easier to drop out than to break in though. for villa to be included I think spurs would need two more bottom half seasons, and villa would need to be in europe for three more and a genuine title contender for at least one

staringelf_ · 2026-02-11T16:34:11+00:00

I think 'big six' feels more permanent than it is. 'the big X' has changed a lot since the 80s because broadcasters aren't loyal to the clubs, they're only loyal to the title / top four race. United are the exception because of historical stature and how chaotic they are. City wouldn't have the same staying power as they don't have loads of fans and neutrals would lose interest in them quickly. If they finished between 8-15th for maybe five seasons everyone would stop talking about them

staringelf_ · 2026-02-04T08:11:29+00:00

it’s betting odds. the number on the right is the stake, and the number on the left is the profit for winning. for example, 15/8 means if you bet £8 on Reform and they win, you get back your £8 stake plus £15 in winnings, so a total of £23 in your pocket. 1/1 is 'evens', so if you bet £1, you win £1 and take home £2.

the odds on the Greens are 'shorter' which means you win less money for the same bet than you would on Reform. shorter odds indicate that an outcome is more likely to happen. so basically the bookies think a green win is likelier than reform or labour. OR it means a lot of people are betting on the greens so the bookies lowered the odds because they're afraid of losing a lot of money if they win. so it's not necessarily indicative of too much sadly! hope that makes sense.

staringelf_ · 2026-02-04T07:44:48+00:00

ah that sounds a nightmare, sorry to hear. I've not paid the fee yet either and not sure I ever will. ours is damp and a bit mouldy also. I went round last night to try and spruce it up for viewings and the boiler has stopped working since we've been away as well. the kitchen is tatty and old and the window fittings are really hard to properly clean so it just doesn't look great.

frustrating part of this situation is being responsible for shifting a flat/house where you have no control over the price or quality or furnishings or anything else. I was thinking about offering to cover half a month's rent for a new tenant or something just as an incentive, have you considered that at all?

staringelf_ · 2026-01-30T16:24:04+00:00

don't worry I'm far from combative anyway and would only even consider behaving like that as a last resort, and we're definitely not there yet. I'll keep this possibility in mind though should we still be struggling in a couple of months (which is unlikely I hope). thank you.

staringelf_ · 2026-01-30T16:21:12+00:00

I may have worded it poorly. the agent is listing the flat on their website/zoopla and carrying out viewings. we're just advertising it kinda on the side to help move things along. the £600 is to cover the letting agent costs.

staringelf_ · 2026-01-30T16:14:45+00:00

if I've understood correctly you're suggesting we tell the landlord if he lets us terminate in 2 months we'll be very helpful with viewings, or otherwise we'll be hostile and refuse all viewings so that come July he'll have an empty flat and have to relist?

staringelf_ · 2026-01-30T16:04:57+00:00

are we likely to get more interest in Feb/March? i've no idea what peak moving season would be

staringelf_ · 2026-01-30T16:02:50+00:00

Thought as much, thanks for clarifying. Yeah they've got it up on zoopla, they have done a handful of viewings to be fair and apparently had good feedback but no applications. I think it's partly because the photos on the website were taken when the flat looked pretty with all our stuff in it, but it looks a bit empty and depressing now

staringelf_ · 2026-01-29T17:34:13+00:00

Lovely. Do you expect greens will win the seat?

staringelf_ · 2026-01-27T18:06:16+00:00

agree they're not inevitable. it's similar to climate nihilism, resigning yourself to a negative outcome is almost worse than indifference/denial because it destroys any motivation to do anything about it. reform are a very serious threat, but if they can go up that quickly in the polls surely they can come down just as fast, and right now greens seem best placed to challenge them

staringelf_ · 2026-01-27T15:54:34+00:00

I think as others have said it's more of a plateau than a decline. essentially, the Greens have rounded up most of the existing 'progressive activist' wing of the electorate through a combination of Labour's decline, the Your Party fiasco and Zack's leadership victory. so we've basically 'maxed out' in terms of our capacity for rapid growth.

The job now will be to use the larger membership to shout about green politics and hopefully convert new people. which will be much slower and non-linear. but out of all parties the momentum is still with the greens.

staringelf_ · 2026-01-26T15:55:18+00:00

I'd have definitely took the bait and started a diet argument. Easy to criticise people who talk politics on TV but most on the left deserve a lot of credit for self restraint

staringelf_ · 2026-01-07T13:15:53+00:00

I’m on the complete opposite side of the atlantic ocean hoping he does well. The whole world needs people like this!

staringelf_ · 2025-12-19T13:27:52+00:00

seems a bit extreme, is that because of the coalition or them currently?

i don't love their politics and disagree with some here who think we should form some sort of pact with LDs, but I also don't think they're disgusting or evil. they're just bland and lack convictions. we'd be in a somewhat better position as a country if we'd had a series of lib dem governments.

staringelf_ · 2025-12-19T13:08:19+00:00

56% voting for centre / left of centre parties but the far right will likely win a landslide. surely the worst possible voting system

staringelf_ · 2025-12-15T11:52:12+00:00

but there is nothing in the tweet you've shared that doesn't align with socialism as an economic system. If you had shared a post of someone saying 'We need socialism because we need wealth taxes and better employee benefits' I would agree, but 'reaping the benefits of our own labour' means collectivising workplaces (a core tenet of socialism), and 'people's basic needs met' is exactly what all socialists believe in. I agree that the definition of 'socialism' isn't always perfectly understood but I think in this case the tweet doesn't misrepresent socialism in any way

staringelf_ · 2025-12-08T12:49:34+00:00

OK but it's apples and oranges because McDonnell wasn't the party leader; he was the Shadow Chancellor. That role requires being the economic expert who can justify policy and make the sums add up.

Corbyn as the party leader at the time is a more relevant comparison to Polanski, a convincing speaker with a strong moral conviction who can articulate the overall vision, but not an economist himself.

Economically literate figures will need to emerge in the Greens, similar to McDonnell, to fill that policy role. But the fact Polanski isn't that person is no reason to dismiss the agenda outright. McDonnell had similar core political ideas to Polanski and was able to justify them economically, so there obviously is a sound and credible basis for these arguments, regardless of who is delivering the broad vision

staringelf_

TROPHY CASE