Mem tea in Davis

Pammys, oleana

This whole area is predicted to be a massive flood zone in the not so distant future

In addition to insulation, Look into an acoustic underlayment that goes under your floors.

I mean, the suburbs are full of people who hate taxes and don't want to live in a city but paradoxically want city services. There is never enough revenue to pay for all the upkeep.

The city is full of shit saying the water isn’t that hard. Lol.

We are looking to get a water softener and filter

No mention of the omnipresent mini cooper? I would say mini and Subaru are the two most over represented brands in Cambridge relative to the rest of the US

If you have any interest in looking in to the history of housing zoning laws, you will find that they have nothing to do with legitimate democracy.

I have no idea what this has to do with state control of anything. Housing zoning laws have barely been around longer than most of us, “coincidentally” popping up all over the country following the civil rights movement of the 60s. They are new and failed policy with a horrible history.

Just build housing. It isn’t complicated.

By and large, you are mostly right though — in that the problem will be solved democratically. People need homes. Nimbys can live in denial about that all they want, but young people are clearly getting fed up

It’s a city dude. The whole thing with cities is that they change.

Except we’re not talking about their land. We’re talking about other peoples land that they think they can control.

But yes, you’re right

That would be nice. But it will probably require a 20 year environmental review and 30 resident meetings and the sacrifice of a virgin first born.

Personally I would prefer working in Kendall with or without transit. Networking in the beating heart of an industry is a very real thing.

But yes you are right

Well they clearly care about something in Cambridge, these companies don’t pay multi million dollar rents for the fun of it.

Part of the solution to the problem you describe is upzoning the suburbs to provide enough density for subway expansion to make sense.

The state has already started this by mandating upzoning near train stations.

I would fully expect in the next ten to fifteen years for SFH only zoning to be non existent inside 128

Attitudes like that are how we ended up being unable to build any infrastructure anywhere. Cities are almost by definition dynamic places.

While I can understand the neighbors frustration, that doesn’t mean that it is just to stop public works projects because some people don’t like change

These companies pretty much pay for everything nice we have, and are the reason our property taxes can be so low. I don’t think many people think the whole economy should be biotech, but to chase them away by refusing to build housing is just pathetic

These boards shouldn’t even exist. They’re filled with people with no professional qualifications other than being old and wealthy

You act as if you have a god given right to your suburban life style even as the region chokes

It’s a big problem. Cambridge can do a lot by allowing 5-6 stories by right anywhere in the city. Brattle represents a huge chunk of the city that is not only SFH only but also 6,000 sqft minimum.

Large chunks of the city are 2-3 only which is absurd.

Cambridge does not have to become Manhattan in order to meet housing needs.

Same goes for all the suburbs inside 128.

Harsh reality that these companies don’t care if Susan from HR wants to live in Wellesley and hates her commute. Those urban Junior scientists are the life blood of these companies, and they in aggregate do not want to live in the suburbs or commute there.

But you are 100% right that the suburb commute needs to be fixed, via trains and subways

Go to your city council and demand the build housing

Cambridge removed all parking minimums very recently

Yea, not really, and these companies have a lot of difficulty hiring good talent. Astrazeneca built a sprawling headquarters in Waltham and then abandoned it only a few years later for Cambridge because they couldn’t compete

Well, first — there are people who live there who do enjoy the change. There are also people who hate any change but will possibly change their minds as they get used to it.

Second — these streets belong to the city and are funded and used by all residents of the city. I’m not sure why people live in the city if they can’t accept that.

It’s dreary because they are all office buildings. These are residential towers

The city could probably get much more housing by allowing 4-6 family development by right instead of allowing the rich of Brattle to cut off their neighborhood with exclusionary zoning. North Cam is almost exclusively zoned for only 2 family despite being right next to alewife and Davis and porter

In general I support any free market solution to housing, but sky scraper housing adds a lot of people without many businesses