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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   31586 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 9, 2023

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regardless of what people actually want.

The question is always which people's wants should be listened to? Should the people who live in a neighborhood's desire to keep their neighborhood the way it is be privileged over the desires of others who want to live there too? Should the neighbors be able to coordinate against "defectors" who want to cash in on the desires of those others by selling their property to a developer?

Why should people who live in a neighborhood have more say over the legal structure than people who live elsewhere?

Basically this argument boils down to “people who own property should have more rights than people who don’t.” I find that unpersuasive.

Having "skin in the game" of the existing area is generally-regarded as relevant. As are what the law generally calls "reliance interests." People in the past made decisions based on conditions at the time, and generally shouldn't have the rug pulled out from under them without some notice or a chance to recoup their investments.

Most housing restriction in the US isn’t top down though. It’s bottom up from local communities through their zoning boards and housing associations. Top down would be things like states overriding the ability for towns to make the decisions for themselves.

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