The real problem is convincing people there is a problem. I grew up in suburban America and almost everyone got a car when they turned 16. A 15 minute drive was considered not that far away. My bus ride to school was about 45 minutes. I went to college in a large dense city and it opened my eyes to how things could be so much better. Unfortunately most people who live where I grow up would say “you’re going to get shot and die” if you get anywhere near a city.
Just look at per capita crime rates. US cities are typically less dangerous than suburban areas.
New York City has a per capita crime rate of 6.3 per 100,000.
Huntsville, AL has a crime rate of 387 per 100,000.
And that difference was actually a huge surprise to me when I just looked it up. But the problem is people look at the raw number of crimes committed and think cities are so dangerous. It’s actually the opposite.
Does that distinguish between violent crime vs property crime? I always heard that violent crime is a little higher in cities, while property crime is a lot higher in suburbs, but I never bothered to fact check because the (dense city) neighborhood I grew up in only had one stabbing in 20 years, so it seemed safe enough…
While I understand that not everyone is educated on these issues, I grew up in the suburbs and I always knew it was fucked, even if I didn’t know what a better system looked like. I really don’t understand how people can see that and think it’s somehow good.
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The real problem is convincing people there is a problem. I grew up in suburban America and almost everyone got a car when they turned 16. A 15 minute drive was considered not that far away. My bus ride to school was about 45 minutes. I went to college in a large dense city and it opened my eyes to how things could be so much better. Unfortunately most people who live where I grow up would say “you’re going to get shot and die” if you get anywhere near a city.
The level of paranoia that suburbanites have about density is horrendously upsetting and intentional
Trying to tell a suburbanite that crime rates have fallen drastically over time is so damn hard
Just look at per capita crime rates. US cities are typically less dangerous than suburban areas.
New York City has a per capita crime rate of 6.3 per 100,000.
Huntsville, AL has a crime rate of 387 per 100,000.
And that difference was actually a huge surprise to me when I just looked it up. But the problem is people look at the raw number of crimes committed and think cities are so dangerous. It’s actually the opposite.
Does that distinguish between violent crime vs property crime? I always heard that violent crime is a little higher in cities, while property crime is a lot higher in suburbs, but I never bothered to fact check because the (dense city) neighborhood I grew up in only had one stabbing in 20 years, so it seemed safe enough…
While I understand that not everyone is educated on these issues, I grew up in the suburbs and I always knew it was fucked, even if I didn’t know what a better system looked like. I really don’t understand how people can see that and think it’s somehow good.