http://www.decaturmetro.com/2011/08/08/why-are-we-afraid-of-small-homes/ Decatur Georgia News, Events, Atlanta News Wed, 17 Sep 2014 23:05:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0 http://www.decaturmetro.com/2011/08/08/why-are-we-afraid-of-small-homes/#comment-131546 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 07:59:28 +0000 http://www.decaturmetro.com/?p=20705#comment-131546 Wow, that must have been like untangling gum from hair!

]]> http://www.decaturmetro.com/2011/08/08/why-are-we-afraid-of-small-homes/#comment-131545 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 07:58:24 +0000 http://www.decaturmetro.com/?p=20705#comment-131545 Will the shipping containers meet code for housing too?

]]> http://www.decaturmetro.com/2011/08/08/why-are-we-afraid-of-small-homes/#comment-131485 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:29:43 +0000 http://www.decaturmetro.com/?p=20705#comment-131485 We can have another thread about this soon, but in case anyone cares, I think I fixed the thread.

]]> http://www.decaturmetro.com/2011/08/08/why-are-we-afraid-of-small-homes/#comment-131411 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:24:00 +0000 http://www.decaturmetro.com/?p=20705#comment-131411 Yeah – what Joe said. This thread needs some de-tangler!

]]> http://www.decaturmetro.com/2011/08/08/why-are-we-afraid-of-small-homes/#comment-131409 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:12:20 +0000 http://www.decaturmetro.com/?p=20705#comment-131409 Great discussion and long overdue. I’ll have to fall back on a quote by William S. Burroughs to get my point across succinctly. “Bigger is better and biggest is best.” Although, he was quoting a dinosaur.
Has the economic downturn taught us nothing? Quit overbuilding. Reuse the small houses which are already here. Decatur is STILL supporting a building boom which results in bigger houses which results in more taxes which we THINK are going to improve our schools. Any boundary expansion (think annexation) results in greater demand on city services. I contend we are expanding upwards and for a short time, everyone thinks the expanded tax base is great. But then our schools get overcrowded and quality slips. We are reaching a tipping point which pushes what is desirable and sustainable. Decatur is turning into an economically “gated” city.
Build cluster developments of new little houses? Why not save the ones we have and truly make Decatur green? When developers create towns like Seaside,what is their inspiration? Towns like ours which already have a variety of house/condo/apartment sizes within walking distance of commercial areas. You don’t need “neo-traditional” when you’ve got the real thing.

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