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Ask HN: Biggest difference in infrastructure if designing a city from scratch?

2 points by zulln ↗ HN
The mail is sent with pneumatic dispatch from a universal central? There is a universal garage and everyone has some smart way of transport to there? There is beer in addition to water pipes?

It should be realistic but not conservative. 'Biggest' fulfilled length requirement, better would been 'most interesting'.

2 comments

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PaulHoule
Here is a small idea, an old one, but not very well known.

In cities in the U.S. you frequently see power lines, phone lines, cable tv, etc. on poles in the air instead of underground as you see in other countries.

In Buffalo NY there are neighborhoods that run that infrastructure through back yards and alleys which gives a very "European" look to the area.

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Also consider eliminating or greatly curtailing parking, certainly no "free' parking -- if you get rid of the parking, traffic goes away too, you then don't have to build roads. Visiting Montreal as a motortourist is a great experience, but you will pay for parking.

twobyfour
De-privilege the personal automobile. Run all automobile traffic underground. Every motor vehicle road has a strictly enforced bus lane in each direction. Reserve at-grade in-sunlight travel for pedestrians and cyclists. (Probably with exceptions for emergency vehicles headed directly to and from an actual emergency, running with lights and sirens on.)

Having lighter vehicles on the surface might have the additional advantage that you could bury utilities in such a way that they could be accessed for maintenance and repair without digging. Perhaps with just some sort of sturdy lid over the trench. That would save a ton of expense and inconvenience for maintenance.