Spokane is a very sprawling city. It’s the second most populous in Washington but a third the density of Seattle. Including the “metropolitan area” of both Spokane is a seventh as densely populated.
A bit of both but the root is that land is comparatively cheap. Building out is economically incentivized over building up. Municipalities can put their thumb on the scale by raising land taxes based on acreage but zoning restrictions are the actual solution (and these tend to be unpopular because the immediate effect is that development costs rise and bring rents with them)
wow, there’s so little city in this city… where are the people supposed to be?
In traffic
And people struggle understanding why I would prefer a shift from 6-2. Spokane traffic is why.
Just move literally anywhere in Europe. Fucking Bulgaria has better city planning than this insanity. And public transport!
The people are all expected to live at least 30 minutes away in the suburbs. This is what’s commonly referred to as “The American dream”.
Spokane is a very sprawling city. It’s the second most populous in Washington but a third the density of Seattle. Including the “metropolitan area” of both Spokane is a seventh as densely populated.
Are there lots of parking lots because it’s sprawling or is it sprawling because there are a lot of parking lots?
A bit of both but the root is that land is comparatively cheap. Building out is economically incentivized over building up. Municipalities can put their thumb on the scale by raising land taxes based on acreage but zoning restrictions are the actual solution (and these tend to be unpopular because the immediate effect is that development costs rise and bring rents with them)