neighborhoods

Why don't people share more?

Posted 28 weeks 3 days ago by Philip Brewer

Lifestyle, Green Living

Tools in garage

I saw an article recently suggesting that neighbors share a garbage service. One neighbor hires the service, the other kicks in to cover half the bill, and both bring their stuff to the same spot on the curb on garbage day. The standard deal with a hauling service will take away a lot more garbage than a small household produces (or even a large household, if they compost and recycle). It's a good idea, and not just for garbage. Why don't we see more of that?

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How the subprime lending boom hurt everybody

Posted 40 weeks 6 days ago by Philip Brewer

Real Estate and Housing

Graph showing foreclosures on subprime mortgages leading to net loss of homeownership

Among the Wise Bread community, I get the sense that there's a kind of "pox on both their houses" attitude to the problems in the subprime mortgage markets. People who worked through their own credit problems (or avoided having any) can't stir up much sympathy for people who bought houses they can't afford--and pretty much nobody has any sympathy for the mortgage brokers and hedge funds that lent them the money. A new guide from Americans for Fairness in Lending, though, shows that the damage actually hits at every level, from the individual borrowers (including borrowers with good credit), through the neighborhood, local economies, and the national economy. With their kind permission, we're presenting the guide here on Wise Bread.

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Dangerous neighborhoods are safer than commuting

Posted 50 weeks ago by Philip Brewer

Filed Under: Real Estate and Housing, Cars and Transportation

Cars in apartment parking lot

Why do so few people live within walking--or at least bicycling--distance from where they work?

I've asked a lot of people this question and gotten a lot of different answers. Some people want big houses, others big lawns. A lot of people think--for reasons that they can't really articulate--that suburbs are the right place to raise kids. But one reason that you hear a lot is that people want to live somewhere safe--a low-crime area.

Continue reading "Dangerous neighborhoods are safer than commuting"

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