Larger families are de facto legally banned from most cities. The harm this is about to cause the entire industrialized world is immense. But it’s fixable.
Excellent piece, and there is much here that I've never even thought about. But at the same time, we have to acknowledge that the kind of people who are attracted to urban inner-city living are typically not the kind of people who are attracted to a lifetime of raising a family, either. There are exceptions, of course. But the majority of inner-city dwellers are liberals who would just prefer to abort their children if they accidentally got pregnant while sleeping around after a night of bar-hopping in their early 40s.
That is frequently true. More black children are aborted each year in New York than are born. It's breathtakingly horrific.
Still, building toward a better world, this is one of several ways we can encourage greater faithfulness to the Creation Mandate. Fortunately the dam has finally broken on the overpopulation myth, and we can finally have a reasonable discussion with people.
Thanks for this. It is sadly true. I know some young parents who co-sleep with their children while they are very young, then move them into a separate bedroom later. Sometimes parents take the smaller room and put the kids in the larger. We need to get away from the idea that everyone needs separate bedrooms. Boys can go in one room and girls in another. Zoning occupancy needs to change where prices are too high. I have always admired the new ways that specialized architects and interior designers have come up with ingenious solutions to small spaces. Multifunction furniture or repurposed furniture can save space and money. Obviously, it would be better to have houses people can afford, but I don’t want this to keep people from having families.
Completely agree. And the truth is, when I was born in 1969, the average American lived in half the space they do now. They just utilized it better, as you suggest.
When these starter homes are either unavailable or cost $350k and up... what do you do? We need building projects like after WW2, 1100 -1500sq foot homes at no more than twice your annual income.
Very interesting article Rod! My wife is from a small farming town and I lived in San Fran, DFW, Nashville and we live in Indy now. My observation is that while on the surface many larger cities are considered economic powerhouses for banking and things like tech value creation, there are also cities and towns that create and encourage family formation. Which leads us to the question, which one is actually creating value in God's eyes? God often doesn't look at value creation the way the world does.
Excellent piece, and there is much here that I've never even thought about. But at the same time, we have to acknowledge that the kind of people who are attracted to urban inner-city living are typically not the kind of people who are attracted to a lifetime of raising a family, either. There are exceptions, of course. But the majority of inner-city dwellers are liberals who would just prefer to abort their children if they accidentally got pregnant while sleeping around after a night of bar-hopping in their early 40s.
That is frequently true. More black children are aborted each year in New York than are born. It's breathtakingly horrific.
Still, building toward a better world, this is one of several ways we can encourage greater faithfulness to the Creation Mandate. Fortunately the dam has finally broken on the overpopulation myth, and we can finally have a reasonable discussion with people.
Thanks for this. It is sadly true. I know some young parents who co-sleep with their children while they are very young, then move them into a separate bedroom later. Sometimes parents take the smaller room and put the kids in the larger. We need to get away from the idea that everyone needs separate bedrooms. Boys can go in one room and girls in another. Zoning occupancy needs to change where prices are too high. I have always admired the new ways that specialized architects and interior designers have come up with ingenious solutions to small spaces. Multifunction furniture or repurposed furniture can save space and money. Obviously, it would be better to have houses people can afford, but I don’t want this to keep people from having families.
Completely agree. And the truth is, when I was born in 1969, the average American lived in half the space they do now. They just utilized it better, as you suggest.
When these starter homes are either unavailable or cost $350k and up... what do you do? We need building projects like after WW2, 1100 -1500sq foot homes at no more than twice your annual income.
Very interesting article Rod! My wife is from a small farming town and I lived in San Fran, DFW, Nashville and we live in Indy now. My observation is that while on the surface many larger cities are considered economic powerhouses for banking and things like tech value creation, there are also cities and towns that create and encourage family formation. Which leads us to the question, which one is actually creating value in God's eyes? God often doesn't look at value creation the way the world does.
It doesn't have to be an either-or. We have to get more serious about making sure it isn't.