The craziness is caused by historic zoning inequities. Houses are taxed at the lowest rates, and unless the house is sold, annual increases are extremely limited. In the bad old days (1970s) of NYC, this was considered a way to keep the middle class here. But of course it’s grossly inequitable.
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Re bookstores: allowing each individual store manager to customize their store has led to great success by Barnes & Noble, the only remaining national retail book chain:
How Barnes & Noble turned a page, expanding for the first time in years
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/07/1161295820/how-barnes-noble-turned-a-page-expanding-for-the-first-time-in-years
NYC has generated several independent bookstores and small local chains, most of which have succeeded.
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Independent bookstores should continue to thrive if only for the sale of children’s books. Young children especially need a true book in hand for developmental reasons, not a screen with a story.
The perfect independent bookstore should not just be books to survive and to please me. Literacy is about more than books.
Interactive games
Puzzles that help develop cognitive skills that keep your brain smart
Book accessories like bookmarks, journals
Calendars
Reading items like magazines, comic books, cookbooks.
And yes, a coffee and pastry area for a break from browsing
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone say that they don’t have enough libraries. I hope that means there ARE enough - different but just as good as a “bookstore”.
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People do complain about what books are in, or not in, public and school libraries.
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My town solved the “not enough libraries” problem with a bookmobile (very common solution in a lot of places- cheap to operate, no need to acquire land and have the money/bond issue to build, no NIMBY). And then during Covid- the program expanded the frequency, integrated it into the regional interlibrary loan system, so you can pretty much get any book from a wide range of libraries if you can get to the HS parking lot or any one of the dozen places where the bookmobile parks (on a regular schedule).
I know some cities have mobile dental practices and healthcare clinics, mammograms, bloodmobiles, etc. I’m sure creative minds could expand these services!
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Unlike private bookstores, public libraries as a whole have not been disappearing in the Internet age. A chart is above. The overwhelming majority of persons in US have access to a public library within a reasonable distance.
Reasons why libraries and bookstores have largely followed different paths include different sources of funding. Being funded by taxpayers, government, and donations; libraries do not need to be profitable to remain open. Many libraries have also changed and adapted with the times, providing many services besides just having a lot of physical books that people check out.
For example, I bought a car a few months ago. I wanted to view Consumer Reports information on different car models, but did not have a membership. So I went to my town library’s website, logged in, and used the library subscription to CR. In addition to books and magazines, you can also digitally checkout music, comics, TV/movies, newspapers (NYT), eBooks/audiobooks, … from your house, without needing to ever set foot in the library.
The library also has a wide variety of in person services. For example, when I interviewed students applying to Stanford, I held most of the interviews in the meeting rooms at the library. On hot days, the library is always listed as one of the locations with free A/C. Some libraries in more urban areas offer services for homeless persons, such as counseling. My library also has a calendar of scheduled events every day – children’s “storytime”, Tai Chi classes, English as a 2nd language courses, homework help / tutoring, cinema club / foreign film Fridays, chess meet ups, etc. The library is always rated well on any kind of public review list. For example, the library is among top 10 best “things to do” on TripAdvisor with a perfect 5.0 rating… ahead of most tourist attractions.
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Did your areas get all of the White* people who (over recent decades) seemingly departed the area where I live, which now has few White* people?
*Not Hispanic or Latino
That’s the norm in many areas of CA. With each census, the number of non-Hispanic White persons in the state decreases, and the number of Hispanic persons has large increases. Across the full state, a larger number of persons are Hispanic than non-Hispanic White, and the majority of children in the state are Hispanic. Some specific counties show this effect more prominently than others. Example stats for San Bernardino County (5th most populous county) are below. The city of SB shows more extreme changes than the stats for the full county below.
- 1980 – 76% Non-Hispanic White, 19% Hispanic, Other = 5%
- 1990 – 61% Non-Hispanic White, 27% Hispanic, Other = 12%
- 2000 – 44% Non-Hispanic White, 40% Hispanic, Other = 16%
- 2010 – 34% Non-Hispanic White, 49% Hispanic, Other = 17%
- Current – 24% Non-Hispanic White, 56% Hispanic, Other = 20%
I expect the primary reason why my area follows a different trend is the housing costs are prohibitive, particularly for younger persons. The majority of young persons in CA are Hispanic, but older persons are mostly non-Hispanic White. People also generally prefer to live in neighborhoods in which their demographic group is not a small minority as well as live near family, which magnifies such effects. There are other HCOL areas within a short drive that are majority Hispanic. The few non-White residents in my neighborhood are often mixed families, with one White partner.
We do have a great little town! When we moved here it was depressed and stores were boarded up, so that is why we could afford to buy. Over time breweries and coffee shops opened up and the schools improved and now we look like geniuses buying in so early!
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i’m in new england. i think it’s a class thing (which is interconnected with race) as well. many of the people in my town have been living here for 3+ generations, and there were not many people of color in the area that long ago and housing is too expensive for many new families to move in.
As I mentioned on the other thread, my island paradise doesn’t even have a town, but we do have a lot of services nearby, both on and off island.
Within 5-7 minutes we have a coffee house, a brew pub, a library, a grocery store, a couple banks, and several restaurants, including fairly fine dining.
If we’re willing to cross the bridge to the mainland, within 10 minutes we’re in a small town with a lot more retail. Costco, Home Depot, Walmart, car dealerships, etc are all about 25-30 minutes away.
And I’m happy to say that, 5 years post covid, our libraries are now open more days/hours. The one in my neighborhood is even open on Sundays now. It has so much more than books - computers, puzzles and toys, arts and crafts, reading hours, book clubs, teen clubs, senior classes on how to use a cell phone. You can print things, you can fax things for free. You can get a pass (free) for museums and activities. Many people go there to read the newspapers every day.
I love the library.
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Health care providers of all types and great teachers.
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Yes! They sure do in my neighborhood. An independent bookstore opened 2.5 years ago. It is not only a place to buy books but there are several book clubs meeting there and also other events. Yes, the prices are higher but how does Amazon build community?
I know the bookshop owner - she told several of us that she started with a 3 year business plan and sales exceeded the third year projection in the first year! She has had to hire additional staff.
Both of my kids read and both buy books. I get most books from the library (I read too much to make buying all the time feasible) but I do buy several per year at the independent bookstore. I pass them on to my kids or friends, put on Buy Nothing or in the Little Free library on my block.
ETA: the customer/book club/event age range spans Gen Z through older baby boomers.
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Our small town used to have a great used bookstore. We went there a LOT. It was a great place for giving books already read for a store credit, or just buying books they had there. Independently owned, and I do miss that.
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A small bookstore opened a year ago in what could be considered a neighborhood business center. Surrounding it are a 7-11, a yoga studio, a dog bakery and goods store, a pub, and a just-opened restaurant.
The bookstore is great - diverse selection, new and used books. I’m going to have to see what the restaurant is like, as there’s nothing but a Thai place and bad Chinese nearby.
The city recently removed parking requirements from new builds, so more parking along the streets for the new apartments and townhomes going in. We’re lucky to be on a cul-de-sac. Light rail and buses notwithstanding, most around here have 2 cars or the cost of parking in the apartment building is so high that they forego it and park on neighboring streets.
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