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Favorites April 8th 2022

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Favorites April 8th 2022

David Watson
Apr 9, 2022
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Favorites April 8th 2022

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Twitter avatar for @AlecStapp
Alec Stapp @AlecStapp
Stunning fact: In Japan, the price of housing hasn't increased in 25 years.
Image
8:42 PM ∙ Apr 7, 2022
22,801Likes3,147Retweets

I'm gonna blow your mind a bit, but it's because they build homes and don't let local obstructionism stop them.

Twitter avatar for @LucasOfSunshine
Lucas 🧡 @LucasOfSunshine
And I thought the US housing prices were bad Christ
Image
6:33 PM ∙ Apr 8, 2022
1,315Likes169Retweets

I wanted to include these graphs just so you can clearly see that Japan has had noticable success compared to others. Although the US is unique in our misunderstanding of the situation.

Twitter avatar for @littlebrown
Little, Brown and Co @littlebrown
"If you want to know how powerful the European dream still is, don’t go to Paris or Rome, Brussels or Berlin—go to Kyiv." -- @rcbregman, author of HUMANKIND, writes about Ukraine and the EU for @TheAtlantic.
theatlantic.comWhy Europe Needs UkraineUkrainians have fought not only for their own country, but also for Europe, giving the EU a powerful reminder of why it was founded in the first place.
12:40 PM ∙ Apr 8, 2022
67Likes14Retweets

Bregman goes on: "Or as an American would say: 'Ich bin ein Europäer.'"

Downtown Mountain View, April 2022
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Favorites April 8th 2022

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Favorites April 8th 2022

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Salim Damerdji
Apr 17, 2022

Love the pic at the bottom

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2 replies by David Watson and others
Vahe Oughourlian
Apr 9, 2022

On the Japanese home building thing, part of the reason as well that buildings go up so quickly (and we're talking 3 stories or fewer) is, perhaps unexpectedly, the lack of good construction quality. For example, it's very likely your Tokyo home may not be insulated, which would help keep cooling costs down in the summer, but it's "just not done." It's much more likely Japan will be willing to burn a bunch more energy cooling and heating than they would building their homes better. This also marries to a number of cultural norms around putting up with things (they would literally announce they were cutting AC in the airport to save energy because of the grid getting overloaded), as well as around Shinto ideas about spirits inhabiting buildings and thus a family would like a new home built in place of an old one. Of course, we are gaijin and don't really know what we're talking about.

The only places that care about insulation in Japan, apparently, are places cold enough where it's critical like Hokkaido in the north. I can't find it at the moment, but I once had a great breakdown comparing American construction standards (which have their own issues) to Japanese ones, particularly with the experience of building/renovating for an American who moved to Japan. I think one couldn't even get insulation shipped down from Hokkaido for a reasonable price even if he could get his builders to install it.

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