To think our towns and cities are just so run down lately, and our standard of living has decreased significantly?

Yes you can easily end up in a place no one cares about with this theory, and as a result it will spiral into decline. A village or town that is loved and vibrant will be enjoyed by everyone, it will become a popular place to live and everyone benefits. It doesn’t take long to do a litter pick or plant some bulbs in the village, but the butterfly 🦋 effect is huge.

Many were done years gone by now...and although it's supposedly a planning matter now reading posts on the local groups about such is not really something that the council are overly interested in anyway.

I was about to come on and add the broken window theory as well.

This can also be applied to many other aspects and not just crime. For example if other people don't care about being rude or disrespectful to say me then why should I bother being polite/ respectful to them in return etc etc

Must admit there is a thing locally about this, In this particular area a certain culture move in, build a huge extension, render the external walls all white, the dark blue upvc door with curved glass, concrete or brick the entire front garden, lots of lights in the front. Did actually see a post of Reddit about those particular doors and members of those communities mentioning how all the aunties and uncles have them and it’s a thing for showing wealth.

Don’t get me wrong we have gravel part of our garden for a drive but still 80% lawn.

The houses and gardens all look nice though rather than unkept even without a lawn probably look nicer than my lawn and flowers tbh 🤷🏻‍♀️

I am in Wales. Planning permission/building regs generally not needed here for new drives, patios etc. providing certain conditions are met.

Are all these people getting planning approval?
No wonder we have more flooding issues

@Trumptonagain
if they have concreted the garden you should report them to the council.
You need planning for hard standing

I agree that tarmacking over front gardens, demolishing the front wall, for parking looks shit. I’m not sure it can be said to be an “immigrant thing”. I live in an overwhelmingly white British area and people have done it here. Most of the area has only been saved from it because the houses tend to have generous driveways and some of it is a conservation area.

Firstly not having a lawned front garden is quite common in lots of places in the UK for parking, ease etc. Secondly yes non-Brits don't have thi notion of lawns - often because you need a very particular type of climate to grown them, not too cold, not too hot, plenty of cheap and accessible water for irrigation. Most places in the world don't have that. However, as someone who lives in London - give it ten years and with climate change lawns will become too much of a faff even here.

Concreting over front gardens is common everywhere. Where I am, in a fairly affluent, leafy suburb, there are only a few grassed front gardens left. People want somewhere to park their multiple cars. One person ripped up the most beautiful front garden and made it into a car park, completely tarmacked over. They aren't immigrants.

I find this odd.

And more than a bit sad, TBH.

Walk around your area and talk to people...from all walks of life.

Because it's an area of a local town where, yes, believe it or not 98% are migrants, moving there due to being within their own community, as is something that happens no matter where in the world....and don't want their gardens grass....

Are you looking to trip people up or just looking for comments/replies that aren't there?

@insomniaclife totally agree- as per my post below citing a looking toward USA rather than Europe. - and yes thatcher- sell off your social housing and your utilities and it was the start of a different mindset which has created many of the issues we have today.

I have no idea what they even look and see no need to knock their doors to discover. Even if I had I cannot fathom asking their immigration status and asking if their cultural background is why they have have decorated their outdoors in the way they have. And certainly not for “streets” of people.

I know my neighbours.
I take the time to talk to them, I help with shopping or dog walking whenever I can.

No idea who my neighbours are nor the cultural motivations for why they make certain choices.

It’s even weirder to determine that a neighbours choice to pave their garden is because they are an immigrant.

Also PP said “streets”. I doubt she knows every single individual in all the streets she passes through.

Presumably they are PP’s neighbours and they know them?

Don’t you know who your neighbours are?

How do you know the people who concreted their garden were immigrants? And how do you know that’s s cultural vs. personal preference?

Why does concrete paving instead of a green lawn make something look “unkempt”?

@JHound I guess the pub when the sun is out. The beer bellies are out and the laddy blokes are all having a jolly

Where on earth is it the “culture for groups of men to stand on the street?”

And also how are “groups of men standing on the street” harmful in and of themself?

And who on earth told you “it’s their culture to stand on the street”?

Is it even alien? For example people have often congregated with their mates to socialise? My old neighbourhood there would be “groups of men” congregating in the seated area of a coffee shop of a late afternoon but I don’t see that as any different to congregating in a pub?

@User32459 Iagree that men standing outside is a bit threatening. Everything I walk past a pub with drunk British blokes outside pissed and mucking about just because there's a bit of sun out - I just wish I was back in France with the civilized people. But as they say in France c'est la vie.

Different cultures is fine, but when your culture is to have groups of men stand on the street all hours then that's a custom we could do without. If you object to it then you get told "it's just their culture" for grown men to stand on the street all evening.

Linkage...
I don't need linkage....I have eyes.
There's streets where it's been done.

As said its about areas looking unkempt, why do people have to deviate and turn threads into posts that bare no relevance to the original question.

Is there any linkage to preference for grass and immigration? And what does that have to do to the specific comment chain I was responding to?

As this thread is about whether our areas are becoming a bit run down and not as pleasing on the eye as in tidiness/picturesque I personally didn't read the post as other people bringing their values and culture as for instance religious beliefs and more that some don't particularly, for whatever reason, like grass areas and seem to prefer to dig it up and concrete it all over which in turn can make it look less appealing and more hardening the surroundings.