Archive for the ‘suburbs’ Category
Wisconsin : Wake up!
Having lived in Madison for 4 years and Milwaukee for 2, I’m beginning to understand the Wisconsin scene a little better. From what I gather, the state legislature does not like Milwaukee. In fact, they seem to act with contempt towards Wisconsin’s largest economic center. Curious. Here’s an example : Wisconsin LOVES to build highways.
Holy smokes we’ve got highways. But public transit? No thanks. Passenger rail between Milwaukee and Madison? No way. Regional rail linking Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Twin Cities? Nope. Modern buses or light rail? Not on your life. Eight lane super-highways? YES PLEASE!
Milwaukee’s mayor is pleading for a sensible transportation strategy. I’m not holding my breath.
Barrett asks state to divert funds from I-94 project to mass transit – Small Business Times via kwout
Filed under Milwaukee, culture, energy, environment, politics, suburbs : Comments (0) : May 5th, 2008
It’s happening
Over the past few years, esteemed blogs (such as tadfad.com) have espoused at great lengths why suburbs are not a wise investment for our nation in general. Now, as gas prices are on the way to $4/gallon and the credit markets are tightening up, home buyers seem to agree.
Home Prices Drop Most in Areas with Long Commute : NPR via kwout
The part that’s sad about this is that almost everyone is going to lose in the end. We’ve spent trillions of dollars building not only the suburban homes themselves, but all the infrastructure to support them. As these areas become less and less desirable (and hence, less valuable), much of this investment will simply go to zero. The negative effect to the U.S. economy will be significant.
Fortunately, there’s hope. In cities all across the U.S., there’s plenty of space to expand. After decades of suburban flight, many neighborhoods are living with low population density and ample opportunities for improvement. We’ll need to act wisely as we re-urbanize and ensure that low income families aren’t forced out to the fringes. Again, history is a wise tutor as most cities dealt with mixed income housing quite well prior to WWII.
The key to this equation will be wise investment. There will be enormous pressures on state and federal governments to prop up the suburbs with cheap loans and road building. We need the forethought to gradually close the book on the great suburban experiment and rediscover what city life can be.
[Side note : Anyone looking for an investment opportunity? Check out the Riverwest neighborhood in Milwaukee. ]
Filed under Milwaukee, culture, economics, energy, environment, suburbs : Comments (3) : Apr 23rd, 2008
Suburbs : the next slum
After spending 40+ years (and countless trillions of dollars) building ever-larger McMansions, the subprime crises is beginning to unravel this misguided dream. Today’s suburbs are tomorrow’s slums.
The Next Slum? via kwout
Filed under culture, suburbs : Comments (2) : Apr 9th, 2008
James Howard Kunstler
One of my favorite topics to think, discuss, and write about is the geographic framework of modern America. (Suburbs). A major contributor to my interest obsession with this topic is James Howard Kunstler, author and lecturer extraordinaire. I saw Jim give a lecture once in Madison and was struck by how succinct and logical his thesis is (it helps that he’s an entertaining speaker). I followed up by reading a few of his books and I’ve been sold ever since. His main points are thus:
- Our current preferred habitat (suburbs) are not designed for humans. They are designed for autos. This is foolish, ugly, and causes psychological unrest.
- The American auto-culture is unsustainable due to oil scarcity and environmental destruction and we need to re-learn how to live in a lower energy intensity mode.
Of course there is more to it, but you should really do yourself the favor of reading one (or more) of his books. I suggest The Geography of Nowhere and The Long Emergency. If you want a quick fix, go read his blog, Clusterfuck Nation. It focuses more on #2 than #1, and is rather pessimistic (rightly so?) but it’s fun to read. Jim has a great writing style and uses delightful phrasing.
But don’t take my word for it. Check him out!
Filed under culture, energy, suburbs : Comments (6) : Feb 4th, 2008
James Howard Kunstler
One of my favorite topics to think, discuss, and write about is the geographic framework of modern America. (Suburbs). A major contributor to my interest obsession with this topic is James Howard Kunstler, author/lecturer/blogger champion.
I saw Jim give a lecture once in Madison and was struck by how succinct and logical his thesis is (it helps that he’s an entertaining speaker). I followed up by reading a few of his books and I’ve been sold ever since. His main points are thus:
- Our current preferred habitat (suburbs) are not designed for humans. They are designed for autos. This is foolish, ugly, and causes psychological unrest.
- The American auto-culture is unsustainable due to oil scarcity and environmental destruction and we need to re-learn how to live in a lower energy intensity mode.
Of course there is more to it, but you should really do yourself the favor of reading one (or more) of his books. I suggest The Geography of Nowhere and The Long Emergency.
Filed under culture, energy, suburbs : Comments (0) : Oct 30th, 2007
