Posted on 02/23/2005 3:23:06 PM PST by srm913
Excellent point.
I felt kind of proud while reading this article.
A fun piece. Amid the usual bilious cant about the horrors of suburban sprawl, he does have a point or two. A lot of newer, ticky-tacky suburbs really are bloody eyesores. I hate places where you can't walk because there's noplace to walk to--everything orbits around the mall, and there are no interesting destinations within a mile of home. I hate that, and a lot of these suburbs are exactly like this. I grew up on the south side of Chicago, crime-ridden and grotty. But we could walk to the supermarket, the library, the drug store, our school...it was, in that respect, a wonderful place to be a kid.
Another writer here makes a good point. Where the heck will Phoenix get all the water it needs to sustain this sort of thing? They're going to pump the land dry.
All that said, you can see that a goodly part of the horror felt by the author derives from his correct perception that the conservative whites who tip elections in this country actually like to live this way. Must scare the poor fellow to death.
Pretty much anything in the Guardian is neo-socialist.
That said I think all countries should evolve their own architectural, artistic and cultural ways by themselves as much as possible.
I hate the idea of everything looking the same.
The Guardian sucks, but I must say I was depressed to find that (while on a road trip to New Orleans from NYC) everywhere looks exactly the same. A photo of the main drag of Tupelo, Miss. could be mistaken for one in Connecticut, say. Same street signs, 7-Elevens, KFCs, mini-malls, etc.
Character IS disappearing from our landscape.
I live in the city, metro to work, and hate sprawl, but I will be the first to admit that the first part of the solution is for cities to clean up their own acts.
Not to mention profoundly obnoxious politics.
(San Francisco, Chicago, D.C......)
At least we have a lot of land in the US and can enjoy living on it, unlike the "Old country".
Without Googling, (Cheating) can anyone guess the population of the state of wyoming or that of Montana?
Each roughly the size of Germany with 89 million inhabitants. Gives you a perspective.
Obviously a Eurocentric perspective, however,he makes a valid point about the covenants and restrictions in most of these new subs that are really annoying. Personally, I don't like all those cookie cutter subdivisions. First they clear cut all the mature trees, put up at least 5 3000 sq. ft. houses per acre, only put brick on the front, and every house looks the same. This serves mainly to maximize the builders profit rather than provide anything resembling unique style or lot characteristics. Now don't flame me, I make part of my living in real estate and have nothing against profit. I just find a lot of these new subdivisions boring.
What a whiner. What's this guy's problem anyway?
Such mobile, often newly married, residents were precisely the constituency which Bush's election strategist, Karl Rove, so successfully wooed.
Oh.
The lefty's don't like the peons leaving their Liberal Utopia of the Big Cities.
Maybe a lot of the "sprawl" occurs because people are fleeing high taxes and overbearing Liberal Governments of the Big Cities.
I remember how you used to turn on the radio in different parts of the country so you could hear the unique "voice" or "sound" of that region. Forget that; nowadays everywhere you go, radio sounds exactly the same. It's all Clear Channel or Entercom or one of the other mega-corps. I have no political objection, really. In the age of the Internet, anybody has access to mass media. But it bothers me that the only independent, unique radio stations are run by colleges. Commercial stations have found they can make more money serving up the same old crapola from coast to coast.
At least that let Rush Limbaugh save the world...
LITERALLY.
He was the jaws of life in every sense of the word.
I understand your nostalgia, though. :)
It's voted down to discourage poor people from moving in.
The so-called "spawl" arises out of one of the highest rates of home ownership and lowest rates of unemployment in the world. Only a liberal could hate that.
Wyoming - population just south of 500,000 (my homestate, and proud of it!)
I once remember thinking the 70s tract houses in the Valley were ugly and nondescript because they were, in fact, ugly and nondescript. I know cuz I grew up in one. It takes about 40 years for a neighborhood to start to morph into something more interesting. Over time every house gets remodeled, trees get large and more various, as does the landscaping, new rooms get added, etc., etc., etc. What this author is complaining about is mostly the newness of these housing developments, as well as the newness of the retail centers nearby which are ALWAYS pioneered by corporate businesses before unique ventures move in. They're dull to be sure, but that will change eventually.
I'm with you on the small yard thing, though. That's a tragedy, but a result of explosive price increases in housing, which are in turn a result of shortages brought on by regulatory/environmental hurdles. (Have trouble getting a building permit? You make up for it by building as many houses on the land you manage to get cleared for building.)
As far as the McMansion thing goes, well, why don't you ask residents of most nations on Earth if they'd prefer to live in a McMansion or their mud hut and I think you'll gain a little perspective on the 'tragedy' of Americans having to live in 3000 sq. ft. domiciles. That's EXACTLY the kind of problem we want to have, no?
Next, my husband and I have a small family. We only had two kids, one is 19 and in the Army and the other is 15 and in High School. Where are they supposed to live? They will want their own homes and they will work hard and achieve the American dream someday, whether the author likes it or not.
.......and declining. :)
I love your state, used to live in Utah. Went to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone all the time.
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