James Kunstler is an outspoken critic of suburbia. His 1994 book "The Geography of Nowhere" provided a critical overview of American suburbia and urban development. He may be deemed as a polemicist by some, but he has many valid points to share. He argues that urban development must happen in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way. Cities need to focus on better allocating their resources in order to cope with population pressures. He thinks cities need to emphasize a sense of place where citizens can have the chance to meet their neighbours and not live in fragmented and socially disintegrated places.
I do agree with him that we need to re-think how we plan cities and how we can become less reliant on automobiles. However, he argues emphatically that there is no alternative energy source that we can use that can replace oil. Technology is becoming more sophisticated and as more funding is invested in renewable energy we may find a few solutions. There is a general addiction to oil and finding an absolutely substitute will prove to be very challenging. But the emphasis should be on creating more green spaces in the city accompanied with good public transit to attract the so called "urbanites". Is living in a low energy world really possible? Can our cities be designed in such a way that minimizes automobile use and maximizes public transit use? I don't know. I am still learning, in the mean time we can maybe ask James. Check out this video
s. If Kunstler and other critics are correct, and most signs suggest they are, the central question will become what to do with all of the homes, stores, and roads that we've built. On this, the NYTimes has had some good pieces on restoring the suburb. SH.
ReplyDeletehttp://arieff.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/what-will-save-the-suburbs/?scp=4&sq=suburbs&st=cse
http://arieff.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/saving-the-suburbs-part-2/