Stranded in Suburbia

[JDC]

Sorry to ramble, but here's the gist. It's not just commuting that is going to cost more, everything from a gallon of milk to a tube of lipstick is going to cost more. We are missing the forest for the trees.

[ChiefJoJo]

More discussion on the future of suburbia (in 40 years) on the NY Times freakonomics blog.

Jame Kunstler's comments:

There are many ways of describing the fiasco of suburbia, but these days I refer to it as the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world.

I say this because American suburbia requires an infinite supply of cheap energy in order to function and we have now entered a permanent global energy crisis that will change the whole equation of daily life. Having poured a half-century of our national wealth into a living arrangement with no future

[aboutmetro]

I would tend to agree with the posts that the suburban areas that are commuter driven will re-develop as 'small townish' areas - that is for those that will survive and not decline into suburban slums (Chris Leinberger, Brookings Institute). There's an irony there. Folks who moved to the suburbs to escape suburbia, eventually begin demanding urban-type services.

Tyson's Corner outside DC is becoming the poster-child for reformed suburban sprawl. (Washington Post article.)

I think the disconnect between the 'American Dream' of homeownership and the changed instability of jobs and careers have been highlighted in this economic shakedown. Does it make sense to try to own a home if you'll likely have to job and even career hop several times? Many find themselves tethered to their mortgages and less able to jobhunt after layoffs. Eventually, jobs will come back to different areas, but they won't be the same jobs necessarily. How does the housing market address the desire for a plot of land and the likelihood of frequent moves?

Employers and (private sector) services will go where there are employees and consumers. If these suburban non-towns can transform to a model that makes economic sense with $3/gal + gas prices, they will survive, if not, what then?