Paul Krugman's NY Times column yesterday, "Stranded in Suburbia," highlighted the need in the face of rising gas prices - never mind climate change - for Americans to change our lifestyles - our neighborhoods, our driving habits, etc. I'm with ya pal. It's a concept called Smart Growth, and it's nothing new. There's just finally a real incentive (with a $ value) for it to catch on.
I never thought that I would be giving a little environmental policy lecture in this blog (thanks to my ENSP102 professor I know this stuff), but I think that changing our style of living goes hand in hand with popular culture in that these types of neighborhoods and cities are only going to be built and lived in if the idea gets ... POPULAR, so here it goes. The principles of Smart Growth are as follows:
- mixed land use (allow for residential aka homes, "industrial" aka workplaces, and "commercial" aka shopping in the same zoning areas)
- strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
- take advantage of compact building design (not necessarily all small structures, but houses that are closer together, that use space efficiently and that are are efficiently built)
- create a range of housing opportunities and choices
- provide a variety of transportation choices
- create walkable neighborhoods
- foster a distinctive sense of place
The reason that the first few concepts are bold is because they are exactly what Krugman is writing about - and exactly what our communities need to shift towards if we are going to create a sustainable future. Mixed land use is really the key, especially when it comes to driving less. Think about living on a college campus - minus all of the crazy drunk 18-20 year olds - but for a different stage of life. Everything is pretty close together, and there are pedestrians on every sidewalk. You've got your shopping and you're workplace, and you really don't have to leave too much. And if you do, there's accessible public transportation - at least on my campus - to get you places.
So what does this all have to do with popular culture? Well, if popular culture is an expression of our everyday lives, then what does it NOT have to do with popular culture? Suburbia arose as a popular phenomenon, fueled by affluence and cheap oil. The idea of the LOCAL - community based living where we don't have to drive to the nearest sprawling parking lot / shopping plaza to fulfill basic material needs but can walk there, bike there, take a bus there, bump into our neighbors there, this is where our communities need to be heading. But in order for these communities to be built, people have got to warm up to the idea. And as Krugman points out, maybe our suburbanocentric culture isn't ready for it yet. But if not now, when will the tipping point come?
Check out the trailer to the documentary, "The End of Suburbia." It basically says what I just said in a much more entertaining way.
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