James Howard Kunstler: The tragedy of suburbia

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In James Howard Kunstler's view, public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about. Reengineering our cities will involve more radical change than we are prepared for, Kunstler believes, but our hand will be forced by earth crises stemming from our national lifestyle. "Life in the mid-21st century," Kunstler says, "is going to be about living locally."

Channel: People & Blogs
Uploaded: May 17, 2007 at 12:10 am
Author: TEDtalksDirector

Length: 00:21:41
Rating: 4.72
Views: 32236

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Video Comments:
valhala56 (October 6, 2008 at 9:04 am)
The US may look something like Russia did in the 80's as their economy imploded.
It's funny People gave R Regan and the Pope credit for the fall of the Soviet Union. The real reason the Soviet Union came to an end was more like what is happening to US now. We may experience a similiar situation of displacement, high unemployemt, devalued currency, high crime, like the Russian gangster that flourished and a dcaconian law enforcement. This may take a while to we get where Kunstler wants it.
BanjoNaps (September 6, 2008 at 5:10 pm)
Deregulate the market. Let people figure out how to run their lives. Better cities will follow. DUH!
dtrailen (October 5, 2008 at 7:11 am)
It's precisely because the "market" is deregulated that sprawl happens.
realsamwise (August 20, 2008 at 2:36 pm)
I don't see the end of suburbia. I do see a death blow to the city. When people can't get to where they want to work from where they want to live, I see most jobs moving to them. Working from home or offices moving closer to them and into smaller towns. Most companies are downtown only because rents are less. Already the norm in Canada is the industrial plaza. People have fled the city where people go jobs will follow.
Cyrus992 (August 20, 2008 at 1:04 am)
Response to Scottit:

Just look at your comments page, find the latest comment, and then I will respond. Please do so!!!!
realsamwise (August 20, 2008 at 12:55 am)
See this is the problem. Small towns HAVE nice places but they ARE far away so nobody will go there but the small town residence themselfs. Put nice places near a city and add retail and it draws people from outside the area. This is afterall what retail needs, customers You COULD make this new urbanism a GATED situation but that will hardley make the retail there happy will it? Buisness needs customers, customers are people. If the point is to get away from people whats the point?
Cyrus992 (August 20, 2008 at 1:13 am)
Response to realsamwise:

Compared to what we used to build earlier, many homes that we bulid are unattractive.

We need to do better that gives our habitation character and we can function better in our daily lives.

Your small car by the way will not exist in the future. We need to use the alternative energy sources for other useful things like powering our buildings and producing products.

This will end suburbia..
realsamwise (August 20, 2008 at 2:48 pm)
Pretty or ugly its pretty much in the eyes of the person looking at it. I don't even know what character is as applied to a building. I do know that it not importiant to me. As the population ages and retires getting to work will become less of an issue and the jobs will go to where the few remaining workers want to live. I see a bus running to and from an industrial park from a suburbian housing developement and back every day as the way most people will go to work if they "go" at all
realsamwise (August 24, 2008 at 4:56 pm)
Here is why we are doomed. Today I saw Nancy Pelosi Dem. rep from CA. Doing EXACTLY what we can expect from politicians. Asking the government to release its oil reserves to drive prices down. Only price will get anyone to conserve. But lowering costs/helping the poor pay for oil is a ticket to office. She says "Natural gas is the way to go. "It's Cheap abundant and clean unlike fossil fuels". Nobody has told her natural gas is a fossil fuel and is neither cheap abundant or "clean" it seems.
realsamwise (August 20, 2008 at 12:49 am)
Well, my home isn't boxie. Its a 3200 foot single story rance with 10 foot vaulted ceilings. It has a three car Garage a huge deck and a large fenced yard. If it is ugly then I made it that way. It is a custom plan that I and my wife had drawn up. It is not a cookie cutter