James Howard Kunstler: The tragedy of suburbia

[Bill Kibbel]

...and the state of American architecture.

[utube]

[/utube]

[Brian G]

Hey Bill, where the heck you been?

I saw that one some time ago, and I agree with most of what he says. Nobody will ever think of giant box stores, umpteen-lane freeways, or sterile public buildings as "home", even in the broadest sense. I'm not so sure suburbia as a place to live is such a nightmare though, given most inner cities as an alternative. Will America ever get over being a car culture? Only if we fail to develop a successful, affordable new energy source for the next generation.

And how about the other side of the coin? A "great" architect designed one of those buildings he was criticizing. No offense to my TIJ brethern who have a foot in that world, but that field has more than it's share of nuts. [:-boggled

Brian G.

Happy in a Small Town [^]

[kurt]

This is a topic I would love to discuss in detail, face to face.

The American City, as we have envisioned and built it (city core, ring burbs, suburbs, exurbs), is a dead model.

The Chinese, Asians, and Arab Emirates are building the cities of the future. Just watch.

[Tom Raymond]

Your probably right Kurt, but the good old US of A can't afford to build something like the Palm Emerates Island. In fact we aren't even invited to participate, Canadian design firms and European and Scandanavian contractors have a firm grip on Dubai. Perhaps it's because we spend all of our time and energy on strip malls.

Tom

[Jim Baird]

I like Kuntsler but he is a little pessimistic?

A friend of mine is a city planner and had the pleasure of meeting him. Check his website. He's a pretty good painter too.