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Suburban Sprawl vs. Design for a Post-Oil Age

submitted by Linz
1 decade 6 years 2 weeks ago

Enlightening, astute and surprisingly entertaining. Particularly enjoy his coining of the term "nature band-aid". Watch it. It's good for you.

*Note: some language that may be NSFW

"James Howard Kunstler calls suburban sprawl "the greatest misallocation of resources the world has ever known." His arguments bring a new lens to urban development, drawing clear connections between physical spaces and cultural vitality.

Geography of Nowhere, published in 1993, presented a grim vision of America in decline -- a nation of cookie-cutter strip malls, vacuous city centers, and dead spaces wrought by what Kunstler calls the ethos of Happy Motoring: our society-wide dependence on the automobile.

The Long Emergency (2005) takes a hard look at energy dependency, arguing that the end of the fossil fuels era will force a return to smaller-scale, agrarian-focused communities and an overhaul of many of the most prominent and destructive features of postwar society.

His confrontational approach and propensity for doomsday scenarios make Kunstler a lightning rod for controversy and critics. But his magnificent rants are underscored with logic and his books are widely read, particularly by architectural critics and urban planners."

From: http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/james_howard_kunstler.html