New blog friend, Brian, has a good review of End of Suburbia, a movie about peak oil’s impact on the American suburb, with some predictions for the future.
The last part of End of Suburbia takes a turn from the thesis of a doomed civilization to more optimistic thoughts. They discuss the ideas of people returning to urban settings, sometimes referred to as ‘new urbanism’, where most of what residents need for everyday life is within walking distance (or at least a much shorter trip on public transportation or car). The filmmakers also touch on the idea of buying locally grown and produced goods to cut down on the ridiculous distances the stuff we buy and consume is transported (why do I need an apple from New Zealand in California?).
I think a lot of trends could mitigate the impact of expensive fuel. People will sacrifice a lot to keep their own fairly large portion of land and housing. However, on a personal level, I am interested in reviving the individual character present in pre-suburban neighborhoods. One can only stand so much widespread homogeneity.
Hello Chris, So kind of you to look in on my blog and the encourging words. I check your blog dayly and find it most interesting. Those things you read on my blog are being published in our local Liberty Hill paper. I am putting them into a notebook…..so some day… Do come by Balcones soon.
Hollis