The End of Suburbia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uvzcY2Xug

The end of suburbia is an awesome documentary about peak oil and what it means for us.  It really takes a good hard look at the suburbs and how completely unsustainable they are.  To quote James Howard Kunstler, "suburbia, an extreme, car dependent living arrangement" and "the greatest misallocation of funds in the history of the world."

I don't know why people choose to live in the city versus the suburbs and it would be silly to speculate.  However, one of the big drivers for our family is the whole unsustainable suburbia.  We feel the fact that Americans make up 5% of the worlds population but consume over 25% of its resources is just plain wrong.  We really try to live our lives in a way that we are aware of what we consume and what our actions do to the global community.  I believe that someday, people will be leaving the suburbs in droves.  The spit and polish that they have now won't last.  There is nothing historic or special or sustainable about them.  James Kunstler has said many many times that he believes the suburbs will be the slums of tomorrow.  Even in car dependent Houston, I believe this to be true.

Another side to this story is community.  People in the suburbs generally don't have community.  They don't really know or depend on their neighbors.  I know this sounds like a very broad brush stroke over the entire population in the suburbs, but I really believe it to be true.  People in the suburbs are TOO comfortable.  Life is a little too easy, you might say.  In the inner city you really need to know your neighbors.  You may need to depend on them someday.  Also, in a community like Eastwood, people are all working towards a common goal that really can only be accomplished if we work together.

This is what I want my kids to have growing up.  I know its certainly not perfect and bad things happen.  But, its the people you surround yourself with that matters.  Relationships are truly priceless.  I can overcome almost anything in life if I have a community surrounding me that supports and nurtures me.  It's too bad that most people today don't really feel like they need that kind of community.