The High Cost of Sprawl

I'm just finishing a book by James Howard Kunstler entitled The Geography of Nowhere. Amazingly, Kunstler, in this 1993 classic, clairvoyantly outlines the consequences that are playing out now from the strip and sprawl mentality of land development this county has employed since the proliferation of the automobile.

Kunstler's tome is by no means the only book outlining the dangers of sprawl, but it's a very good read, and it was out well before this issue was center stage. If you haven't read it, I suggest do.

You can order a copy here:

http://www.kunstler.com/books.html


Is this a call to get rid of cars? Not at all. The automobile, allowing individual freedom of movement, is a large part of the American Dream. It's just that we've abandoned all other forms of getting from here to there except for the car. In the process, the way suburban development has been planned (or more appropriately, not planned) has manifested a built environment that is more expensive to maintain, more time-consuming to utilize, and devistating to civic culture.

Today in the United States, the cost of owning and operating an automobile has become the starting price for full citizenship. But that's just where the sprawl tax begins.

A Solution for High Gas Prices

Nothing makes the point like a timely 3-D art installation. James Moore, proprietor of a local bike shop, fashioned this nice assembly in full view of the "$4-a-gallon" parade. It instantly illustrates, in a very creative way, the ever increasing cost benefits of riding a bike instead of always defaulting to automobile transportation.

James is a great example of being the change you want to see. A long-time bike shop owner and, more recently a city alderman, he is a tireless advocate of "complete streets" and was instrumental in the creating of a local recreational bike trail - a Rails-to-Trails project - now 39 miles in length with additional construction in the works.

"Turn any car into a hybrid" he explains, "by attaching a bike rack to your vehicle." Drive in to work, park your car and run local errands on your bike - brilliant!

And James is slowly educating me on bike-riding etiquette and safety issues. A great example of why buying local is a key element of sustainable living. No Wal-Mart sales associate, cheap Chinese Huffy in box, will ever give you the "hows and whys" of biking 101, but at this local shop, it comes naturally.