Gas Prices and Sprawl
Here's an interesting take on (some people's) conventional wisdom - that higher gas prices will result in the death of sprawl. The idea is that once gas prices get too high, people will move closer in to the urban core to cut commuting time.
The posting points out a variety of reaons why this is wrong - including looking back to the 1970s when gas prices first hit the "crisis point". Apparently more people left the core cities in that decade than any other in the 20th century.
While they didn't all pack up and "move home" to the city, folks in the 70s did turn to more fuel efficient (and in those days foreign) vehicles.
What I find interesting about this piece is the point that high gas prices might drive more jobs to the suburbs - where the workers live, and the impact it might have on increasing telecommuting opportunties.
And this,
Hat-tip: Instapundit
Predictions of the demise of suburbia, choked to death by high gasoline prices, may be greatly exaggerated.
Conventional wisdom suggests that high prices at the pump mean less driving and, hence, the withering of far-flung suburbs, whose residents must drive to jobs, shopping and recreation.
. . .
Yet in reality, these fears -- or hopes -- may well prove misplaced. Higher energy costs could make people look for work closer to home, which for most of them is the suburbs.
The posting points out a variety of reaons why this is wrong - including looking back to the 1970s when gas prices first hit the "crisis point". Apparently more people left the core cities in that decade than any other in the 20th century.
While they didn't all pack up and "move home" to the city, folks in the 70s did turn to more fuel efficient (and in those days foreign) vehicles.
What I find interesting about this piece is the point that high gas prices might drive more jobs to the suburbs - where the workers live, and the impact it might have on increasing telecommuting opportunties.
So if we are going to have an increasingly suburban and even exurban future, we need to figure how this can work in a high-cost energy environment. One sensible solution lies in the continuing transformation of suburbs from their old role as commuter bedroom communities into places that offer a larger array of jobs, cultural and commercial opportunities.
And this,
Suburbs also can benefit from the digital option. Single-family houses frequently have the "extra room" critical for work at home, and for people with children, the advantages of flexible hours and less commute times are significant.
. . .
These changes should inspire planners, architects, policymakers and those concerned about the environment to think about suburbs in positive and creative ways. Given our need to cut energy consumption, we need to think less about dragooning Americans back into the cities and more about finding ways to make all communities more self-reliant and less energy consuming.
Hat-tip: Instapundit
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