AMERICAN CITIES ARE BUILT ON THE "CHEAP GAS" MODEL...
EUROLAND AND RUSSIA...ARE BASED ON EXPENSIVE GAS ASSUMPTIONS...
OK, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE...?
IN EUROLAND AND RUSSIA...THERE ARE HIGH DENSITY APARTMENT BLOCKS CLOSE TO THE CITIES...WITH SUBWAYS AND BUS SERVICE CLOSE AT HAND...
THIS RESULTS IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT...
MAINLY, SMALL LOCAL STORES, THAT ARE CLOSE TO THE APARTMENT BLOCKS... EVEN SMALL "FARMERS MARKETS" AND KIOSK STYLE RETAILING...LITERALLY AT THE STREET AND APARTMENT BLOCK LEVEL.
SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SHOP DAILY... AND NOT HAVE TO CARRY LARGE AMOUNTS OF GROCERIES LONG DISTANCES...
THE ONLY MODEL CLOSE TO THAT EURO-MODEL IN THE US IS: NYC AND PARTS OF CHICAGO...
MOST OF THE US WAS BUILT ON THE "CHEAP GAS" MODEL.
THIS INVOLVED...LARGE EXPANSIVE TRACTS OF SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES...WITH LARGE REGIONAL SHOPPING MALLS THAT PEOPLE DRIVE TO FOR THEIR NEEDS.
PRESENTLY, AMERICANS ARE SORT OF STUCK... THEY ARE STILL PAYING FOR GAS...STILL DRIVING FOR THEIR SHOPPING NEEDS...BUT ARE TOTALLY UNABLE TO "SHOP" NEAR THEIR HOMES...BECAUSE THE BUSINESS INFRASTRUCTURE...ZONING LAWS...AND URBAN SPRAWL MINDSET MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE.
RURAL AMERICANS ARE REALLY UP THE CREEK... SORT OF TRAPPED IN THEIR SMALL TOWNS NOW... SOME CAN'T EVEN AFFORD THE GAS TO GO TO THE WALMART IN THE NEXT TOWN OVER...
BUT INDEED, SHOPPING "LOCALLY" WOULD SEEM STRANGE TO MANY AMERICANS...EVEN IF THEY COULD...
CONCLUSION: AMERICANS ARE IN FOR A DIFFICULT TIME... IF GAS GOES TO $8 PER GALLON AND UP...AS I THINK IT WILL...THERE WILL HAVE TO BE A COMPLETE CHANGE IN AMERICAN CITY PLANNING.
