The post war transformation of the United States into a suburban nation took the better part of three or four decades. I’m 51 right now. If the process of re-urbanization takes just as long, assuming it has already started mind you, I still might not live to see it in full bloom even if I keep doing my daily workouts, cutting sugar out of my diet, and I don’t get run over by a bus. Bummer.
But what if, what if this process of reversal is completely different? What if, unlike the suburban experiment, the infrastructure and the templates are already there? What if the roads, the streets, the sewers, the water mains, the power lines, the gas lines, and even some of the underutilized buildings are already there? What if even the vacant land was already cleared for use? What if the political, social, educational, and institutional infrastrucures were already in place?
Holy cow, transformation could take a decade…or less. Amazing. Every once in a while I get these optimistic thoughts. I try not to dwell on them too long, but I can’t help but wonder what might cause a shift like that, and what the tipping point would be? Gas prices at $10 a gallon? Heating oil or natural gas tripling in price? Could the shift be merely cultural, like with smoking or the legalization of marijuana?
I know that I don’t know, but I keep hearing people talk about the rebirth of cities…mainly because I listen a lot to people who like cities just like I do. I understand the idea of the “echo chamber” and I realize the danger therein, but sometimes, just for a few hours, I like to cast aside my aversion to such things and just bask in some irrational exuberance!
