On the heels of my 4 page diatribe response to Breugmann's lecture at Case a couple of weeks ago (regarding sprawl, I am sure you can find it, it is rather long) comes an article from Smart Growth America regarding how creating a society less dependent on the auto could actually be good for the climate.
Yeah, that is nice. Me, I prefer not having to spend over an hour each day getting to work or coming home from. I sort of consider that wasted time. Not totally wasted because I get to read a book on the train and the walk through downtown isn't that bad. I know I would rather spend that hour each day doing something else. Like talking to friends (yes, strangers on the train are just friends you haven't met, etc, etc) or building or doing something. I suppose I am just a little bitter that I can't ride my bike to work still.
Regardless, emissions control is a nice way to argue against long commute times, but I wonder is it always economically viable to live near where you work (or healthy if you work in a manufacturing plant of sorts)? And are long commutes times and sprawl necessarily intertwined?
Lots of generalizations to work out there. Until then read up on some (albeit slanted) October reading about global warming (was it really upper 80's today?!) and ponder how our culture has evolved and if we are really better off.
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