By Joel Kotkin : forbes – excerpt
In recent years, homeowners have been made to feel a bit like villains rather than the victims of hard times, Wall Street shenanigans and inept regulators. Instead of being praised for braving the elements, suburban homeowners have been made to feel responsible for everything from the Great Recession to obesity to global warming.
In California, the assault on the house has gained official sanction. Once the heartland of the American dream, the Golden State has begun implementing new planning laws designed to combat global warming. These draconian measures could lead to a ban on the construction of private residences, particularly on the suburban fringe. The new legislation’s goal is to cram future generations of Californians into multi-family apartment buildings, turning them from car-driving suburbanites into strap-hanging urbanistas…(more)
The author covers a number of errors, omissions, and misleading spin by the state and regional authorities.
One of my favorite urbanist myths is that they plan to reduce waste as they cram more people into smaller spaces, like the over-priced cramped quarters Hong Kong youth are protesting right now. If there is one thing all humans do it is create waste, and the pile is growing as the throw away and replace economy booms. They will never reduce waste.
