Will higher energy prices mean the end of suburbs? Urban planners and other utopians think so. More realistic Joel Kotkin says not so fast.
Continuing high energy prices will likely change the nation's geography, but not in ways some urban theorists are predicting. Rather than cramming more people and families into cities, they may instead foster a more dispersed, diverse archipelago of self-sufficient communities. From here, that looks like a far more pleasant scenario not only for suburban and exurbanites but for urban dwellers who don't want to live under dense conditions reminiscent of 19th century industrial cities or the teeming metropolises of the contemporary Third World.Posted by Alan at July 6, 2008 04:22 PM