Episode 86 - Sprawl Above All

What began as a harmless attempt by the wealthy to escape the poor peasants they were forced to rub shoulders with in the cities turned into the greatest infrastructural nightmare ever to be unleashed upon this world: the American suburb. Countless people and generations of their progeny who got swept up in the fervor of suburban sprawl experienced a radical shift in physical space that has left communities in shambles or precluded their existence and paved over much of the land we should have conserved for agricultural use. Economically, what began as a financial shot of adrenaline to kickstart the post-war economy has now culminated in a ticking time bomb of unpaid infrastructure and health liabilities threatening to bankrupt municipalities throughout the country. If that wasn't enough, sprawl is an ecological and environmental disaster that contributes more to climate change than any other development pattern.

We can trace some of these consequences to the early foundation of property law in the United States, as well as a handful of powerful men destined to drive a stake in public transportation and influence generations of engineers and city planners. More importantly, we can rant and rave for two hours about how much we hate the suburbs.

full transcript available

Subscribe now on: iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Soundcloud | Spotify | RSS | or search "Ashes Ashes" on your favorite podcast app.

Chapters

  • 11:21 A Brief History of Property Law
  • 18:03 The Birth of the Suburb
  • 23:29 Innovations in Housing Construction
  • 25:03 The Post War Economy
  • 29:48 "The Auto, Baby"
  • 35:47 What is Sprawl
  • 58:52 Early Zoning
  • 1:02:56 Divide and Separate
  • 1:13:08 Shopping Mall Financials
  • 1:17:35 Road Costs and Driving Pains
  • 1:23:03 Little Lords
  • 1:35:16 Bernays and the Suburban Experience
  • 1:45:39 Oh Yeah, Climate Change Talk Too
  • 1:49:49 Looking Forward

Recommended

(1) The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape

(2) Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck

(3) CoolClimate Maps: Average Annual Household Carbon Footprint by Zip Code

Sources

@misc{Allard_2018, title={Why poverty is rising faster in suburbs than in cities}, url={http://theconversation.com/why-poverty-is-rising-faster-in-suburbs-than-in-cities-97155}, journal={The Conversation}, author={Allard, Scott W.}, year={2018}, month={May} }
@misc{Balashov_2016, title={Why even driving through suburbia is soul crushing}, url={https://qz.com/698928/why-suburbia-sucks/}, journal={Quartz}, author={Balashov, Alex}, year={2016}, month={Jun} }
@misc{Benny_2019, title={Who is Moonbeam? ShoppingTown’s owner has failed other communities, too}, url={http://cnycentral.com/news/local/who-is-moonbeam-shoppingtowns-owner-has-failed-other-communities-too}, journal={WSTM}, author={Benny, Dan Wohler, Michael}, year={2019}, month={Jul} }
@article{Blakely_Snyder_1997, title={Divided We Fall: Gated and Walled Communities in the United States}, url={https://www.asu.edu/courses/aph294/total-readings/blakely%20--%20dividedwefall.pdf}, author={Blakely, Edward J. and Snyder, Mary Gail}, year={1997} }
@article{Casselman_Dougherty_2019, title={Want a House Like This? Prepare for a Bidding War With Investors}, ISSN={0362-4331}, url={https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/20/business/economy/starter-homes-investors.html, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/20/business/economy/starter-homes-investors.html}, journal={The New York Times}, author={Casselman, Ben and Dougherty, Conor}, year={2019}, month={Jun} }
@misc{Charles Marohn_2011, title={The Growth Ponzi Scheme}, url={https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme}, journal={Strong Towns}, author={Charles Marohn}, year={2011} }
@misc{Davis_2018, title={On Ecological Amnesia}, url={https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2018/11/08/On-Ecological-Amnesia/}, journal={The Tyee}, author={Davis, Wade}, year={2018}, month={Nov} }
@book{Duany_Plater-Zyberk_Speck_2010, place={New York}, edition={10th Anniversary edition}, title={Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream}, ISBN={978-0-86547-750-6}, publisher={North Point Press}, author={Duany, Andres and Plater-Zyberk, Elizabeth and Speck, Jeff}, year={2010}, month={Sep} }
@article{E. Fritz_1996, title={Disasters and Mental Health: Therapeutic Principles Drawn From Disaster Studies}, url={https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26990945_Disasters_and_Mental_Health_Therapeutic_Principles_Drawn_From_Disaster_Studies}, author={E. Fritz, Charles}, year={1996}, month={Jan} }
@misc{Goodyear_2013, title={The Threat of Gated Communities}, url={http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/07/threat-gated-communities/6198/}, journal={CityLab}, author={Goodyear, Sarah}, year={2013}, month={Jul} }
@article{Harvey_2003, title={The right to the city}, volume={27}, ISSN={1468-2427}, DOI={10.1111/j.0309-1317.2003.00492.x}, number={4}, journal={International Journal of Urban and Regional Research}, author={Harvey, David}, year={2003}, pages={939–941} }
@misc{Haya El Nasser_2002, title={Gated Communities more popular, and not just for the rich}, url={https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-12-15-gated-usat_x.htm}, journal={USA TODAY}, author={Haya El Nasser}, year={2002} }
@misc{Joel Tarr_Clay McShane_1997, title={The Horse & the Urban Environment}, url={https://enviroliteracy.org/environment-society/transportation/the-horse-the-urban-environment/}, journal={The Environmental Literacy Council}, author={Joel Tarr and Clay McShane}, year={1997} }
@article{Jones_Kammen_2014, title={Spatial Distribution of U.S. Household Carbon Footprints Reveals Suburbanization Undermines Greenhouse Gas Benefits of Urban Population Density}, volume={48}, ISSN={0013-936X}, DOI={10.1021/es4034364}, number={2}, journal={Environmental Science & Technology}, author={Jones, Christopher and Kammen, Daniel M.}, year={2014}, month={Jan}, pages={895–902} }
@misc{Kenton_2018, title={Voodoo Economics}, url={https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/voodooeconomics.asp}, journal={Investopedia}, author={Kenton, Will}, year={2018}, month={Apr} }
@book{Kunstler_1994, place={New York}, title={The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape}, ISBN={978-0-671-88825-1}, publisher={Free Press}, author={Kunstler, James Howard}, year={1994}, month={Jul} }
@misc{Mary Schons_2011, title={The Chicago Fire of 1871 and the “Great Rebuilding”}, url={http://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/chicago-fire-1871-and-great-rebuilding/}, journal={National Geographic Society}, author={Mary Schons}, year={2011}, month={Jan} }
@misc{Nairn_Monday, July 6, title={Raymond Unwin’s Town Planning in Practice}, url={http://discoveringurbanism.blogspot.com/2009/07/raymond-unwins-town-planning-in_06.html}, journal={Discovering Urbanism}, author={Nairn, Daniel}, year={Monday, July 6} }
@misc{Nic Cha Kim_2018, title={Initiative Underway to Replace Pipes That Date Back to the 1940s}, url={https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/environment/2018/11/22/replacing-la-s-aging-water-mains--one-pipe-at-a-time}, author={Nic Cha Kim}, year={2018}, month={Nov} }
@misc{Paul Jargowsky_2015, title={Architecture of Segregation}, url={https://tcf.org/content/report/architecture-of-segregation/}, journal={The Century Foundation}, author={Paul Jargowsky}, year={2015}, month={Aug} }
@misc{Reuters_2017, title={Inner-city living makes for healthier, happier people, study finds}, url={https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/06/inner-city-living-makes-for-healthier-happier-people-study-finds}, journal={The Guardian}, author={Reuters}, year={2017}, month={Oct} }
@misc{Shill_2019, title={Americans Shouldn’t Have to Drive, but the Law Insists on It}, url={https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/car-crashes-arent-always-unavoidable/592447/}, journal={The Atlantic}, author={Shill, Gregory H.}, year={2019}, month={Jul} }
@misc{Stromberg_2015, title={The real story behind the demise of America’s once-mighty streetcars}, url={https://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8562007/streetcar-history-demise}, journal={Vox}, author={Stromberg, Joseph}, year={2015}, month={May} }
@misc{this is only a test_2015a, title={A Memorial to a Bike Rider I Didn’t Know}, url={https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/2/23/1366178/-A-Memorial-to-a-Bike-Rider-I-Didn-t-Know}, journal={Daily Kos}, author={this is only a test}, year={2015}, month={Feb} }
@misc{this is only a test_2015b, title={The next public health challenge: Retrofitting Suburbia. Huh?}, url={https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/5/10/1383237/-The-next-public-health-challenge-Retrofitting-Suburbia-Huh}, journal={Daily Kos}, author={this is only a test}, year={2015}, month={May} }
@article{Vandegrift_Yoked_2004, title={Obesity rates, income, and suburban sprawl: an analysis of US states}, volume={10}, ISSN={1353-8292}, DOI={10.1016/j.healthplace.2003.09.003}, number={3}, journal={Health & Place}, author={Vandegrift, Donald and Yoked, Tommer}, year={2004}, month={Sep}, pages={221–229} }
Published 08-08-2019 02:32