Grist talks with Steffen about cities, suburbs and exurbs. He sees little hope for sustainability in the outer rings.
"Q. So there's no point trying to show outer-ring suburbanites this future is in their interest?
A. One of the real problems is that we've spent the last ten years trying to convince that group that there is a vision of this future that is going feel to feel OK to them. I'm no longer convinced that there's a vision of the future that will ever feel OK to them.
But there are so many more winners than losers in this fight that it's a smart fight to take on. We are becoming an urban planet. We are already an urban country. When you add together cities and inner-ring suburbs and allied small towns, it's a solid majority of Americans."