What Does Your House Reveal About You?

This article traces the evolution of the modern house and what it reveals about our attitudes.

1 minute read

October 9, 2003, 8:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


"The guru of New-Urbanism, Andres Duany, talks about a suburban monster house built recently outside Dallas. It is so full of domestic amenities that the owners have little need to leave. According to Duany, it represents suburban America's response to a public realm so degraded that people avoid it whenever possible....the home has grown larger, more suburban, less formal and certainly less rational; the hierarchy of public and private spaces, upstairs and down, has given way to a paradigm of pleasure. The hearth has been replaced by the television. It's the new centre of the home, the place where the family gathers to be together...In the suburbs, where the average family generates 13 car trips per day, the single biggest change in the architecture of domesticity is the multiple-car thrust garage, a structure so big it dwarfs the house to which it is attached."

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

Saturday, October 4, 2003 in The Toronto Star

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

People sit on wooden benches on a bus in Miami

New tax cuts may slash $1.5 billion in funding for Miami transit, public parks

Amendment 3 will save Miami-Dade residents homeowners $2,700 in 2028.

30 minutes ago - Miami New Times

Two men install solar panels on the roof of a house.

Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania hope to finally advance climate goals post-midterms

The three states have spent years under Republican or divided control.

1 hour ago - Grist

A close up of an American flag in front of the Capitol building.

Democrats’ victory may threaten act to expedite energy projects

Democrats may decide to vote against the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, and negotiate a more favorable bill once the 120th Congress begins.

2 hours ago - Inside Climate News

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.