Conservative commentator Cal Thomas captures the critical impact of the built environment on our sense of well-being and quality of life.
Thomas relates a journey into his past, as he showed his son the three houses that he, Cal, grew up in. The second of those houses, Thomas relates, "was small by today's standards, and it was close to our neighbors. That symbolized community. I knew everyone on my street and every kid my age."
Fast forward to the present, and Thomas's remarkable and frank revelation of how he--and tens of millions of his fellow Americans--lives today: "Now my house is super-sized ... I rent two storage rooms to hold stuff I don't need and no longer want. I am a "victim" of consumerism, and I don't like being caught in this web from which escape is difficult. A neighbor's house is up for sale. He has been in it less than a year. I don't know his name."
Thanks to David Stauffer
Read the full story: When Gas Was Cheap and People Were Valuable.
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority