Homeownership Causes Sprawl

As long as homeownership is a fundamental part of the American dream, we won't have livable cities.

1 minute read

September 4, 2001, 7:00 AM PDT

For as long as there have been professional planners in this country, belief in the much ballyhooed "American Dream" of a house and a car out in the suburbs has reigned supreme. Urban enthusiasts may long of the days when American cities teemed with shops and pedestrians, but the conventional wisdom holds that as much as Americans may enjoy a taste of downtown now and then, at the end of the day they want the privilege of driving in their own car to their own house on their own patch of land out in the 'burbs. They always have and always will -- and woe unto any politician who forgets it even for a nanosecond.

Thanks to Daniel Lazare

Read the full story: Homeownership Causes Sprawl

Sunday, September 2, 2001 in Planetizen

Housing United States

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