Some suburbs will be successful smaller towns, while others will become ruins, predicts James Howard Kunstler. Unlike other urbanists though, Kunstler thinks big cities are in trouble when cheap energy disappears.
Kunstler writes that big "metroplex" cities will be in significant trouble:
"Categorically, they are not scaled to the energy realities of the future. Our giant cities are products of the cheap energy era; the arc of their explosive growth since 1945 is self-evident. They're simply too large and too complex. Everything about them is designed to run on endless supplies of cheap fossil fuels and the resources and byproducts made possible by them: steel, copper, cement, plastic, and asphalt."
He predicts that large U.S. cities will contract around their historic cores and waterfronts, and that trains and boats will see a resurgence given the lack of cheap oil to fuel trucks for deliveries.
FULL STORY: Back to the Future
Kunstler Explains Peak Oil
In a video interview, author James Howard Kunstler talks about peak oil, the effect of Mexican drug gangs on America's oil supply, and the diminishing returns of new oil-extracting technologies.
Energy Transformation Predicted in 12 Years
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
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Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions