Suburbia

Why did suburbs come to dominate the American landscape? That is the "Why?" question of the day.

This is just one mans view. Let's look at some facts and history. In the wake of WWII, at the behest of lobbying from the banking industry, the VA (Veterans Administration) decided to lobby Congress for a Federal Govt. guarantee of the mortgages for returning veterans. The returning heroes would be rewarded with govt. co-signed mortgages, and suburbs were born.

Imagine this. The federal govt. has just agreed to underwrite and guarantee TRILLIONS of dollars worth of home mortgages. The bankers, the builders, the auto manufacturers, etc .... get together and decide how to maximize their profits from this benevolence bestowed on them by the American taxpayer. "How do we spend this gift in the most profitable way?"

The answer? SUBURBS. Instead of rebuilding the cities and pumping money into the rural communities, it was deduced that building NEW communities outside the cities but not quite out into the farm land was the way to go. Think about it.

If we build totally new communities, just far enough from the city .... but not so far as to be in the wilderness, what do we get? We get a totally new society of people who must buy cars to travel, for whom we must build roads, lay power lines, string cables and water pipes and on and on. Economic GROWTH!!! Everyone wins ... and every single returning veteran who buys into this scheme will be saddled with debt. For corporate America this is the best of all possible worlds.

Now what do we have? We have neighborhoods that look as if they were built in a factory, just far enough away from the actual civilization to require two cars per household, higher costs for electricity, water, and other utilities. We have two generations who cannot imagine going to the grocery store or the doctor or their job without getting into a car and driving there. We have two generations who must invest in lawn mowers and sprinkler systems and barbeque grills. We have two generations who believe that living amongst other humans in close proximity is subjecting yourself to crime and degradation so therefore ... for security reasons ... must migrate to the suburbs for safety.

Is it just me that understands this is nothing more than marketing? Is it just me that sees these "ticky-tacky" neighborhoods as not just irresponsible, not just poorly planned, but actually just evidence of the evil machinations of the powerful corporations?

What is the intelligent way for humans to live? Without question, suburbs are not the answer. What is?