Sunday February 18, 2007

American Dream, Downsized

peakoil.com -> thenation.com :

For the first time in human history there are more people living in urban areas than rural, and cities have grown like amoeba into megacities - so crowded that they have become virtual countries with complex ecosystems unto themselves. Tokyo leads the pack with 31 million residents. Seoul has 23 million, followed by New York and Bombay.

Living space, unless one belongs to that tiny percentage called the upper class, is shrinking as the human population continues to grow. While the rural poor leave open sky and rolling plains to flock to the edge of the metropolis - they crowd into ramshackle slums in the third world, or one-room units in the first - the middle class is clinging to its precious status by contending with far smaller living spaces than those of previous generations.

I went with some friends to look at a two-bedroom house the other day. It's a bungalow that was once the home of a working-class family in the 50s. Now, with skyrocketing prices and a prime location, it's out of reach for my friend, who is a single lawyer. The little house was going for a little over $1.3 million dollars. "My American dream," she said with a sigh, "has just been seriously downsized."

Of course, the further you go from the city, the more space you can afford. But there's a catch: if you want more space you'll likely have to exchange it for your time. The price tag for a front yard and back garden can be a four-hour commute every day. Today a condo is what most in the middle class can hope for in places like San Francisco or New York. I suspect that in another generation or two, middle-class homes in American cities will look like those of Tokyo today - which is to say, the size of a train compartment.

(2007-02-18 09:38:52 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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