Sprawl is dead--never to return? Interesting article about spawl and the phenomenon of sprawl in Metro Atlanta... (house, buy)

[aries4118]

Sprawl is dead--never to return? Interesting article about spawl and the phenomenon of sprawl in Metro Atlanta...


The phenomenon of sprawl has passed into history | Jay Bookman





Comments? What do y'all think?

[neil0311]

Maybe so, but I'm wary of prognosticators who claim to see and predict huge sea changes in culture and our economy. How many people predicted the actual huge changes that have occurred recently, from the dot com bust to the recent housing market bust? Who predicted 9/11 and the impacts that would have?

What is true is that factors we can't see today or ignore will probably be the drivers that impact our society in the future. We always plan for the last war or the last crisis, and usually it's something new or unforeseen that rears its head.

[bizchick86]

Or how New Orleans was at one point a cultural hot bed and tourist mecca one day and the next people were questioning if it would be easier for the the city to not exist! Very good point neil!

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by aries4118

What do y'all think?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hahaha--sounds like wishful thinking to me.

[noah]

I agree. I think the trend generally is towards people wanting smaller homes (less utility bills, less work etc) and most people also want to be close to shopping etc. Building new subdivisions in the exburbs may not be close to shopping.

Many people are also choosing location and better commutes over a bigger house. I know several people who want smaller homes, say they don't use all the rooms and spend too much time maintaining them and commuting. If there are places where you can infill and sell a house or buy a house where you are close to everything that people want that is more desirable then being way out somewhere. Sure, some people will want to live in the country but more people will prefer to be close to shopping etc whether they choose urban or suburban.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Maybe so, but I'm wary of prognosticators who claim to see and predict huge sea changes in culture and our economy. How many people predicted the actual huge changes that have occurred recently, from the dot com bust to the recent housing market bust? Who predicted 9/11 and the impacts that would have.

I wouldn't be so skeptical about that if I were you. The fact is, there are quite a few voices out there crying in the wilderness with many things to say about where we're going, if you care to seek them out and know how to recognize them when you find them. (I'll give you a hint: none of them are on the AM dial and none of them are self-described 'rodeo clowns' for example.)

Not that this study has all the answers, but I think it asks a lot of the right questions. I've posted it on here before and will include it again here since it goes right to some of the issues raised by Bookman's piece.

Trading Places | The New Republic

[K'ledgeBldr]

Originally Posted by noah

I agree. I think the trend generally is towards people wanting smaller homes (less utility bills, less work etc) and most people also want to be close to shopping etc. Building new subdivisions in the exburbs may not be close to shopping.

Many people are also choosing location and better commutes over a bigger house. I know several people who want smaller homes, say they don't use all the rooms and spend too much time maintaining them and commuting. If there are places where you can infill and sell a house or buy a house where you are close to everything that people want that is more desirable then being way out somewhere. Sure, some people will want to live in the country but more people will prefer to be close to shopping etc whether they choose urban or suburban.

See the thread in the House section I posted-
//www.city-data.com/forum/house...-new-post.html

[atlantagreg30127]

I don't believe it. While I do think it will take several years before things get close to the way they used to be, at some point we'll see tons of cheap stick plywood homes popping up all over the place all over again. Maybe not quite as many brick-and-stucco shopping centers, but no, I don't think sprawl will be dead in metro Atlanta.

[High Springs Gator]

Immigrants will fuel sprawl.

[JPD]

Sprawl's not going away.

There's a greater liklihood that communities on Earth will sprawl as far as it possibly can, then the infill will begin, and eventually it will look just like that planet in Star Wars that is entirely urban.


Coruscant - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki