Monthly Archives: June 2008

One of the standard tenets of New Urbanism is that suburbanites have lost their sense of community and social capital, and that higher-density housing can restore these things. These ideas received a boost when Robert Putnam’s 1996 book, Bowling Alone, argued that America was experiencing a severe decline in social capital, and blamed much of this decline on the suburbs.

Now, Rich Carson, who calls himself the Contrarian Planner, points out in a new article that Putnam’s thesis is simply wrong. Instead, Carson observes, recent research from UC Berkeley has found that people living in denser areas have fewer close friends and fewer soclal interactions than people in low-density areas. In fact, as density increases by 10 percent, social interactions decline by 10 percent.

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The latest dumb idea for saving the planet is being promoted in many Canadian and a few American cities: banning drive-through restaurant windows. Calgary is thinking of it. So are Windsor and several other Canadian cities.

Drive-thru McDonalds in Wai Gao Qiao, China. Click photo for complete story.
Flickr photo by McChronicles.

In the U.S., Madison is thinking of it. So is Leesburg, Virginia. San Luis Obispo actually banned drive thrus 25 years ago. Even though an informal poll found that 63 percent of residents think the ban should be lifted, the city council decided not to do it because it would be “unfair to all the businesses that have opened up over the last 25 years” — as if they couldn’t add a drive thru if they wanted one.

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports that San Francisco’s middle class is leaving, priced out of the housing market. Unfortunately, they got the reason for it wrong.

Click for a larger version. Flickr photo by (nz)dave.

“The trend of well-heeled and upwardly mobile young professionals moving into cities across the country, drawn by a newfound affection for the amenities of urban life, is by now well documented. It’s led to many benefits: Cities are revitalizing aging downtowns with new buildings and businesses, people are walking and using transit instead of making long commutes in polluting autos,” says the Chronicle. “But it’s also been putting pressure on housing prices for existing stock and, many argue, steering much of the new development toward the high end.”

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Researchers in American universities supposedly enjoy academic freedom, but don’t count on it in Australia. A Sydney University researcher published findings showing that obesity in children was caused by eating too much. But the official position of the state health minister was that obesity was caused by children not getting enough exercise. So the minister had the researcher fired.

Drawing by Joe_13.

Childhood obesity is a problem all over the world. Even European countries where people supposedly walk and bike more than in the U.S., are facing increasing rates of obesity.

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MSNBC has listed the 10 best places to live in America, based on similar lists from Forbes, Kiplinger, Money magazine, and other listmakers.

Portland isn’t on the list.

Houston is number 4.

Only one of the cities on the list (other than Houston, whose “wham-bam tram” is a joke) has light rail (Charlotte), and its light-rail line is so new that it didn’t play any role in the selection.

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