"Walkable Urbanism"

Yes I know...I haven't posted in over a month. I've been busy.

In the last 4 weeks, the price of gas has risen 50 cents a gallon. A friend of mine, the owner of a used car buseness (and--rarities of rarities--an honest, stand-up guy) tells me big cars aren't selling, smaller ones are. People are trading in their SUVs and vans for economical small cars. He even told me he is chaning the way he drives to save every ounce of gas he can. We spoke about how lucky we are to live in a small town where we can walk to most stores, and how people who live in subdivisions are really screwed because they must drive to do practically anything.

Now along comes this article on CNN, "Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?" which talks about how the mortgage crisis, combined with the skyrocketing cost of gas, is causing families to abandon (or try in vain to sell) their suburban homes in favor of "walkable urban" living. It's an interesting read, and dovetails with what my friend the used car salesman and I have been discussing.

A nationwide lifestyle change is underway.