Nowhere Land (Brit Blasts US Exurbs, "McMansions")

U.K. Guardian ^ | February 23, 2005 | Tristram Hunt

[srm913]

Nowhere Land. Hmmmm. It sounds like Tristram is trying to deflect the usual criticism of that little island north of France.

[Lorianne]

The biggest criticism is about water. Where is the water to support this level of urbanization in the Southwest?

[MadIvan]

Excuse me, but basing your opinion of Britain on what the Guardian publishes is about the same as we basing our opinion on you based on the Washington Post or New York Times.

Ivan

[satchmodog9]

More dwellings, less cities sounds fine to me.

[Wallace T.]

Where's the barf alert on this post?

[rottndog]

Jealous, whiny little leftist. I wonder where he would live if he had a choice?

[RockinRye]

Problem: People are building on developed land
Response: People have to live somewhere
Counterresponse: Radical population control; state-ordered abortion

[facedown]

Excuse me, but basing your opinion of Britain on what the Guardian publishes is about the same as we basing our opinion on you based on the Washington Post or New York Times.

No excuse needed, Sir. Point well taken.

Heaven forbid others should take their opinion of us based on the National Enquirer.

[VRWCisme]

I used to live in the southwest (Arizona, So. Cal, and New Mexico), and the irrigation factor is huge. To have a yard, you must have an in-ground automatic sprinkler system that you're willing to pay to use daily or else go out and move around the old hose and sprinkler all the time. The other option is to have a dirt/rock/cactus landscaping design. But of course, during droughts (which So. Cal. certainly isn't having right now but has had quite a bit in the past) even washing your car may be forbidden. With these areas growing, that problem could worsen.

[dennis1x]

the jealousy oozes....or is it "ooses"? the bluebloods dont like their "z's"...

eff europe.

[kingsurfer]

I live/sometimes live in Silicon Valley. I love the houses from the 70's. They have so much character and are really great and inventive structures. The modern Mcmansions are grotesque though. They are either grey or pastel pink or blue. They also seem to have no garden and are all carbon copies of each other. My old house was knocked down to make room for one of these things. Unfortuantley I did not have the million or so dollars to buy it.

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

"ancient" citrus groves?

WTF is this drone talking about? That's just laughable.

[grey_whiskers]

I friggin' LIVE in the Phoenix metro area.

The problem with the sprawl is real, but not for the reasons he paints.

First:

For those of you who haven't read a map lately, Phoenix is in the middle of a DESERT.
Translated: otherwise useless land, except for brush fires.

Second:

The problem is that everyone buys an SUV and has to commute an hour or more on crowded roads while talking on their CELL PHONES.

Third:

It is both too far to bike or bus to work (all the time)
and too HOT (how does 110 in the SHADE sound?) for half the year.

Full Disclosure: Yeah, I miss Minnesota. You wanna make something of it? :-)

[discostu]

Most of those housing developments are nowhere land. Ugly identical houses right on top of each other laid out with wierd streets at dumb angles to make you turn a lot of corners to get anywhere so it feels like you're "getting away from it all".

[Lizavetta]

I enjoy reading your posts, MadIvan.

[mc6809e]

Sprawl is what happens when people have to run away from the jerks. I'd love living in the city, provided I

• wouldn't get mugged
• didn't have to smell urine constantly
• didn't have to listen to all the noise
• wasn't a tax slave to the city government
• the streets weren't full of garbage.

Call me an elitist, but cities used to work when the adults were in charge and not the animals. There's just no way to control the animals today. In fact, they probably have more power than ever. The easiest thing to do is run away. I wish it weren't so.

[Teacher317]

Old Money never accepts New Money. Old story.

[Don Corleone]

cotton fields are being transformed into condominiums;

We don't need the cotton...we do need the housing.

[dog breath]

First comment is that nothing lasts forever, I would think that Europe with it's overgrown and buried old villas would understand this. How many foundations of old houses lie buried beneath the dust of ages there? The second is that building and moving around is in our national character.

[Starboard]

Those who flee to exurbia seem determined to leave behind the cultural detritus of city life: the minorities, alternative lifestyles, the sense of civic responsibility.

References like this and his horror over burgeoning Republican enclaves in exurbia suggest the author is a socialist who disdains social dynamism.