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The ‘burbs have attracted entire generations of Americans looking for their own little piece of paradise. A small plot of land where they can plant a garden or put up a swing set. Play fetch in the yard with the dog or catch with the children. A nice little neighborhood and good clean fresh air.
They were willing to travel a little further to their jobs, in many cases suffering through brutal traffic. And they were willing to pay a little more in taxes since the suburban communities tended to have fewer businesses on the tax roles.
Although the tradeoffs are manageable in an economic environment where energy is cheap, the recent spike in gas prices has made the traditional American car culture much more expensive to maintain. We’re seeing folks struggling to make ends meet throughout the country. Since the general perception is that energy prices will remain high for the foreseeable future, folks are beginning to rethink their budgets.
Early in the week I saw my first article suggesting a major, but logical, way to handle higher gas prices – move. Move closer to your job. Move closer to the town center where you do your regular shopping. Move closer to your family and friends that you visit regularly.
I’d been waiting to see this article in the mainstream press. It makes sense. In many cases it’s easier than keeping the house but finding an acceptable job closer to home. And it’s sufficiently dramatic to make for a good story. It was bound to show up at some point.
However, I was surprised to see two more variations on the same theme show up shortly after. First we have this piece forecasting the death of the suburbs. And then there was this one focusing on the increasing attractiveness of living along public transportation lines.
In the Hartford area we have some public transportation. We have some of our big employers co-located downtown. And we have some urban housing. But we are not New York. My guess is that rather than focusing on true city living, folks will gravitate to the inner neighborhoods and towns to minimize drive time rather than get rid of their cars all together.
But if folks start moving closer to the city, what’s going to happen to the more distant communities? Who will live there and what will become of all the strip malls? Will they become the new ghost towns?
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