BIKE: Austin congestion is now decreasing!

[Dave W]

Mr. Moore wrote:
> I don't want to live closer to my neighbors and more
> people.  That is one of the reasons I moved to
> Austin.  Austin has lower density living than other
> places I've lived! This is a good thing in my mind!

Mr. Goetz wrote:
> This, by the way, is how human communities have been
> constructed (people living close together) for over
> 10,000 years (with the exception of the last 60 in
> which we plundered the earth in order to spread out
> and get some elbow room).

I believe Mr. Moore is expressing a deep, maybe even
genetic, human pre-disposition to seek a buffer
between self and neighbors, preferably as large as
possible.  His words remind me of what I observe about
the nature of many (all?) animals: to establish a home
base and defend its perimeter from competitors,
predators and other surprises.  I believe we all have
this instinct, whether we admit it or not. 
Fortunately, humans don't try to bite the mail carrier
when he (mine's a he) enters our space, but dogs do,
because they're responding to that instinct.  Humans
are supposed to know better and act rationally.

In the past, humans were either spread out loners or
congregated in towns and cities, but this was due to
economic necessity, not preference.  Today, people
forget we have so many choices that people in the past
didn't have.  They had to make do.  When people have a
choice, they sprawl.  Certainly cheap gasoline, cheap
land and plenty of roads help tip the scale in favor
of the sprawl choice.  But I believe the ferocity of
the defense of the sprawl "way of life" reveals the
deep seated nature of its pull on us.

Some of us on this list might make choices that appear
to invalidate this claim, by choosing to live in the
city.  But I would counter that these people (me
included) still seek the largest house or apartment we
can find that also satisfies our other priorities,
such as ecological balance or what have you.

Transportation economics have made it feasible to
sprawl and I believe it will continue until the
economics change.

Check out "The Spirit in the Gene" by Reginald
Morrison for more on the theory of genetic-based
behaviors and ecology.

Dave Westenbarger

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