BIKE: Austin congestion is now decreasing!

[Lane S. Wimberley]

Dave,

I think there's probably some truth to what you (and Mike) say.  But,
in my mind, the mindset that leads to sprawl and the far-flung
suburban lifestyle, is likely an outgrowth of rampant materialism.
The "supersize me!" attitude that bigger (and more) is better leads to
the desire for a bigger house and more stuff to put in it -- possibly
also to bigger families.  Cheap gasoline enabled land speculators and
developers to figure out that they could get rich by betting that
folks would trade an hour-per-day (or more) commute for a slightly
bigger piece of land, more rooms and more space inside their house.
I think folks are quick to weigh the value of money, but not the value
of time.  That's probably because, at least in their mind, with money
you can get (more) stuff.

I can't count the number of times that cow-orkers have told me that
they couldn't IMAGINE living where I live.  The idea of paying as much
or more than they did for their five-room McMansion out in Leander for
a tiny little cottage in town is unthinkable for them.  And, I only
have a one-car garage!

I remember when I was fresh out of college, newly married and just
beginning to pull in "the big bucks,"  I naively fell prey to the urge
to buy all that cool stuff.  (Never moved to the 'burbs, though; I
always loved old houses and living close in.)  Eventually, I grew to
understand that stuff is cheap, and in fact frequently a significant
liability.  That epiphany was a very liberating moment for me.

[BikeRelevance] Oh, and that vegetation on the north side of Woodward
just west of I-35 STILL needs to be cut back, out of the bike lane.

;-)

-Lane

Dave W writes:
> 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




_______________________________________________________________________
Lane Wimberley, Wayport, Inc.,  512.519.6195 (voice)  512.519.6200 (fax)
Southpark Commerce Center II, 4509 Freidrich Lane, Austin, TX 78744