Tuesday, October 23, 2007

James Kuntsler 101

If you've never had the pleasure of reading a James Kuntsler essay on cities, sprawl and energy policies, have a look.

The eventual topic in the sample linked is Peak Oil, after a long digression about what it feels like on a hot day in Houston.

Punches are not pulled.

2 comments:

John said...

An excellent opportunity to recommend two of Kunstler's (watch that spelling!) books:

- THE GEOGRAPHY OF NOWHERE
- HOME FROM NOWHERE

They should be required reading for anyone involved on any level in city planning or administration.

Jim Bouman said...

Those books, recommended by John, are admirable.

But, the one with a special urgency is his most recent:
The Long Emergency, published two years ago, now in paperback. He discussed it with Milwaukee people at Schwartz Bookstore nine months ago.

He has a particularly appealing chapter dealing with which regions of the US will do best once the LE gets going. The Great Lakes states, by dint of geography, the resources of the Lakes, and the character of its residents and midwestern traditions and values is likely to weather the storms much better than the denizens of, say, Miami or Las Vegas.