I notice this "monocultural blandifying" of the landscape whenever I drive home to visit my family. It is overwhelmingly depressing; every quadrant of the city looks exactly the same, with its unremarkable architecture and numbing recurrance of the same ten stores.
Just saw an interview of JHCunstler on RT News. He admitted he voted for Obama. For all his worthless yap about the obvious, the man is a brainless shithead when he can't do the ONE fucking practical thing a voter could have done: NOT give one BIT more power to a terrorist. Anyone who votes for Republicans or Democrats is anti-American unpatriotic subhuman scum.
He had his chance to vote for Ralph Nader but he blew it.
He has ZERO right to preach against "delusional beliefs".
@mphello I just watched the same interview and half of it was him talking about how the timemay be right for a third party. Also this video is 4 years old. You have to be open to the idea that people can learn work together and move forword. Progress and innovation usually comes from people who have made many mistakes in their atttempts to inovate. Without that spirit of action we just continue on the downword spiral of moral decay.
@grecorivera Only when you let everyone out of prison and work together with them,
and ignore these arbitrarily-created government labels like "convict" or "criminal",
and treat prisoner just like the soldiers they are, who fight for whatever cause THEY believe in that put them in prison, even if you disagree with that cause (rape, child molestation, terrorism, murder) - then I will take what you just said seriously.
@grecorivera What your suggesting is complete anarchy with no working together whatsoever. If we had no government at all then yeah they could be free because it would be up to those of us who didn't want rapist and child molesters around to deal with them ourselves. These criminals are jailed to protect themselves as much as to protect society. They would be put down otherwise. We need to let out all the non-violent criminals and end the drug war our system is definitly flawed.
I never understood that from America, yes New York is pretty dens but i don't want to be their cuz it aint no "Place" it are a lot of high buildings with a alot of Money in it.
Going to the mall a giantic field of car places.. not not talk about how long you should drive through the mall... :s
JHK: "we don't have... the cathedral plazas... of other cultures." In a way, we do. The big box retail stores are our cathedrals and our parking lots are the plazas. We've managed to monumentalize the trivial.
I agree with the problem just not the way he went about presenting it. Our troops overseas are not defending. They are conquering. Also, his cursing may be comedic for 5th graders, but at TED the bar is a bit higher than that. Go ahead and swear I don't care, but don't try to force it as a joke.
@ramine Don't just be a sad sap and just say with the economy you don't think it will be viable. Fuck the economy! Those damn bastards in government don't give a fuck about anything except keeping their jobs, stuffing their pockets with cash, and hoarding all the planetary resources. This system of the world humans is on life support... time to pull the plug!
This video has been very inspiring to me and I tried to tell people I know about it but they called me a hippie for it... Well I suppose I might have to rethink my likings to this video but I just can't ignore what he is saying here.
I was a town planner for 10 years. During this time I became increasingly aware of the "false economy" that was being generated at the expense of the environment and the community. A vicious cycle has been created by developers and government departments to silence community & increase revenue. Money via donations is exchanged in order for developers to get 1st preference over the community and hence the lack of parks and open spaces in exchange for more units to drive the "false economy".
James Howard Kuntsler is spot on in his arguments about the need to re-establish harmonious community living space with architectural design that embraces and encourages the people living in it. I live in New Orleans's Garden District. I live close enough to walk to restaurants, bank, drug store, grocery, etc. The architecture is beautiful and timeless. It is also visually distinct. When I go elsewhere in much of the U.S., I have a hard time finding my way around.
it makes me sick. i am getting transfered to vegas, and every house i see is 1/4 acre,, you can spit out your window and land on your neighbor, cookie cutter house. and none of them have a park, cafe, bookstore, whatever..that i can walk to.
open bing map, switch to 'birds eye vew' and type in winchester park..then just pan around for miles in any direction. you will see the beauty..
i went to a fascist looking school like that in vegas, truly a soul sucking experience. Its true though that people who designed these spaces just made a collective "fuck it" decision. And that is how these spaces make people feel about life.
As a British person I don't think I could possibly understand what an American suburban landscape looks like in practice- you can't get the feel of it from a few pictures. There just isn't the space for it on these overcrowded islands. As it is, I live in a suburb on the edge of a medium-sized town, complete with local shops a few minutes walk away and a town centre less than an hour's, which you can get to easily by bus. Still, so many prefer the supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks...
@thelyniezian I grew up in an American suburb. I think the most important thing to grasp if you want a sense of what it's like is the fact that nothing is within walking distance except concrete, a few scraggly trees, and ugly buildings like Kunstler's examples. Miles and miles and miles of vast stretches of concrete and ugly identical houses and a few prisonlike schools. If you want to get to any store its a 15 minute drive.
While studying for my CNU-A credential, I believe in the concept of optimization, a conservative and ancient concept. I found this professor to be knowledgeable in the concepts; however his delivery is quite ghetto and alarmist. His delivery is as effective as Al Gore.
@Kylsport Quite the contrary, his delivery is straightforward, witty and factual, the opposite of "I invented the Internet, along with global warming" Al Gore. What parts of his address alarmed you and caused you to visualize lower socio-economic urban areas ?
@ITILII the delivery was like if we don't do this, this is what is going to happen. Instead, he should paint the scenario and not use to much emotional language. I am not saying what he stands for is wrong, but present us with case studies (as many other professors have) where it has been a proven fact that the type of developments are unsustainable.
I love the irony of a BMW commercial, one set in lovely natural environments, purporting all-natural fuel use, following Kunstler's lecture. It's so fitting as to be tailor made.
Why would anyone think that urban development= communist?? Building for people, and not JUST cars is the same as controlling your life? Paranoid much? If work, home, friends and the places you like to hang out are all within a mile or so of each other, you just eliminated your daily need for a car, and gas, and insurance, and car payments, and registration, and taxes....but this is America, and to each their own I guess.
@AroundSun Certainly. The great thing about America is that you CAN make that choice. There are plenty of people who don't like the hustle and bustle of city life, want to take it easy out in the country, and want to drive large vehicles. I would feel kinda sorry for you if you drove an F550 on long commutes though, that can't feel too good in the wallet ;) but if its a working truck, then you gotta do what you gotta do.
If liberals hadn’t spent the last 50 years decriminalizing crime, treating city services as a jobs program for democrat voters, raising the poor against the middle class, then maybe the cities wouldn’t have been so dire, sparking the exodus to the suburbs. Urban planners should spend more time respectfully listening to suburbanites, rather than just trying to sweep them back into the ant pile.
@TheSanityInspector .Great point,I totally agree,.The fucking Liberals screwed up where I live openeing up methadone clinics for junkies and allowing criminals early prison release. A once great neighbouhood is now in decline. The funny thing is that the Liberal politicians who pushed for these policies don't live in my neighbourhood,they live in a nice leafy suburb.
I have been looking at American cities and towns through Google Earth, and I have to say the square 'block' arrangements and the huge parking spaces are characteristic of American cities, yet this is the problem. Compare them to Europe. No green spaces, no character in the architecture of the buildings and huge blocks of shopping malls instead of market plazas. However, I believe it's too late for America to change its urban ways.
@theTimothyDeLaGhetty America can change it's *suburban* ways. It's just going to be a huge effort, by rebuilding and retrofitting. What Kuntsler is proposing will eventually *have* to happen, for various reasons. Remember, the "American lifestyle" is only an experiment since WWII. It's not really "normal", although most Americans think it is. Can you blame them? Everyone under 75 hasn't known anything else. Look to history. What goes around comes around. And, what works will always be urbanism.
@theTimothyDeLaGhetty I disagree with you about it being too late. Rather it is the American way to respond only after the problem(s) rear it (their) ugly face(s). We will change, but only when we HAVE to. Until then we will continue on our merry ignorant ways. People like this guy are big thinkers who are already drawing plans for tomorrows "new urban" developments. Gas prices are going back up, which helps a little....
@onionofdeath planning new urban developments for us to live in? Sounds like a communist country. People have to change voluntarily, no central planning necessary. When the resources become less and less available the prices will rise causing incentives to look for alternatives.
@AroundSun Yes but when I say we will change when we have to, I mean when gas is like $10 with a 30+ mile commute. If you want to live in your suburban home, with your suburban commute, you have every right to do so. I was also saying that as a whole, Americans are retroactive and not proactive when it comes to big problems like sprawl. Also having only one entity plan is bad, you need multiple entities following an overall plan they all contribute to, with each having their own unique outcomes.
@onionofdeath I understand what you are saying, let everyone bear the responsibility of their actions individually. It is excellent to have ideas and to be able to inform people of them, but I just get nervous when government intervenes in almost any situation. Government action is force in your social life and in the economy. I am not a fan of central planners in Washington running my life. You are right, collectively, we will continue the same path until we can not afford it any longer.
@AroundSun "central planning" in the USA, is as old as the USA. Ewen rural townships a the product of central planning Do U really believe suburbia was spontaneous? Yes planning can get to restrictive, but anarchy lead to waste and conflict
@5lkk I am talking about Central Planning in the economy. I am talking about the Federal Government doing ANYTHING outside the limits of its constitution. I am not an anarchist. The government should control the courts, police, and defense. Almost nothing else. I don't think the government should be deciding who will live where.
I have always been obsessed with town planning. I drew random maps and real maps when I was a kid, and I played Sim City in my teens. I live in Sudan, and lemme tell you, Khartoum is a city with no central business district, a decaying city center, and clogged narrow roads. Out of interest, I have drawn an entire scheme for roads and transportation and have rearranged the residential and commercial zones. Only problem is, where can I submit it?
coming from a suburb, this video did a really good job explaining a lot about me, that I didn't even realize. I'm currently in Paris, and I think its such an amazing city; not in history of the city, but in the way the city as a whole is a personally satisfying place to spend time in. I'm sure the same could be said for NYC or any other big city, but its really amazing. I don't think we should move the country into the city, but I think we need to change the way our suburbs are set up.
@christmasboi31, you are right about what defines the nation...but thats not really what he is talking about..he is an architect and criticizes other architects and arch practices... i totally end my meetings with the word "fuck it", lol. You can't escape it. hHwever thats not what rules the outcomes of our projects... Arguing for the "main street" architecture is cool, but its outdated, things dont work that way anymore
This guy is stupid. Its not the cities and buildings and structures that define our nation and our culture and our people, its the inhabitants and how we use these spaces that define our nation. His life must suck if this is how he views the world.
Actually, the public realm is the physical manifestation of the common good and the common bad. I'm not disagreeing entirely with what this guy says, but I think he needs to understand that fact. The public realm includes great things (such as parks, recreation centers, monuments, libraries, etc.); however, it also includes the "places not worth caring about," like the strip malls that thousands of people utilize every day. This man is wealthy and probably has no idea what it's like to be poor.
@BeyondRelativity The poor usually can't even access those strip malls. It's one receive why a large number end up feeling secluded and opting for McDonalds. Heck, these communities become rather dangerous. Usually there is more emphasis on strip malls than "places worth caring about", and I've been to hundreds of suburban cities.
@raptorkiller2k5 Can't access strip malls? Strip malls are accessed by a great number of people, many of them poor. I don't mean to sound like a right-wing douche, but this guy really is being an "elitist." He makes reference to the use of space; particularly, the way HE wants to see it used. He doesn't once consider that many people don't want it used in the same manner. I sense this man has enclosed himself in his own little world.
I LOVED this lecture and concur 100%, however, if we are to turn this ship around, STABLE employment will have to replace this at-will, short-term stuff. Most of us don't commute crazy distances because we enjoy driving; we found housing where we could afford it, and our jobs change all the time thru no fault of our own. If I could get a long-term job and buy a home nearby it, I would gladly cycle to work every day as I do when I have that luxury where I live now.
Kunstler has an interesting point about future architecture. Just as he suggests, we should revert to older practices that gave our town and city buildings character. It is atrocious that developers can get away with these eyesores of buildings just to knock out a project, get their money, and get out. We cannot afford to waste more resources on "failed malls"! Instead, buildings need to have cultural character, purpose, and proper spacing with regard to ecological preservation.
how does living in proximity to someone make you easier to keep track of? we all have pass passports and social security numbers.
secondly, if you hav edone nothing wrong, you having nothing to worry about. it is good to keep track of people so that we can catch the bad ones in the bunch.
The final note on the prevalence of the word "consumer" is so right on. "Consumer spending is down", etc. I get so tired of people being reduced to the word "consumer".
@sanddreams0 In this culture, you are either a "consumer" (still have resources to be extracted), or a "commodity," (no resources of your own, but can be warehoused and moved around on the public dollar). Sickening.
one of the best TED lectures I have ever seen. The bite of his energy and enthusiasm is refreshing in the sea of academic neutrality that is often found in these discussion. A great historical record as well
Is the problem that planners are forcing us to live in higher density areas, or is it that the military/oil industrial complex and mass marketing are forcing us to be dependent on cars and a fossil fuel based lifestyle?
I think it is the latter. When it becomes impossible to be a fully functioning citizen without owning a car, that is what you would call - living in a state of car and oil dependence. That is not freedom. A range of transport options = freedom.
@svenvelo You are totally right. The accommodation of car use - through freeways and free parking - has made it a prosthetic device and necessity for local trips in post-WW2 suburbs, rather than a liberating option for long-distance trips (as it was before WW2).
Main problem with Kunstler is he misunderstands the politics that got us here. It was largely the field of "urban planning" and zoning laws that gave rise to suburbia in the first place. Why are mixed use neighborhoods and buildings so rare in some cities? Because zoning laws make that illegal. How come most people can't walk to work? Zoning laws prevent resi-biz areas in many cities outside of specially designated "urban core" areas which are basically for show
This fucking waste of oxygen spoke at my college in 2003. I remember him saying (among other ridiculous things) that within a decade Americans would be relying heavily on water for transportation, i.e. boats, ferrys, etc. Now, nearly eight years later, Nostradamus here is still spouting predictions about city planning and urban sprawl (by the way, I do realize this vid is from 2004). His name is fitting, cause when I hear him speak the first word that comes to mind is CUNT
Thank you Mr. Kunstler for trying to educate the hopelessly retarded public. This clip only has 83000 hits unfortunately because you don't talk about shooting anyone and you don't have massive breasts.
"Consumers do not have obligations, responsibilities, and duties to their fellow human beings" This statement is a powerful one and one that I believe in. We're not consumers who eat the civic choclate bars from the shelf. We don't have a choice in consuming the "products" given to us by government. All we can do is demand through engagement what we need and desire as citizens.
To say we are "consumers" is to say we are an opportunity to be exploited for profit and gain. We are people.
More people should speak w/o microphones. Because MEN'S voices resonate differently than womens. I think God designed our voices that way for a reasonable purpose.
"places not worth caring about?" Who does he think he is?
"We don't have the 1000 year old cathedral plazas and market squares of older cultures" Well on the other hand we don't have witch burnings or slave auctions either!
A final note.... I like the smiley face water tower! I am having a better day just seeing the picture of it! Hope everyone has a nice day!! : )
(even if you don't live in Saratoga Springs NY like Kunstler)
"places not worth caring about?" Who does he think he is?
"We don't have the 1000 year old cathedral plazas and market squares of older cultures" Well on the other hand we don't have witch burnings or slave auctions either!
A final note.... I like the smiley face water tower! I am having a better day just seeing the picture of it! Hope everyone has a nice day!! : )
(even if you don't live in Saratoga Springs NY like Kunstler)
@pamelanc2010 WalMart is a slave auction...just restructured. And Smiley faces have no syntax, they are hollow and meaninless. Put simpilly, they don't encourage you to think, they encourage you to not think.
@pamelanc2010 i don't really think anything i said qualifies as opinion, but i guess that's just my opinion. I honestly think of it as truth, and sadly there aren't many people standing in line for the truth.
@pamelanc2010 What he's saying is that those kinds of places don't engage us beyond their stated function eg. the only thing that massive road is good for is driving on, the only thing that massive big box is good for is buying groceries in. When was the last time you sat on a bench next to a road that size to have a chat with a friend? When was the last time you sat in a parking lot outside a big box with a coffee? They don't engage you at all and are therefore a missed opportunity
and britain too. despair comes from the people and manifests itself outwardly into their environment which then feeds back on itself. media too. its a self perpetuating system leading to once removed reality and disaster. britain is a failed state. dont get wrapped up in the madness. thanks for a glimpse of reality and refusal to feed the psychosis other media and advertising and government perpetuate. its not just physical places its society and people too this applies too. its greed and money
Schools that look like prisons, strip malls made of concrete, fast-food restaurants, malls surrounded by massive parking lots, we need an intervention, but what can people do?!?
He has great ideas, the concern is that many groups and individuals including Randal O Toole and Wendell Cox are against his ideas because they have limits on detached housing expansion and limit freedom. If New Urbanism does its more of its planning in a free market and does have huge percentage of its housing as deatched, then it CAN propser... Infact the NU town of Celebration, and the late 1800's suburbs are great examples...
Kunstler is right. We live in a country full of places not worth caring about, filled with people we don't want to be around who don't want to be around us or each other, and therefore in a country not worth defending. If the Chinese invade (assuming the Russians and the Canadians permit it for the Chinese definitely won't come over the sea and assuming TPTB won't launch our nuclear arsenal at them) we will say, "FUCK IT!"
He knows nothing about transport physics and nothing about modern transport technology. We can easily use a fraction of the fuel we use today with serious modifications in transport infrastructure - using mostly electrically-based vehicles, and direct road-based electrification.
The idea of changing the city to meet the needs of a rail system is ridiculous and outrageously expensive; it will be that we change the transport system to meet the needs of the city.
@bananian Not really. I'm making the point that we will never need to reform our cities to meet the need of costly oil - far too much room to move with strategic car design.
Smart Growth advocates act as though we can't change our cars (wrong), and they use this as an excuse to *force* people into higher-density living - whether they want to (as individuals) or not.
If you need to drive everywhere you go, then people who can't afford cars will be disadvantaged and you are going to have traffic jams here and there b/c everyone depends mainly on one mode of transportation. If you go to Hong Kong, you see that walking and taking public transit is MORE convenient than driving, which leads to less pressure on the road traffic and hence no 8 lane highways. You can't do that without a well planned city.
@bananian . The reason why driving is hard in Honk Kong is because of the extreme density: Higher density cities create more congestion that lower density cities, because you are only concentrating more transport demand over a given restricted area (which is what "Smart Growth" is all about).
You might like to check out my own statement on the issue. Google: "building utopia" and "smart growth".
The reason driving is inconvenient in HK is b/c you have to worry about parking spaces. People often have to park on busy roads, which is difficult. There are parkades but they are often packed as well. Hence, more people prefer walking over driving. Now, I'm not saying every city should be like HK, but there should be viable transport alternatives for ppl other than cars.
Also, don't tell me sprawled cities don't have traffic jams. eg. LA.
@bananian Yes. More population growth = more traffic congestion. It's just that accommodating for population growth with lower densities leaves you with less congestion that with higher densities, for the same population size. This has been demonstrated all over the world, and is logical.
-Apparently LA's wider area is higher density than NY. Manhattan is only a small part of NY.
I'm not sure where you get that. LA has a pop'n of 3.8 million and a pop'n density of 8,205ppl/sq mi. Hong Kong has a pop'n of 7 million and a pop'n density of 15,737 ppl/sq mi. Yet, traffic is worse in LA.
So, maybe it's the opposite. Lower density leads to more people relying on driving, which puts greater demand on roads.
@bananian also, suburbs (LA is a giant suburb) funnel traffic into larger and larger avenues. You don't drive through neighborhoods in LA, you drive around them.
@bananian Wendell Cox from Demographia has done a broad studies (not cherry-picking cases that fit prejudice) for many years. He has basically proven that higher density cities lead to more traffic congestion than lower density, which is common sense really. You could Google for it.
And it's the density that drives people out of their cars (through they are still the dominant mode just about anywhere) - not a love for public transport and walking as such.
Okay, you got me, but it is also common sense that public transport cannot be efficient when pop'n density is low. I'm not saying there isn't going to traffic jams when there is high density. I'm saying that when it happens people have no choices but to be stuck in it when they are too far from everything.
@andrewada Wendell Cox has some points, but they are biased and misleading. James Howard Kunstler is not advocating serious increasing on denisty. Densities increase mainly because of mixed use planning that takes the office and condos and places them above retail therfore saving land. Density has a partial factor in traffic. It usually has to do with layout of usage, streets, etc... The LA is congested mostly because its "feeds" traffic on collector roads and highways and lacks in mixed use.
Capitalism is the wage slavery of immense humanity in a politically manipulated MARKET SYSTEM of artificial scarcity and manipulation to perpetuate the conditions of servitude and exploitation of the working people in the interest of the owning/ruling elite. Capitalism is historically outdated,dangerous destructive ,dehumanising and devaluing all and everything in its insatiable,nomadic rampaging of profit . Capitalism is evil
America is like a kid in puberty, he has rebelled against the values that have been layed on him and after this rebelion when a kid becommes 18-19 years old he suddenly finds himself in a state where there are no values at all. He has rebelled against all of them and now he stand alone in chaos. The only thing left to do from this point on, is finding the true personality of either the country and the person.
@dreamlikedigital The 30 people who thummed down is the ugly reality of un educated greedy, spoiled people who know how to smooch of others, including nature.
Actually, the public realm is the physical manifestation of the common good and the common bad. I'm not disagreeing entirely with what this guy says, but I think he needs to understand that fact. The public realm includes great things (such as parks, recreation centers, monuments, libraries, etc.); however, it also includes the "places not worth caring about," like the strip malls that thousands of people utilize every day. This man is wealthy and probably has no idea what it's like to be poor.
What a joke and a load of hypocrisy. Throughout the presentation, we were reminded of large corporations such as the 'Chucky cheese' and 'walmart' etc, and to conclude on a note of degrading consumers etc. To have an advertisement of BMW one of many faces of corporate globalisation and the connotations which we are all aware of with them. I find that really contradictory to the whole video. I enjoyed and agreed with much of what was said, just another sell-out my an academic..
Consider the adverstisement a means to an end. In a Socialist system which allows for shared resources such fiances to promote knowledge, your complaints would have great meaning.
But America has a (mostly) market-base system in which knowledge for the most part can be only accessed with funding. In that case, BMW supplies money so that Youtube can stay afloat so that people can upload vids like this without going thru the hassle & cost of setting up an independent website.
In other words, what I am saying is to let the BMW advertisement slide. No revolution that has ever taken place on this planet have been totally pure, so sometimes we may have to let a couple inconsistencies slide, if only to get to ultimate goal.
I think it's the people themselves who are to blame. To be more precise, their fears, biases, greed, and short-sightedness are a major fault. All businesses and corporations do is enable and feed in the said mindsets and attitudes.
Also, Zoning laws and Codes are extension of biases, prejudices, fears, and short-sightedness as well. Neighborhood associations and covenants should share the blame as well.
I notice this "monocultural blandifying" of the landscape whenever I drive home to visit my family. It is overwhelmingly depressing; every quadrant of the city looks exactly the same, with its unremarkable architecture and numbing recurrance of the same ten stores.
wall875 3 days ago
This guy is a fucking retard
jceglia1 3 weeks ago
Wow! Great video... I thought I was the only person left that thought this way.
Notinfallible137 1 month ago
nice
MrPEDOCTOR 2 months ago
HOW ARE YOU REALLY SUPPOSE TO TRUST TEDTALKS WITH SPONSORSHIP LIKE THAT FOLLOWING A DISCUSSION LIEK THAT? CONSPIRACY////
sucklingfatty 2 months ago
city hall plaza here in boston really does just suck.
sucklingfatty 2 months ago
This guy is real smart. He actually thinks there's hope lol.
PaleRider626 3 months ago
Just saw an interview of JHCunstler on RT News. He admitted he voted for Obama. For all his worthless yap about the obvious, the man is a brainless shithead when he can't do the ONE fucking practical thing a voter could have done: NOT give one BIT more power to a terrorist. Anyone who votes for Republicans or Democrats is anti-American unpatriotic subhuman scum.
He had his chance to vote for Ralph Nader but he blew it.
He has ZERO right to preach against "delusional beliefs".
mphello 3 months ago
@mphello I just watched the same interview and half of it was him talking about how the timemay be right for a third party. Also this video is 4 years old. You have to be open to the idea that people can learn work together and move forword. Progress and innovation usually comes from people who have made many mistakes in their atttempts to inovate. Without that spirit of action we just continue on the downword spiral of moral decay.
grecorivera 2 months ago
@grecorivera Only when you let everyone out of prison and work together with them,
and ignore these arbitrarily-created government labels like "convict" or "criminal",
and treat prisoner just like the soldiers they are, who fight for whatever cause THEY believe in that put them in prison, even if you disagree with that cause (rape, child molestation, terrorism, murder) - then I will take what you just said seriously.
mphello 2 months ago
@grecorivera What your suggesting is complete anarchy with no working together whatsoever. If we had no government at all then yeah they could be free because it would be up to those of us who didn't want rapist and child molesters around to deal with them ourselves. These criminals are jailed to protect themselves as much as to protect society. They would be put down otherwise. We need to let out all the non-violent criminals and end the drug war our system is definitly flawed.
grecorivera 2 months ago
Comment removed
TheSunmanho 2 months ago
I never understood that from America, yes New York is pretty dens but i don't want to be their cuz it aint no "Place" it are a lot of high buildings with a alot of Money in it.
Going to the mall a giantic field of car places.. not not talk about how long you should drive through the mall... :s
xzaz2 3 months ago
"We will not be saved by hydrogen cars ..." and then the BMV Hydrogen 7 commercial not 2 minutes later, lol.
SubjectE 3 months ago 2
This guy is a real visionary
crudhousefull 3 months ago in playlist More videos from TEDtalksDirector 2
@crudhousefull
no he ain't. Use your own brain! You don't need him.
TheSunmanho 2 months ago
@TheSunmanho Lol...that's what I get for trying to be nice for once
crudhousefull 2 months ago
JHK: "we don't have... the cathedral plazas... of other cultures." In a way, we do. The big box retail stores are our cathedrals and our parking lots are the plazas. We've managed to monumentalize the trivial.
famousutopias 4 months ago
stand-up comedian activist! so funny!
yolo22 4 months ago
The great equalizer: "Ahh F#ck it" lol
Kingdom007Hearts 4 months ago
I agree with the problem just not the way he went about presenting it. Our troops overseas are not defending. They are conquering. Also, his cursing may be comedic for 5th graders, but at TED the bar is a bit higher than that. Go ahead and swear I don't care, but don't try to force it as a joke.
TheKylefreeman 5 months ago
You can call it a “technosis externality clusterfuck”.
vlada881 5 months ago 3
AMEN!
bgarkitekt 5 months ago
With what money does he want to do this with then?
ramine 5 months ago
@ramine The money from the taxes you don't pay.
mattman1941 4 months ago
@ramine maybe those responsible should be made to pay for their crimes. Sensible voters should support that
sucklingfatty 2 months ago
@sucklingfatty I totally agree, But the with the current economic flux, I doubt that will be viable
ramine 2 months ago
@ramine Don't just be a sad sap and just say with the economy you don't think it will be viable. Fuck the economy! Those damn bastards in government don't give a fuck about anything except keeping their jobs, stuffing their pockets with cash, and hoarding all the planetary resources. This system of the world humans is on life support... time to pull the plug!
Josephjoel3 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@sucklingfatty I totally agree, But the with the current economic flux, I doubt that will be viable
ramine 2 months ago
the usa, in the post-war era, became the realm of the half-assed.
EATshitanddrinkbleac 5 months ago
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This video has been very inspiring to me and I tried to tell people I know about it but they called me a hippie for it... Well I suppose I might have to rethink my likings to this video but I just can't ignore what he is saying here.
KeepingModern 5 months ago
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KeepingModern 5 months ago
Meh I like owning my house and being able to bike to my work...in the suburbs
MrJero85 6 months ago
he's talking a lot, but he's not saying anything
mqKrem 6 months ago
I was a town planner for 10 years. During this time I became increasingly aware of the "false economy" that was being generated at the expense of the environment and the community. A vicious cycle has been created by developers and government departments to silence community & increase revenue. Money via donations is exchanged in order for developers to get 1st preference over the community and hence the lack of parks and open spaces in exchange for more units to drive the "false economy".
Stealthkeys77 6 months ago 2
What James said at 19:15
postgrowthinstitute 6 months ago
James Howard Kuntsler is spot on in his arguments about the need to re-establish harmonious community living space with architectural design that embraces and encourages the people living in it. I live in New Orleans's Garden District. I live close enough to walk to restaurants, bank, drug store, grocery, etc. The architecture is beautiful and timeless. It is also visually distinct. When I go elsewhere in much of the U.S., I have a hard time finding my way around.
gsjbaldwin 6 months ago
really good talk, someone needs to do something about this.
dajokn19 6 months ago
it makes me sick. i am getting transfered to vegas, and every house i see is 1/4 acre,, you can spit out your window and land on your neighbor, cookie cutter house. and none of them have a park, cafe, bookstore, whatever..that i can walk to.
open bing map, switch to 'birds eye vew' and type in winchester park..then just pan around for miles in any direction. you will see the beauty..
msxoslo 7 months ago
best video of all time
670Kiester 8 months ago
i went to a fascist looking school like that in vegas, truly a soul sucking experience. Its true though that people who designed these spaces just made a collective "fuck it" decision. And that is how these spaces make people feel about life.
manoele 8 months ago
great vid
yourmajezty 8 months ago
As a British person I don't think I could possibly understand what an American suburban landscape looks like in practice- you can't get the feel of it from a few pictures. There just isn't the space for it on these overcrowded islands. As it is, I live in a suburb on the edge of a medium-sized town, complete with local shops a few minutes walk away and a town centre less than an hour's, which you can get to easily by bus. Still, so many prefer the supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks...
thelyniezian 9 months ago
@thelyniezian I grew up in an American suburb. I think the most important thing to grasp if you want a sense of what it's like is the fact that nothing is within walking distance except concrete, a few scraggly trees, and ugly buildings like Kunstler's examples. Miles and miles and miles of vast stretches of concrete and ugly identical houses and a few prisonlike schools. If you want to get to any store its a 15 minute drive.
corbalt1 9 months ago 19
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TheSunmanho 2 months ago
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Kylsport 9 months ago
While studying for my CNU-A credential, I believe in the concept of optimization, a conservative and ancient concept. I found this professor to be knowledgeable in the concepts; however his delivery is quite ghetto and alarmist. His delivery is as effective as Al Gore.
Kylsport 9 months ago
@Kylsport Quite the contrary, his delivery is straightforward, witty and factual, the opposite of "I invented the Internet, along with global warming" Al Gore. What parts of his address alarmed you and caused you to visualize lower socio-economic urban areas ?
ITILII 8 months ago
@ITILII the delivery was like if we don't do this, this is what is going to happen. Instead, he should paint the scenario and not use to much emotional language. I am not saying what he stands for is wrong, but present us with case studies (as many other professors have) where it has been a proven fact that the type of developments are unsustainable.
Kylsport 6 months ago
It was this video that got me into pursuing Urban Planning. Say what you will, but its such a cool field!
S2lawlsz 10 months ago
I love the irony of a BMW commercial, one set in lovely natural environments, purporting all-natural fuel use, following Kunstler's lecture. It's so fitting as to be tailor made.
nikmills 11 months ago 11
@nikmills Indeed, completely contradicting what Kunstler just said in his lecture. Way to shoot yourselves in the foot, guys.
thelyniezian 9 months ago
@nikmills I actually laughed and almost spit out coffee when I saw that... so ironic. I kind of feel bad it had to be that ad starting this lecture.
TheGoodChap 8 months ago
Have you seen Arcade Fire's new video for The Suburbs? There's some good parallels from this talk.
shaynek77 11 months ago
If you like what Kunstler had to say, try reading A Pattern Language.
kashimbi 11 months ago
Why would anyone think that urban development= communist?? Building for people, and not JUST cars is the same as controlling your life? Paranoid much? If work, home, friends and the places you like to hang out are all within a mile or so of each other, you just eliminated your daily need for a car, and gas, and insurance, and car payments, and registration, and taxes....but this is America, and to each their own I guess.
onionofdeath 11 months ago
@onionofdeath Right, but if I want to drive a Ford F550 and live upstate New York away from everyone. I should have the right to.
AroundSun 11 months ago
@AroundSun Certainly. The great thing about America is that you CAN make that choice. There are plenty of people who don't like the hustle and bustle of city life, want to take it easy out in the country, and want to drive large vehicles. I would feel kinda sorry for you if you drove an F550 on long commutes though, that can't feel too good in the wallet ;) but if its a working truck, then you gotta do what you gotta do.
onionofdeath 11 months ago
Can you get more ironic than a Mercedes commercial to punctuate such a prophecy?
Canoo123 11 months ago
The thirty people that thumbed it down (disliked) live in the damned suburbs, and don't like that mirror that you just held up...
reverendbart 11 months ago
destroy all suburbs now.
Castaril 11 months ago
it very emotional , i think the idea would be bettrer delivered if it would have taken a more academic atmposhere
rongovrongov 1 year ago
WOW
rickbar123 1 year ago
If liberals hadn’t spent the last 50 years decriminalizing crime, treating city services as a jobs program for democrat voters, raising the poor against the middle class, then maybe the cities wouldn’t have been so dire, sparking the exodus to the suburbs. Urban planners should spend more time respectfully listening to suburbanites, rather than just trying to sweep them back into the ant pile.
TheSanityInspector 1 year ago
@TheSanityInspector .Great point,I totally agree,.The fucking Liberals screwed up where I live openeing up methadone clinics for junkies and allowing criminals early prison release. A once great neighbouhood is now in decline. The funny thing is that the Liberal politicians who pushed for these policies don't live in my neighbourhood,they live in a nice leafy suburb.
joeycusack80 10 months ago
sponsored by bmw? ahahah
niall777 1 year ago
I have been looking at American cities and towns through Google Earth, and I have to say the square 'block' arrangements and the huge parking spaces are characteristic of American cities, yet this is the problem. Compare them to Europe. No green spaces, no character in the architecture of the buildings and huge blocks of shopping malls instead of market plazas. However, I believe it's too late for America to change its urban ways.
theTimothyDeLaGhetty 1 year ago
@theTimothyDeLaGhetty America can change it's *suburban* ways. It's just going to be a huge effort, by rebuilding and retrofitting. What Kuntsler is proposing will eventually *have* to happen, for various reasons. Remember, the "American lifestyle" is only an experiment since WWII. It's not really "normal", although most Americans think it is. Can you blame them? Everyone under 75 hasn't known anything else. Look to history. What goes around comes around. And, what works will always be urbanism.
TenderTrap86 1 year ago
@theTimothyDeLaGhetty I disagree with you about it being too late. Rather it is the American way to respond only after the problem(s) rear it (their) ugly face(s). We will change, but only when we HAVE to. Until then we will continue on our merry ignorant ways. People like this guy are big thinkers who are already drawing plans for tomorrows "new urban" developments. Gas prices are going back up, which helps a little....
onionofdeath 11 months ago
@onionofdeath planning new urban developments for us to live in? Sounds like a communist country. People have to change voluntarily, no central planning necessary. When the resources become less and less available the prices will rise causing incentives to look for alternatives.
AroundSun 11 months ago
@AroundSun Yes but when I say we will change when we have to, I mean when gas is like $10 with a 30+ mile commute. If you want to live in your suburban home, with your suburban commute, you have every right to do so. I was also saying that as a whole, Americans are retroactive and not proactive when it comes to big problems like sprawl. Also having only one entity plan is bad, you need multiple entities following an overall plan they all contribute to, with each having their own unique outcomes.
onionofdeath 11 months ago
@onionofdeath I understand what you are saying, let everyone bear the responsibility of their actions individually. It is excellent to have ideas and to be able to inform people of them, but I just get nervous when government intervenes in almost any situation. Government action is force in your social life and in the economy. I am not a fan of central planners in Washington running my life. You are right, collectively, we will continue the same path until we can not afford it any longer.
AroundSun 11 months ago
@AroundSun "central planning" in the USA, is as old as the USA. Ewen rural townships a the product of central planning Do U really believe suburbia was spontaneous? Yes planning can get to restrictive, but anarchy lead to waste and conflict
5lkk 11 months ago
@5lkk I am talking about Central Planning in the economy. I am talking about the Federal Government doing ANYTHING outside the limits of its constitution. I am not an anarchist. The government should control the courts, police, and defense. Almost nothing else. I don't think the government should be deciding who will live where.
AroundSun 11 months ago
I have always been obsessed with town planning. I drew random maps and real maps when I was a kid, and I played Sim City in my teens. I live in Sudan, and lemme tell you, Khartoum is a city with no central business district, a decaying city center, and clogged narrow roads. Out of interest, I have drawn an entire scheme for roads and transportation and have rearranged the residential and commercial zones. Only problem is, where can I submit it?
theTimothyDeLaGhetty 1 year ago
coming from a suburb, this video did a really good job explaining a lot about me, that I didn't even realize. I'm currently in Paris, and I think its such an amazing city; not in history of the city, but in the way the city as a whole is a personally satisfying place to spend time in. I'm sure the same could be said for NYC or any other big city, but its really amazing. I don't think we should move the country into the city, but I think we need to change the way our suburbs are set up.
meestafa 1 year ago
Rush - Subdivisions
VastFarFlung 1 year ago
@christmasboi31, you are right about what defines the nation...but thats not really what he is talking about..he is an architect and criticizes other architects and arch practices... i totally end my meetings with the word "fuck it", lol. You can't escape it. hHwever thats not what rules the outcomes of our projects... Arguing for the "main street" architecture is cool, but its outdated, things dont work that way anymore
ymonakhov 1 year ago
This guy is stupid. Its not the cities and buildings and structures that define our nation and our culture and our people, its the inhabitants and how we use these spaces that define our nation. His life must suck if this is how he views the world.
christmasboi31 1 year ago
@christmasboi31
The only stupid one is yourself.
gombos23 1 year ago
Any one else like the ad for the hydrogen powered BMW luxury sedan at the end?
mratliff2111 1 year ago
Anyone else like the ad for the Hybrid 7 series BMW at the end?
mratliff2111 1 year ago
Actually, the public realm is the physical manifestation of the common good and the common bad. I'm not disagreeing entirely with what this guy says, but I think he needs to understand that fact. The public realm includes great things (such as parks, recreation centers, monuments, libraries, etc.); however, it also includes the "places not worth caring about," like the strip malls that thousands of people utilize every day. This man is wealthy and probably has no idea what it's like to be poor.
BeyondRelativity 1 year ago
@BeyondRelativity The poor usually can't even access those strip malls. It's one receive why a large number end up feeling secluded and opting for McDonalds. Heck, these communities become rather dangerous. Usually there is more emphasis on strip malls than "places worth caring about", and I've been to hundreds of suburban cities.
raptorkiller2k5 1 year ago
@raptorkiller2k5 Can't access strip malls? Strip malls are accessed by a great number of people, many of them poor. I don't mean to sound like a right-wing douche, but this guy really is being an "elitist." He makes reference to the use of space; particularly, the way HE wants to see it used. He doesn't once consider that many people don't want it used in the same manner. I sense this man has enclosed himself in his own little world.
BeyondRelativity 1 year ago
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Totally agree with what he's saying about the word 'consumer'.
I truly hate that word.
Great speech!
eshhy100 1 year ago 3
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eshhy100 1 year ago
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I admire many New Urbanist viewpoints, but there is a few things we must improve:
-DO NOT implement new codes. Just sell the product. Look at how codes made the post WW2 disaster
-DO NOT try to solve climate change. GW is not manmade.
-Fight for PRIVATE light rail. Learn from the subsidized highway disaster
-DO NOT lobby. NU will get tons of criticism for "forcing" people. Look at how GM and Big Oil lobbied and made the mess we have today
Fight for a Free Market New Urbanism!
Cyrus992 1 year ago
A car commercial at the end of the video WTF?
NovusChaoMundi 1 year ago
What a principally good man.
Birkbirk1 1 year ago
Heh, this was awesome. I love the way Kunstler adds stand-up comedy in this lecture!
xirtlu 1 year ago
I LOVED this lecture and concur 100%, however, if we are to turn this ship around, STABLE employment will have to replace this at-will, short-term stuff. Most of us don't commute crazy distances because we enjoy driving; we found housing where we could afford it, and our jobs change all the time thru no fault of our own. If I could get a long-term job and buy a home nearby it, I would gladly cycle to work every day as I do when I have that luxury where I live now.
hollywoodartchick 1 year ago
Kunstler has an interesting point about future architecture. Just as he suggests, we should revert to older practices that gave our town and city buildings character. It is atrocious that developers can get away with these eyesores of buildings just to knock out a project, get their money, and get out. We cannot afford to waste more resources on "failed malls"! Instead, buildings need to have cultural character, purpose, and proper spacing with regard to ecological preservation.
sixersbballfan3 1 year ago
@sixersbballfan3 In fact, New Orleans is a city with 'character', and it wasn't built by the Americans.
theTimothyDeLaGhetty 1 year ago
Anyone else get a BMW commercial at the beginning? sigh....
Revbone450 1 year ago
Anyone else get a BMW commercial? sigh....
Revbone450 1 year ago
suburbs could become farming communities
nellre 1 year ago
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people that live on top of each other are easier to control and keep track of.
This man is lying to you.
rickster348 1 year ago
people that live on top of each other are easier to control and keep track off.
This man is lying to you.
rickster348 1 year ago
@rickster348
how does living in proximity to someone make you easier to keep track of? we all have pass passports and social security numbers.
secondly, if you hav edone nothing wrong, you having nothing to worry about. it is good to keep track of people so that we can catch the bad ones in the bunch.
your comment was poorly thought out.
Birkbirk1 1 year ago
@Birkbirk1"if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about". That's all I need to know.
rickster348 1 year ago
31 people want technology to save us without the use of energy.
Potlickerdotorg 1 year ago
Funny that they put an ad for an alternative energy car after this particular talk
InThee1104 1 year ago
Absolutely outstanding, as depressing as these truths are he had me cracking up for 21 minutes!
APfastpitch 1 year ago 32
The final note on the prevalence of the word "consumer" is so right on. "Consumer spending is down", etc. I get so tired of people being reduced to the word "consumer".
sanddreams0 1 year ago 2
@sanddreams0 In this culture, you are either a "consumer" (still have resources to be extracted), or a "commodity," (no resources of your own, but can be warehoused and moved around on the public dollar). Sickening.
hollywoodartchick 1 year ago
in my town windows up, doors locked,ready to get defensive....
MrDshealy 1 year ago
Exactly! Im glad I got a link to this.
TrandomnesstwO 1 year ago
one of the best TED lectures I have ever seen. The bite of his energy and enthusiasm is refreshing in the sea of academic neutrality that is often found in these discussion. A great historical record as well
sgtmcwallace 1 year ago 31
Is the problem that planners are forcing us to live in higher density areas, or is it that the military/oil industrial complex and mass marketing are forcing us to be dependent on cars and a fossil fuel based lifestyle?
I think it is the latter. When it becomes impossible to be a fully functioning citizen without owning a car, that is what you would call - living in a state of car and oil dependence. That is not freedom. A range of transport options = freedom.
svenvelo 1 year ago
@svenvelo You are totally right. The accommodation of car use - through freeways and free parking - has made it a prosthetic device and necessity for local trips in post-WW2 suburbs, rather than a liberating option for long-distance trips (as it was before WW2).
tgold1968 1 year ago
@klined urban planners got us here? guess who's gonna get us out.
philwalker 1 year ago
Main problem with Kunstler is he misunderstands the politics that got us here. It was largely the field of "urban planning" and zoning laws that gave rise to suburbia in the first place. Why are mixed use neighborhoods and buildings so rare in some cities? Because zoning laws make that illegal. How come most people can't walk to work? Zoning laws prevent resi-biz areas in many cities outside of specially designated "urban core" areas which are basically for show
klined 1 year ago
The 31 people who thumbed down this video can have their crappy walmart parking lot life style. Put a chain link fence around it too.
clruane 1 year ago
He's amazing. And right.
spiritass 1 year ago
this is the best ted talk ive ever seen
matchbox555 1 year ago
Urban planners ruined America. When I hear of them being unemployed, I smile.
klined 1 year ago
I think he's got a point in much of what he says.
Nations should look at each other and try to use others innovations in an adaptive way to enable sustainable progress into the future.
I do wish that these kinds of discussions get more attention and gain a stronger and louder voice in all nation in global, national and local levels.
The people of the Western world should not let our leaders think on short term personal gain, they have to work for our long-term progress.
Dumass88 1 year ago
This fucking waste of oxygen spoke at my college in 2003. I remember him saying (among other ridiculous things) that within a decade Americans would be relying heavily on water for transportation, i.e. boats, ferrys, etc. Now, nearly eight years later, Nostradamus here is still spouting predictions about city planning and urban sprawl (by the way, I do realize this vid is from 2004). His name is fitting, cause when I hear him speak the first word that comes to mind is CUNT
stonebridge999 1 year ago
@stonebridge999 he'll still be spouting it twenty years from now...its a video duh
jfelipino 1 year ago
@jfelipino
I meant that he continues to give the same speeches about the same topics.
But thank you for letting me know this is a video. I thought this was a live documentary.
You fucking cunt...
stonebridge999 1 year ago
Hydrogen won't save us! We are not consumers! We have to live close to where we work!
Now, here's a BMW hydrogen commercial....
(good talk-I'm sure he didn't have anything to do with the commercial)
tintaala 1 year ago
Thank you Mr. Kunstler for trying to educate the hopelessly retarded public. This clip only has 83000 hits unfortunately because you don't talk about shooting anyone and you don't have massive breasts.
rumplemcfrankenberg 1 year ago 2
"Consumers do not have obligations, responsibilities, and duties to their fellow human beings" This statement is a powerful one and one that I believe in. We're not consumers who eat the civic choclate bars from the shelf. We don't have a choice in consuming the "products" given to us by government. All we can do is demand through engagement what we need and desire as citizens.
To say we are "consumers" is to say we are an opportunity to be exploited for profit and gain. We are people.
harpercampaignYYC 1 year ago 2
More people should speak w/o microphones. Because MEN'S voices resonate differently than womens. I think God designed our voices that way for a reasonable purpose.
karaokevox 1 year ago
More people should speak w/o microphones.
karaokevox 1 year ago
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"places not worth caring about?" Who does he think he is?
"We don't have the 1000 year old cathedral plazas and market squares of older cultures" Well on the other hand we don't have witch burnings or slave auctions either!
A final note.... I like the smiley face water tower! I am having a better day just seeing the picture of it! Hope everyone has a nice day!! : )
(even if you don't live in Saratoga Springs NY like Kunstler)
pamelanc2010 1 year ago
"places not worth caring about?" Who does he think he is?
"We don't have the 1000 year old cathedral plazas and market squares of older cultures" Well on the other hand we don't have witch burnings or slave auctions either!
A final note.... I like the smiley face water tower! I am having a better day just seeing the picture of it! Hope everyone has a nice day!! : )
(even if you don't live in Saratoga Springs NY like Kunstler)
pamelanc2010 1 year ago
@pamelanc2010 WalMart is a slave auction...just restructured. And Smiley faces have no syntax, they are hollow and meaninless. Put simpilly, they don't encourage you to think, they encourage you to not think.
binarysolo2 1 year ago
@binarysolo2 ah. guess you just told me! Where does a person go to stand in your opinion line around here?
pamelanc2010 1 year ago
@pamelanc2010 i don't really think anything i said qualifies as opinion, but i guess that's just my opinion. I honestly think of it as truth, and sadly there aren't many people standing in line for the truth.
binarysolo2 1 year ago
@pamelanc2010 What he's saying is that those kinds of places don't engage us beyond their stated function eg. the only thing that massive road is good for is driving on, the only thing that massive big box is good for is buying groceries in. When was the last time you sat on a bench next to a road that size to have a chat with a friend? When was the last time you sat in a parking lot outside a big box with a coffee? They don't engage you at all and are therefore a missed opportunity
haku8645 1 year ago
Brought to you by BMW.
Glomerol 1 year ago
and britain too. despair comes from the people and manifests itself outwardly into their environment which then feeds back on itself. media too. its a self perpetuating system leading to once removed reality and disaster. britain is a failed state. dont get wrapped up in the madness. thanks for a glimpse of reality and refusal to feed the psychosis other media and advertising and government perpetuate. its not just physical places its society and people too this applies too. its greed and money
superchangeit 1 year ago
@superchangeit Britain is a failed state ? i think your exagirating there a bit.
hablerz 1 year ago
Schools that look like prisons, strip malls made of concrete, fast-food restaurants, malls surrounded by massive parking lots, we need an intervention, but what can people do?!?
LilTom895 1 year ago
far more attention needs to be paid to our public environments
matchbox555 1 year ago
Did no-one else think a talk by Kunstler book-ended by car adverts is kinda ironic?
cisbio 1 year ago 2
@cisbio Especially since he said a hydrogen economy was NOT going to save us.
huggkruka 1 year ago
He has great ideas, the concern is that many groups and individuals including Randal O Toole and Wendell Cox are against his ideas because they have limits on detached housing expansion and limit freedom. If New Urbanism does its more of its planning in a free market and does have huge percentage of its housing as deatched, then it CAN propser... Infact the NU town of Celebration, and the late 1800's suburbs are great examples...
Cyrus992 1 year ago
I get his point but could he BE any more smug?
cabsmellokub79 1 year ago
Kunstler is right. We live in a country full of places not worth caring about, filled with people we don't want to be around who don't want to be around us or each other, and therefore in a country not worth defending. If the Chinese invade (assuming the Russians and the Canadians permit it for the Chinese definitely won't come over the sea and assuming TPTB won't launch our nuclear arsenal at them) we will say, "FUCK IT!"
EdM021 1 year ago
Another planning zealot.
He knows nothing about transport physics and nothing about modern transport technology. We can easily use a fraction of the fuel we use today with serious modifications in transport infrastructure - using mostly electrically-based vehicles, and direct road-based electrification.
The idea of changing the city to meet the needs of a rail system is ridiculous and outrageously expensive; it will be that we change the transport system to meet the needs of the city.
andrewada 1 year ago
@andrewada
you assume that cities are permanent. They are not. They are always changing and will change according to their needs.
bananian 1 year ago
@bananian Not really. I'm making the point that we will never need to reform our cities to meet the need of costly oil - far too much room to move with strategic car design.
Smart Growth advocates act as though we can't change our cars (wrong), and they use this as an excuse to *force* people into higher-density living - whether they want to (as individuals) or not.
andrewada 1 year ago
@andrewada
If you need to drive everywhere you go, then people who can't afford cars will be disadvantaged and you are going to have traffic jams here and there b/c everyone depends mainly on one mode of transportation. If you go to Hong Kong, you see that walking and taking public transit is MORE convenient than driving, which leads to less pressure on the road traffic and hence no 8 lane highways. You can't do that without a well planned city.
bananian 1 year ago
@bananian . The reason why driving is hard in Honk Kong is because of the extreme density: Higher density cities create more congestion that lower density cities, because you are only concentrating more transport demand over a given restricted area (which is what "Smart Growth" is all about).
You might like to check out my own statement on the issue. Google: "building utopia" and "smart growth".
andrewada 1 year ago
@andrewada
The reason driving is inconvenient in HK is b/c you have to worry about parking spaces. People often have to park on busy roads, which is difficult. There are parkades but they are often packed as well. Hence, more people prefer walking over driving. Now, I'm not saying every city should be like HK, but there should be viable transport alternatives for ppl other than cars.
Also, don't tell me sprawled cities don't have traffic jams. eg. LA.
bananian 1 year ago
@bananian Yes. More population growth = more traffic congestion. It's just that accommodating for population growth with lower densities leaves you with less congestion that with higher densities, for the same population size. This has been demonstrated all over the world, and is logical.
-Apparently LA's wider area is higher density than NY. Manhattan is only a small part of NY.
andrewada 1 year ago
@andrewada
I'm not sure where you get that. LA has a pop'n of 3.8 million and a pop'n density of 8,205ppl/sq mi. Hong Kong has a pop'n of 7 million and a pop'n density of 15,737 ppl/sq mi. Yet, traffic is worse in LA.
So, maybe it's the opposite. Lower density leads to more people relying on driving, which puts greater demand on roads.
bananian 1 year ago
@bananian also, suburbs (LA is a giant suburb) funnel traffic into larger and larger avenues. You don't drive through neighborhoods in LA, you drive around them.
JBrazosCole 1 year ago
@bananian Wendell Cox from Demographia has done a broad studies (not cherry-picking cases that fit prejudice) for many years. He has basically proven that higher density cities lead to more traffic congestion than lower density, which is common sense really. You could Google for it.
And it's the density that drives people out of their cars (through they are still the dominant mode just about anywhere) - not a love for public transport and walking as such.
andrewada 1 year ago
@andrewada
Okay, you got me, but it is also common sense that public transport cannot be efficient when pop'n density is low. I'm not saying there isn't going to traffic jams when there is high density. I'm saying that when it happens people have no choices but to be stuck in it when they are too far from everything.
bananian 1 year ago
@andrewada Wendell Cox has some points, but they are biased and misleading. James Howard Kunstler is not advocating serious increasing on denisty. Densities increase mainly because of mixed use planning that takes the office and condos and places them above retail therfore saving land. Density has a partial factor in traffic. It usually has to do with layout of usage, streets, etc... The LA is congested mostly because its "feeds" traffic on collector roads and highways and lacks in mixed use.
Cyrus992 1 year ago
Define Irony: TED sponsored by BMW...and JHK thrashes car-dependence...
favouritemartian 1 year ago
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Capitalism is the wage slavery of immense humanity in a politically manipulated MARKET SYSTEM of artificial scarcity and manipulation to perpetuate the conditions of servitude and exploitation of the working people in the interest of the owning/ruling elite. Capitalism is historically outdated,dangerous destructive ,dehumanising and devaluing all and everything in its insatiable,nomadic rampaging of profit . Capitalism is evil
arzoyan 1 year ago
America is like a kid in puberty, he has rebelled against the values that have been layed on him and after this rebelion when a kid becommes 18-19 years old he suddenly finds himself in a state where there are no values at all. He has rebelled against all of them and now he stand alone in chaos. The only thing left to do from this point on, is finding the true personality of either the country and the person.
colloredbrothers 1 year ago 2
The 30 people who thumbed down this video......wtf are you smoking?
Anyways, this was amazing and inspiring. I'm definitely going to get involved in this.
dreamlikedigital 1 year ago 39
@dreamlikedigital The 30 people who thummed down is the ugly reality of un educated greedy, spoiled people who know how to smooch of others, including nature.
Hinaisthebest 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Actually, the public realm is the physical manifestation of the common good and the common bad. I'm not disagreeing entirely with what this guy says, but I think he needs to understand that fact. The public realm includes great things (such as parks, recreation centers, monuments, libraries, etc.); however, it also includes the "places not worth caring about," like the strip malls that thousands of people utilize every day. This man is wealthy and probably has no idea what it's like to be poor.
BeyondRelativity 1 year ago
@dreamlikedigital Developers of big box stores......
pvisserandorra 1 year ago
great great talk
the appearance of our urban environment doesnt get anywhere near enough attention
matchbox555 1 year ago
Purty funny guy... and he's correct
DancingSpiderman 1 year ago
TED is the best
FishyMoe 1 year ago
Look to Denmark, eg Copenhagen, and its walking, cycling culture
KrunchyJD 1 year ago
What a joke and a load of hypocrisy. Throughout the presentation, we were reminded of large corporations such as the 'Chucky cheese' and 'walmart' etc, and to conclude on a note of degrading consumers etc. To have an advertisement of BMW one of many faces of corporate globalisation and the connotations which we are all aware of with them. I find that really contradictory to the whole video. I enjoyed and agreed with much of what was said, just another sell-out my an academic..
jamesgee1 1 year ago
@jamesgee1
Consider the adverstisement a means to an end. In a Socialist system which allows for shared resources such fiances to promote knowledge, your complaints would have great meaning.
But America has a (mostly) market-base system in which knowledge for the most part can be only accessed with funding. In that case, BMW supplies money so that Youtube can stay afloat so that people can upload vids like this without going thru the hassle & cost of setting up an independent website.
willia3r 1 year ago
@jamesgee1
In other words, what I am saying is to let the BMW advertisement slide. No revolution that has ever taken place on this planet have been totally pure, so sometimes we may have to let a couple inconsistencies slide, if only to get to ultimate goal.
Just my humble little opinion, of course...
willia3r 1 year ago
the bmw advertisement at the beginning says it all
Dattutsoweh 1 year ago
@Dattutsoweh completely agree with you
jamesgee1 1 year ago
People blame businesses and corporations... but its really mostly INSANE ZONINIG LAWS AND CODES!!! ABOLISH THEM!!
Cyrus992 1 year ago
@Cyrus992
I think it's the people themselves who are to blame. To be more precise, their fears, biases, greed, and short-sightedness are a major fault. All businesses and corporations do is enable and feed in the said mindsets and attitudes.
willia3r 1 year ago
@Cyrus992
Also, Zoning laws and Codes are extension of biases, prejudices, fears, and short-sightedness as well. Neighborhood associations and covenants should share the blame as well.
willia3r 1 year ago