Hail To The Suburban Oasis
It’s a nice fantasy, but not likely. Rather than spark a wholesale hegira back to the central city, big gas and electricity bills are more likely to produce a bracing new era of innovation in suburban and even exurban life. The paradigm shift–oft trumpeted in the media–between energy-sucking McMansions and cramped, transit-oriented apartments will be trumped by the drive to develop better, and greener, suburbs. For evidence, look at the experience of the 1970s....