I just read a fascinating article that seems to fit my view of the future. Starting in the late 40’s, a thing called suburbia sprung up all over America. This movement peaked several years ago in the last gasp of pleasure of the housing bubble, as traditional homes became McMansions.
But Mara Der Hovanesian interviews author James Howard Kunstler who claims that within five years, America is going to see serious problems from this development. We’re already seeing the beginnings of it with the home crisis. He calls suburban sprawl, “the greatest misallocation of resources the world has ever known.”
Why did suburbia start? We had cheap oil and cheap land. Why not? But with oil prices escalating, it’s just not practical anymore for people to expect life on the grand size for middle America.
So what does this mean for the young and ambitious businessperson trying to create the next greatest company in America, when America may be getting far less affluent in the coming years?
It means that businesses are going to have to start thinking small. The fact is that there are technologies out there that allow us to run very efficient operations and lives, without all of the bulky space and machinery. If you’re running a business, you don’t need a fax machine. You just need an Internet connection, with Internet fax, and you’re in business.
Relevant Tags:cheap oil, home crisis, housing bubble, Internet Fax, james howard kunstler, mcmansions, misallocation