It seems that people are being sold this dream, or at least companies are still advertising this dream to the masses. Thanks, Lowe’s.

After much intervention in trying to create these suburbs, the government didn’t even have to promote suburban housing, just promote housing and make it cheaper to buy a new house than an existing house (which of course means a new house out in the far suburbs). The Bubble that burst in the housing market as a result of this federal intervention was a long time in the making, with Washington trumpeting “Look at all the people who we turned into homeowners who will never be able to afford these homes!

Human Settlement and the Creation of Wealth

So what’s the problem, you might ask? is it a big deal if the suburbs were created by socialist and racist government intervention, if people think it works?. Well, unfortunately it’s not that simple. Patterns of settlement and civilization since the dawn of man has shown that people like to gather together. We figured out a long time ago that by not settling, we don’t do ourselves any good. When your entire existence is being nomadic and wandering from place to place playing a daily survival game, it’s hard to accumulate wealth or acquire the methods needed to invent new things which will advance society.

A central place where people could live, work, and play was at the core of civilization as we discovered that not only are other people interesting, but we even like spending time with each other. We like being able to meet new people and exchange new ideas and talents. We like being able to trade with each other and discuss recent happenings over a coffee in the town common. And even if you don’t particularly like other people, this can be a spectator sport as well!

Detroit for example, has some fantastic people watching.

Detroit for example, has some fantastic people watching.

  • Great article. There was a recent study done out of Asheville, NC by Joe Minicozzi that shows infill development and historic rehabilitation projects contribute substantially more tax revenue and jobs compared to less dense suburban development. This goes beyond politics, and shows that if more city leaders did some simple math, sprawl would be reduced, downtowns would be in much better condition, and preserved open space would surround denser cities.

  • “However this dream of land and home ownership wasn’t the result of market forces occurring naturally, it was the result of government intervention and social engineering.”

    It’s good to see a growing number of planners/economists tackling the sprawl=free market myth.