End of Suburbia?
THE END OF SUBURBIA: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream
Canadians can see the documentary on VisionTV Wednesday, March 9 at 10 p.m. ET.
“The hour-long film explains how suburbia, with its promise of ’space, affordability, convenience, family life and upward mobility’ has come to embody the aspirations of North American society. And it warns of a looming oil crisis that threatens to bring the whole arrangement crashing down, turning today’s suburbs into tomorrow’s slums.
The first North American suburbs sprang up in the 1870s, but the concept really took off with the housing boom that followed World War Two. Because population densities in these bedroom communities tend to be low, it’s not economical to provide for extensive mass transit. That means suburbanites must depend on the automobile to get most places - to work, to school, to shopping or to recreation.
In short, the viability of the suburban enterprise depends on cheap and abundant fossil fuels. So what happens when global oil production reaches its peak - as some experts predict will soon come to pass - and begins to decline? Can the cherished suburban lifestyle survive once the cost of fueling our SUVs grows prohibitive?”
Also:
Ontario College of Family Physicians, Report on Public Health and Urban Sprawl in Ontario, January 2005
Creeping Conformity: How Canada Became Suburban, 1900-1960 by Richard Harris