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Quote by James Howard Kunstler

“I abhor the word "consumer." Consumers, unlike citizens, have no implicit duties, obligations, or responsibilities to the common good. It's a degrading term. The use of it degrades the public discussion.”

Quote by James Howard Kunstler

Author

James Howard Kunstler

James Howard Kunstler is an American author known for his critical analysis of American culture in the post-industrial age. His work often focuses on urban planning and environmental issues, particularly his criticism of suburbanization and car culture. more

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“I believe most of suburbia is unreformable and will not be fixed.”

Believe I Believe Fixed Suburbia

Author:James Howard Kunstler

“[Suburbia] represents, after all, the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world. We built it during our most affluent period of history, and in the decades to come we will be comparatively destitute collectively. In short, we will not have the resources to retrofit most of suburbia.”

World Periods Resources Built Decades World History Affluent Destitute Suburbia

Author:James Howard Kunstler

“We are in for a fiesta of default, repossession, and distress selling of suburban property, much of which will lose its presumed usefulness and monetary value in an energy-scarce economy.”

Values Energy Loses Economy Property Selling Distress Usefulness Scarce Monetary Default Fiesta Monetary Value

Author:James Howard Kunstler

“Consider how badly-built suburbia is. Many business buildings are not designed to outlast their tax depreciation periods, and the McHouses are made of particle board, vinyl siding, and stapled-on trim. A lot of suburbia will simply become the slums of the future. Most of the rest will be salvage or ruins.”

Made Building Periods Taxes Built Ruins Boards Particles Slums Vinyl Salvage Suburbia Depreciation Siding

Author:James Howard Kunstler

“The industrial age is over. What follows will be life lived on a much smaller and finer scale.”

Author:James Howard Kunstler

“In my view, suburbia in general has very poor prospects. I think it will only become devalued and probably more dangerous. It's chief characteristic was that it represented a living arrangement with no future - and that future is now here.”

Thinking Poor Views Dangerous Chiefs Characteristics Arrangements Prospects Suburbia

Author:James Howard Kunstler

“Under the current high energy / high entropy regime, sustainable development is a joke.”

Energy Development Jokes Currents Regimes Sustainable Development Entropy High Energy

Author:James Howard Kunstler

“In the decades to come, the successful places will tend to be the smaller traditional towns and cities with viable farming hinterlands.”

Cities Successful Towns Decades Traditional Farming

Author:James Howard Kunstler

“The economy of the 21st century will come to center on agriculture. Life will be intensely and profoundly local in ways that we can't conceive of today. Economic growth, as we have known it in a cheap energy industrial paradigm, will cease.”

Way Today Energy Growth Known Economy Economic Century Cease Locals Agriculture 21st Century Economic Growth Paradigm

Author:James Howard Kunstler

“The ideas of [ Le Corbusier ] that actually found their way into practice were deeply destructive - for instance, the tower-in-a-park, which mutated into the vertical slums of the late 20th century.”

Way Ideas Found Practice Century Late Instance Parks Destructive Towers 20th Century Slums Vertical

Author:James Howard Kunstler