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Geography Of Nowhere: The Rise And Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape

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"The Geography of Nowhere" was published in 1993, but it would still be a newsworthy contribution to our understanding of current North American society if it were published here in 2007. Putting it in other words, James Kunstler's "Geography of Nowhere" was way ahead of its time, and remains an insightful assessment of what is wrong with most American (and, I would argue, Canadian) "communities".

Perennially cheap oil has driven developers and planners over the past few decades to build spread-out, vehicle-centric monocultures in which citizens are typically unable to safely and comfortably walk from home to a store to buy a loaf of bread. Notwithstanding this sorry state of affairs, the average citizen unconsciously accepts this horrendous way of life that, as Kunstler puts it, demands that vehicle ownership be a condition of citizenship.

We have been collectively oblivious to the increasing costs of maintaining sprawl, and it is now to the point where entire suburban subdivisions could be abandoned once cheap oil disappears. I live in such a suburb, north of Toronto, and I can easily picture much of this area becoming a valueless slum within two generations. In fact, video footage of my home town of Richmond Hill is featured in the documentary "The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream", in which James Kunstler is a keynote spokesperson.

It was particularly gratifying to read three sections of the book that validated views and conclusions that I made years ago:

The first section addresses the "Renaissance Center" in downtown Detroit, which Kunstler describes as having been a financial and social disaster from day one. I lived two miles from the "Ren Cen" between 1979 and 1981, which were the promising early years for the five-tower complex. With great expectations, I visited the Ren Cen several times, with friends. We took the tunnel bus under the Detroit River from Windsor, and tried to enter the building on foot. As Kunstler describes well, it is really difficult to walk into the building... pedestrians need to negotiate ramps designed for fast vehicular egress. It was always unnerving walking to and from the complex.

Once inside the Ren Cen, we would usually head up to the revolving bar and restaurant on the top floor of the tallest tower. Patrons had to pay an admission fee to ride the elevator to the top, and there was often a lineup to board the elevator. Once up in the bar, you needed to buy drinks at a rate that kept the servers happy; they were conscious of "loiterers" nursing one drink just to stay up there and enjoy the view. A public space this was NOT! I clearly recall getting into an argument with a server who announced that I wasn't buying enough drinks, and that I had better order another round, or leave. I left, never to return.

After my last visit, I heard an hilarious yet telling news report of enterprising locals coming in to the Ren Cen from off the street and taking the five feet tall potted plants that were in the corridors for decorative purposes (i.e. the plants were property of the Ren Cen), and selling them to passers-by for $50 each!

The second section of the book that validated my own long-held beliefs deals with theme parks, and with Disney in particular. Kunstler hits the nail on the head when he speaks of "Disney World's air of fascism". Even before reading this book, I concluded that the managers of theme parks, with their technology of crowd control (often bordering on manipulation), which now includes fingerprinting, should be hired as consultants should our federal government decide to implement a totalitarian state.

In fairness, I have not been to any Disney facility; I have boycotted them, and would not visit even if you paid me. On the other hand, I have "experienced" Busch Gardens in Florida, and Cedar Point in Ohio; when in these places, it is clear that you are not supposed to think for yourself. These "experiences" are the antithesis of spontaneity: you are to move where they tell you, when they tell you. I found these "experiences" to be mind numbing, stultifying and pointless.

The third section describes the hell that is Los Angeles. I have visited the city a number of times. Only my first visit was a voluntary vacation trip; all subsequent visits were for business or for family functions. To get the most out of LA, you need lots of money, a motor vehicle, and patience to endure profound traffic jams. Clearly, this prescription is not sustainable. I recall trying to drive six miles to Dodger Stadium on a weeknight to see a baseball game. I allowed two hours to get there, and had to abandon my plans after 90 minutes, because I'd driven less than two miles.

Kunstler serves up hopeful examples of good urban planning with his descriptions of Portland, Oregon and Seaside, Florida. In both of these communities, planners actually thought about and gave weight to the needs, values and interests of the human beings that would live there, and thankfully ascribed less importance to the fossil fuel-guzzling vehicles that might otherwise dominate with their resource-hungry predilections. For the most part, however, the might and desires of developers continue to trump city councils, planning departments and the aspirations of the average citizen.

In summary, I am grateful for Kunstler having written this book, because he makes me realize that I am not alone in thinking that we have created, and are now living in and getting used to, a toxic, unsustainable and increasingly inhuman field of unfulfillable dreams.

I highly recommend both "The Geography of Nowhere", as well as Kunstler's later work, "The Long Emergency". Both books deliver a refreshing yet sobering truth that blow away the deceit, lies and artifice within which most of us allow ourselves to float along from day to day, here in the "developed world".

If you grew up in a suburban tract house, you may have hated it. I know *I* did. I wasn't sure why, I just knew that something was *wrong*, something was *missing*. This was truly one of the most important books I have read (and I read *a lot*) because it provided immediate insight into what really *is* all wrong with those tract houses and the "neighborhoods" where they stand. Granted, some may criticize Kunstler because he is not an architect or city planner. On the other hand, his outsider status gives him the insight to proclaim "The Emperor has no clothes!"

Kunstler is a gracious and wonderful writer. How can anyone with half a brain not feel anger at what has happened to America? The ugliness and horror that has engulfed our natural and civic environments are all the more shocking for the speed at which they've occurred. It's almost as if we're hellbent on removing the last vestiges of beauty and meaning from our lives.Our loud, sometimes mute complicity to runaway and wretched development says everything we need to know about patriotism in America today.

In the book called The Geography of Nowhere, James Kunstler, the author, fiercely creates the point to the reader that America has turned into a wasted landscape. Kunstler's strongest point comes from his critique on the suburbs. Some chapters like in "A Place Called Home," chapter nine, he expresses his harsh attitude to the suburbs by calling it a disaster in ways. Coining phrases like "symptoms of this disease," Kunstler clearly states his antipathy towards the structure of the suburbs. Another topic that Kunstler focuses on in this book is the automobile. He wastes no time at listing the reasons why America would need a new transportation source for the future. Besides saying that the automobile created an unhealthy addiction to oil, a source that is non-renewable, Kunstler also talks about how poorly it has shaped our country. Congested highways, hot concentrations of pollution, unsafe environments for our growing children are some of the reasons in chapter six called "Joy Ride." Throughout the book, an underlying theme entwined with Kunstler's main ideas is the thought of bringing back the meaning life. As vague as that may seem, Kunstler means to create places that are worth caring for and can be truly appreciated. In chapters like "How to Mess Up a Town" and "The Loss of Community," Kunstler asserts how degraded and dull life has become. Fields to frolic about turned into silent parking lots and every single house in a neighborhood complex exactly alike inside out. In the last chapter, "Better Places," Kunstler talks about how some people are trying to revive the world of architecture and remaking land into towns that are pedestrian-friendly and are also worth caring for. All in all, Kunstler's book, The Geography of Nowhere, contains many ideas of the horrible state of American life and what is being done about it.

Kunstler's informed report may come off as a rant, but he does speak from a place of genuine concern. Compared with the abstracted anti-urbanism of Bernard Tschumi, Daniel Libeskind, Peter Eisenman and other of the quasi-intellectual poseurs practicing as architects these days, we should welcome Kunstlers much-needed rebuttal.

The _Geography of Nowhere_ is a scathing attack on post-WWII (sub-)urban planning. Kunstler had no formal training at the time he wrote the book and channels his anger and cynicism towards his surroundings into an effective - yet readable - analysis of our cities. People are beginning once again to champion 'living downtown' and walking and using public transit. Kunstler did it ten years ago - at a time when very few of us were thinking about it. Unfortunately, as is common with many critiques, Kunstler does not have very many solutions to urban planning problems - he leaves those for his next book, _Home from Nowhere_.

While I agree with many of Kuntsler's opinions about the nature of the suburban landscape and our absurd, unsustainable use of the automobile, I believe the vitriolic tone of his prose damages his credibility. It's easy to be critical when you have no practical experience in the development realm. As a landscape architect, I can say with certainty that many of his "facts" are inaccurate and/or unresearched, or else simply opinion stated as fact. Design professionals were well aware of many of the issues he raised long before this book was written and had made real effort to address them, but changes of this nature take a long time to get into the cultural mainstream. Furthermore, he obviously failed to research many of the issues that city planners, architects, engineers, and landscape architects face on a daily basis (such as liability issues, limited authority on projects, economic issues, and the difficulties faced in writing new ordinances, including public education). Such omissions create huge holes in the fabric of his argument and fail to convey the full complexity of the issue. His subsequent book, Home from Nowhere, is much better written and in it, he is clearly more informed about his topic.

Kuntsler was dead on in his excoriation of my (sigh) hometown in his scathing chapter on how to completely annihlate both a populace and the surrounding environment in one fell swoop. The cult of the car is the only religion that matters in this post-modern, blasted-out, emaciated shell of a once "mighty" metropolis. Everything in this hovel is BUTTUGLY, UGLY, UGLY: attitudes, people, politics, architecture, cul-de-sacs, what open land there is, etc. (We're the home of Kid Rock and Eminem, dontcha know - lovely!)If the Almighty is looking down on us, He is surely muttering: what the hell did you do to Detroit, you megalomanical morons?

James Kunstler's "The Geography of Nowhere" is both an explaination of how we got to the Superhighway/Suburbia landscape and of how we might escape it.

Kunslter is at his best when he describes how two different government decisions helped us arrive at where we are at today. First the investment in the system of highways helped spur the demand for cars within American families. Every family could now move around at an accelerated pace. Secondly the system of loans for family homes helped encourage the creation of suburbs ringing once prosperous and lively cities.

Both disasters such as Syracuse, NY and successes like Portland, OR are described. Kunslter's example of Paris with its broad boulevards and open cafes gives a great contrast with the San Diego freeway and downtown office culture in the US.

Intelligently written and often opinionated, its book to be recommended and one that's had a fair amount of influence since its publication.

If you are one of the millions of Americans who live in the suburbs, you MUST read this book.

Kunstler, while elitist in his opinions, nonetheless brings forth a wealth of ideas and facts on the condition of our sub-urban environment. (And, in his opinion, the "sub" in "suburban" connotates a lower level of living.)

From an educational point of view, "The Geography of Nowhere" is a fascinating read: a trip through America's building patterns, as well as a concise analysis of the laws and policies that encourage and continue sprawl-building.

From a political point of view, this is clearly one of the Bibles of "The New Urbanists," a group of people dedicated to stopping the ugliness of sprawl in its tracks. Whether you are on the side of the New Urbanites, or on the side of the suburbanites, it certainly helps to know the score, and "The Geography of Nowhere" is the "scorecard."

Finally, from a personal point of view, it has resonance. It makes sense to build communities with beauty. It IS "economic racism" to only allow one type of home to be built in a gated community. It is wrong to continue to maul our land, so that everyone can get a little, ugly, look alike house in the sprawl. And it is anti-American, to propogate one one way to first-class citizenry: the car. Where is the choice?

This is not a book for everyone. (My father hates it: no doubt because the boomer generation has a difficult time admitting that much of what they built is flimsy [stuff]. It's hard to admit that 50 years of development are wasted energy.)

This is a book for people who care, and actively want to be a part of what will no doubt be one of the hot-button issues of the new century.