Jinn of Quality and Risk

Blogging from the Southern Rockies, about to visit sand dunes. You don't know America if you've not been in America. NYC intensity, California surfers, Oregon nature, Colorado mountains, Michigan farmers, Arizona Navajos, Louisiana jazz, etc. It's a big place.

I've been pondering the American tendency to buy ever-bigger cars, so much so that they're not cars anymore but SUVs, pickup trucks, and minivans. Is it a spiritual issue? America is becoming wealthier but the use of that wealth does not translate into much more than bigger vehicles and houses. I suspect that lack of personal, explicit values is compensated by a focus on immediate, existing material values. The kind of things I'd expect instead would be more personal use of advanced technology, such as robot servants, magnificent gardens, and beautiful clothing.

Denver's "Front Range" metropolitan area has grown from 1.5 to 2.5 million people in the last decade, and will add another million in the coming decade. All of the growth is in the form of new developments at the periphery. I wonder who proposes schemes for urban planning in America, since development is mostly up to private initiative. For instance, who could ensure that there are "green belts" set aside between new Denver developments so that people have safe havens for hiking, jogging, biking, and other outdoor activities? Apparently such things already exist in Denver, although many local pepole seem to be unaware of this. Americans have so much space available that they keep spreading out and spending more time in their cars. How will this change? The solution is not bigger and faster cars, is it?