Never part of the Equation
When I was a younger man I studied Urban Planning and during the four years studying all aspects of Urban Design, Transportation Planning, Participatory Planning, Environmental law - all that there was one thing we never talked about - what effect will an increase in the cost of energy have on the viability of suburban development? What happens when the cost of personal transportation becomes a deciding factor in the decision as to whether one can afford to live on the outskirts of town? I know you might be thinking - bahh that is not a big part of the decision making process. Well now that I think about this stuff all the time - I care to put this out there. If the price of fuel doubles in three years - so the cost commuting gets into the ballpark of 6K per year for fuel alone - (with a guaranteed increase in cost year over year as we run out of oil) - what kind of math does one do when calculating the savings of buying on the outskirts of town compared to the urban core. Then take into consideration that the trend is not to build small homes in the country - but rather large energy hungry homes within subdivisions. Well add all that up and then energy becomes a big deal - perhaps even a deal breaker.
I can tell you 20 years ago, back when I had hair, this was not what we talked about, planned for, or even considered. I would have to reach out to my old profs today and ask if it is part of the curriculum and I really hope that it is.
On a side note - if you are interested in this kind of thing - take a look at this awesome presentation by James Howard Kunstler: The tragedy of suburbia.
Again not trying to be preachy - trying to find the right tone - and hoping others want to join in on the conversation.
Cheers - Eric
PS - This post was inspired by this post - Suburbs Are Hurting From Birth Rates and Gas Prices