US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive

bubblesmoney

US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive
Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline.

Wonder if the same will happen in some cities here where the major employer disappears. Somehow i dont think that will happen here as the state benefits will kick in to a larger extent compared to the usa and keep unviable cities going on for longer instead of encouraging people who can get jobs elsewhere in the country to move elsewhere.

1echidna

Good from the point of view of climate change. New houses built to modern environmental standards.

LydiaJ

Interesting article. Thanks bubblesmoney. I think the difference in population density would make it unlikely to happen to quite the same extent over here, though.

1echidna

Not only population density but also 'Englishman's home is his Castle', general bloody mindeness and general planning malaise and protracted processes.

dopester

1echidna wrote: »

Not only population density but also 'Englishman's home is his Castle', general bloody mindeness and general planning malaise and protracted processes.

It can be forced on an area. If people are stuck in an area where there aren't any good prospects, lack of opportunity.. don't be surprised when people leave, looking for opportunity and a better life elsewhere.

Will central government keep funding areas for expensive road maintenance, and other infrastructure, in all remote towns - when the people there aren't kicking much back in economic return?

When opportunity is cut off in one direction, people will move in another. Where there is freedom to move, the process is practically as automatic as that which inclines plants towards sunshine. It is all part of the mechanism through which individuals actively seek their happiness and societies maintain their balance.

The mechanism has already been triggered.
Anger over Durham's jobless rise - BBC News 14th April 2009

dopester

For many people not intune with many of the consequences of this debt liquidation, it really is the beginning of their education..

Hundreds of teachers are struggling to find work in Scotland and are leaving the country, Labour has claimed.

The party said in one local authority, North Lanarkshire Council, the average number of applications for a teaching job was 239.

Labour is in the process of contacting every local authority in Scotland to find the national picture.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8098758.stm

amcluesent

Good comment that this allows America's leftists (CinC Obama) to bus people from the demolished houses (and I'm guessing it'll be mostly black people) into the nice, white neighbourhoods. After the 'white flight', the blacks get bought houses and get to live next door.

Given the fault-line of race in American politics, I predict a riot!

ad9898_3

I've read many books predicting this kind of thing in the years to come, lets be clear, because of resource depletion and the expense of getting at these deminishing resources, I believe the decade we have just seen will be the 'best' and 'last' of the industrial age that we have become accustomed to over the past 70 years.

I'm not saying things will be necessarily worse, but 30 years hence will look incredibly different to the 30 years that have just past.

bubblesmoney

In the city of Detroit, the median sales price in May was $6,000, down 29.4% from May 2008. :eek: link

just 6000$ for a house! no wonder they are demolishing houses there and making urban farms instead.

amcluesent

>but 30 years hence will look incredibly different to the 30 years that have just past<

Yep. The long-term sustainable global population is 2B. To feed 6.5B we're using oil to create synthetic fertiliser. The implications of 'peak oil' are clear - the Red Line is total oil and gas production -

ad9898_3

amcluesent wrote: »

>but 30 years hence will look incredibly different to the 30 years that have just past<

Yep. The long-term sustainable global population is 2B. To feed 6.5B we're using oil to create synthetic fertiliser. The implications of 'peak oil' are clear - the Red Line is total oil and gas production -

Although a little depressing, this is absolutely correct.

Forget wind farms (not enough land).
Forget fusion (we are decades away, and that is assuming it's possible at all ).
Forget nuclear (waste and peak uranium will see to that).
Forget oil ( peak oil is now, we are on the plateau, the only way now, is down ).
Forget biofuels (not enough land, you do still want to eat don't you ?).

We have enough resources to support 2 billion people in the long term, that, unfortunately is fact.