Land use and carbon consumption

Here is Jeff Speck, one of the co-authors of Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream. He describes they way suburbia has contributed to the increase in the diseases of inactivity, and not incidentally to the increase in greenhouse gas generation. Hopeful signs are that people have come to realize the economic and health costs of sprawl's design.

One difference between sprawl and the alternative: sprawl means we drive roughly double the number of vehicle miles traveled, while, in effect, charging the most regressive "tax": having to own a car if you're a driving-age adult.

This presents a possible local issue for those concerned about climate: Land use planning.

Much funnier: James Kunstler (about 21 minutes): How Bad architecture wrecked cities -- the degraded public realm in sprawl and its alternative.