Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If the entire country decided to do this ... we'd have a lot fewer problems of all kinds. A smaller economy, yes, but the quality of life would dramatically increase.
While I found the article in the National Geographic to be of interest, let me state that not ALL Americans living outside major urban areas are enamored of McMansions.
I've toured a few McMansions and found them to be poorly constructed, with lots of superfluous 'bells and whistles' instead of a better grade of building materials. Don't even get me started on these homes' negative impact on the environment, unsustainable building practices, and pesticide-enhanced lawns (on which the neighborhood children are banned from playing on.)
It's my take, from what I've read in the New York Times, Newsweek and other media, that McMansions are passe'.
Check out the NY Times article entitled, "Think Small", which profiles individuals who have chosen to build smaller homes (500 square feet and smaller), as well as the Newsweek article "The McMansion Next Door: Why the American house needs a makeover".
As for me, I'll take an older home any day of the week. The exceptional constrution quality and classic details of a early 20th century home beat almost any new home on the market today.
And if you don't think they exist in cities. Think again. they are just built upwards rather than outwards. I've seen some huge hideous 4 storey single home flat type things (stretching existing building codes to their limit) that take up entire city lots that are several thousand square feet (these structures have no front stoop and take up the entire tiny backyard with their hulking presence, they block the sun for those who live in the smaller two-flats or 2-3 bedroom a-frames or bungalows next door (and in cities next door is often quite literally less than 6 inches away, so an overbuilt urban box mcmansion can leave somebodies front or back garden completely shaded except for at noon). These are not the lake front mansions of old built by the wealthy, but cheaply constructed 'yuppie housing projects'.
I just don't understand why this phenomenon is occurring in certain areas, especially my own! Scranton is a city of 70,000 in a county of over 200,000 that has not seen a single murder in about two years! Crime is uncommon, the schools are great, historic architecture can be found in nearly every city neighborhood, and sidewalks and shade trees are commonplace. Nevertheless, the city's population continues to plummet at one of the fastest rates in the nation while surrounding Lackawanna County continues to grow with an influx of both Hispanic families and NYC/NJ transplants. Why? Trust me, I currently live in the ever-expanding Scranton suburbs, and I've grown up with no sidewalks, no shade trees, no streetlights, heavy traffic and its accompanying air pollution, not knowing our rather transient neighbors, bland tract housing, fast-food places, massive asphalt parking lots, and attending a high school where you felt "left out" if you didn't drive a BMW. Why so many people find this so enamoring is beyond my realm of comprehension?!
Here are some of the neighborhoods that would comprise my "American Dream." All are located within the city limits of Scranton or Wilkes-Barre, and all are within reasonable walking distance to most conveniences, making the need for a car a rarity (helping to offset our nation's dependency on foreign fossil fuels). These are the types of neighborhoods where you are close enough to your neighbors to be encouraged to invite them over for backyard barbecues, yet still far enough away for a little bit of a yard for Fido or Johnny. By the way, some of these homes are in excess of 4,000 square feet, debunking the myth that someone else stated about urban living "packing you in like sardines."
What's so abhorrent about inviting, safe, attractive, historic neighborhoods like these? Why are all of the NYC/NJ transplants moving to sprawling McMansions in "planned communities" like these, which are now dominating the Scranton area:
All these new residences do is harm our region. We segregate people based upon social class and congest our roadways even more, as people in these communities can't walk, bike, or take mass transit to anything. This increases our nation's dependency upon fossil fuels and creates smog through an increase in CO2 emissions, which help to promote the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming. Scranton and Wilkes-Barre are both historically-significant and beautiful cities that are being ripped apart as the New Yorkers and their greed bypass them entirely in favor of McMansion communities in the exurbs.
Wow. Those are a lot of pictures, even on my T1 connection, they took forever to download!
Sorry. I get a bit carried away with passion when talking about urban sprawl vs. urban revitalization. I figured more people would look at the images this way and be moved vs. including them all as attachments, which a lot of people won't take the time to open.
[Here are some of the neighborhoods that would comprise my "American Dream." All are located within the city limits of Scranton or Wilkes-Barre, and all are within reasonable walking distance to most conveniences, making the need for a car a rarity (helping to offset our nation's dependency on foreign fossil fuels). These are the types of neighborhoods where you are close enough to your neighbors to be encouraged to invite them over for backyard barbecues, yet still far enough away for a little bit of a yard for Fido or Johnny. By the way, some of these homes are in excess of 4,000 square feet, debunking the myth that someone else stated about urban living "packing you in like sardines."
Beautiful pics. You almost make me want to go back there . . .
But notice what is missing from every single one of the urban houses you pictured (at least as far as I can tell).
Any guesses?
Beautiful pics. You almost make me want to go back there . . .
But notice what is missing from every single one of the urban houses you pictured (at least as far as I can tell).
Any guesses?
If you meant children playing tag, twenty-somethings jogging, parents pushing strollers, empty-nesters puttering around the front yard garden, etc., also bear in mind the fact that these photos were mostly taken on horribly-chilly days when I was the only visible pedestrian in sight for many blocks. When I visit these same neighborhoods on a beautiful, sunny, 70-degree day in May, there's people out and about everywhere.
I didn't even notice your reply at first, but it makes much more sense than my own guess. Urban neighborhoods were planned with pedestrians in mind while our new exurban cul-de-sac enclaves were designed with SUVs in mind. As such, many of Scranton's neighborhoods have rear alleys known as "courts", where many residents choose to erect garages, carports, or parking pads near instead of cluttering the roads in front of their homes. This can be seen in the Hill Section, parts of South Side, and parts of West Side. Wilkes-Barre's parking problems are much more severe as it hit its "heyday" earlier than Scranton did, and long-range planning was poorer as a result. It's nice to visit Scranton and see garages and cars tucked behind homes, where they BELONG! I don't understand why people here in the suburbs/exurbs think obtrusive front-facing two-car garages are a "fashion statement" of sorts for their homes. YUCK!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Trust me, I currently live in the ever-expanding Scranton suburbs, and I've grown up with no sidewalks, no shade trees, no streetlights, heavy traffic and its accompanying air pollution, not knowing our rather transient neighbors, bland tract housing, fast-food places, massive asphalt parking lots, and attending a high school where you felt "left out" if you didn't drive a BMW. 
Why so many people find this so enamoring is beyond my realm of comprehension?! 
I figured more people would look at the images this way and be moved vs. including them all as attachments, which a lot of people won't take the time to open.
