Retrofit this

In Retrofitting Suburbia it seems as though the goal of making the suburbs more sustainable will be achieved by making our suburban sanctuaries more urban. Apparently, we should be able to implement many of the urban practices in our suburban sprawls in order to live a happy and sustainable life (even though we are beyond sustaining). As with many readings in previous weeks, I may have missed the mark here, but I am somehow left feeling that the suburbs as we know them are under attack by a frontier of urban explorers. These aggressors seek the peaceful space and land afforded by the suburbs, but want to impose their urban beliefs on a society that enjoys its wasteful and alienated existence. Why should we let these people disrupt the suburbia that millions of others (>50% of the country) know and choose?

By retrofitting the suburbs the invaders’ “hybrid” system will push the true suburban believers further away from the urban centers, forcing a greater commute and an even more wasteful lifestyle. An additional 30 minutes in the car means 30 extra minutes away from the family, which is perfect for the suburban commuter. However, this sounds slightly counterproductive if the initial goal of retrofitting was to be sustainable. Also, if true suburbanists seek safety in a retreat, how much can we push people out? What happens when the east and west urban sprawls meet in the middle of the country? We can only hope guns don't exist by then, otherwise we may not be around to see the end of the planet. But this is just one possible scenario. Suburbanists may actually be game for the newly adopted lifestyle, but it doesn’t seem rooted in our nature come together and agree on anything, that would be asking a little too much.

People are choosing to be in a car for 30+ minutes so that they can have that sense of retreat. They are choosing the alienation associated with suburban living. They enjoy hiding their immoral and questionable behaviors in the comforts of their white picket fence. By retrofitting the suburbs we would be imposing an un-welcomed lifestyle on families that seek alienation and separation from urban practices, and for what? Sustainability? We established last week that our comfort is now more important than the existence of the planet. We had our chance and fucked up. Sustainability can’t be an argument in these situations, only the desires and comforts our species seeks. So, perhaps we should leave the suburbs alone and stick the retrofit agenda on the bottom of the pile, who knows, there may be time to get to it later.