Sprawl

Urban sprawl has really taken it's toll on this city. Don't get me wrong, this is a great city - it just needs some work. It suffers from the doughnut effect. Downtown is full of beautiful buildings - not too tall, not too small, a nice mix of architectural styles. All around the edges are these "sub-divisions" or "housing editions" that are clearly plopped down onto what used to be corn fields. Every house is cut from one of three or four boring molds. The show Weeds, on Showtime, has this wonderful theme song that perfectly describes these fields of clones. It is called "Little Boxes" and it is by Malvina Reynolds. In season two, this cute little song is performed by several other artists. But I am getting off track. There are nice, large, interesting buildings downtown that would be perfect for vertical malls and cute little boutique storefronts and local restaurants with outdoor seating on the sidewalk - but they are close to empty because a ridiculous outdoor mall was built just outside of downtown. Ok, this is the Midwest. People do not like to shop outside for about 8 months out of the year because it is either raining or snowing. Now, quite a few of those stores in that outdoor mall are closing. So all of those resources to build those shops, pave those patios and walkways and that sea of parking lot, and bring all of the infrastructure/utilities to the location were wasted. All of the land that was vegetated is now sealed under the asphalt where it will never see sunshine or taste rain again. The majority of the city has about a 20 to 30 minute drive to work. Streets are congested with SUVs. Some people may ask "well why don't you move to a better city?", but I see that as running away from the problem. I have hope and I want to be a part of the solution.