New at Reason
Ron Bailey defends the mighty city from doom-and-gloomer Jeremy Rifkin.
Comments to "New at Reason":
Ron Bailey | December 22, 2006, 11:33am | #
David: Maybe they're related? ;-) Good catch--fixed now. Thanks.That's too bad. I was hoping his gripe would be that cities are dangerous places where men can strangle and mutilate prostitutes without being caught.
Rifkin is thoroughly stuck in his role. His income is dependent upon lving his role.
Until Rifkin steps away from his word processor, moves out to a commune in the sticks, and starts working on a subsistence-level farm with no pesticides, fertilizer, or tractors, he will remain a damned dirty hypocrite.
Guy Montag | December 22, 2006, 1:32pm | #
This article reading habit you people have gotten me into is quite strange, but I have done it twice in a row now.I must say, any writer who can pluck a quote containing "Amazonia" for his column gets all plusses on my score card!
rm2muv | December 22, 2006, 1:47pm | #
Cities are nice places to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Thankfully, we still have the opportunity to choose. One of these days I may tire of paying for and maintaining four-wheel drive rigs, tractors with snowblowers, and day-long trips to shop, but, until then, I'll enjoy pressure free driving, the merry gurgle of my creek, and the ocasional wait for deer to move out of the way so I can get down my drive.While replacing a bridge, the highway department installed a traffic light for the one-lane traffic ove the past couple of months. This annoyance has reminded me how glad I am to have the nearest traffic light 60 miles away most of the time.
Patrick O'Connor | December 22, 2006, 2:12pm | #
Genuinely urban cities are the most environmentally efficient form of existing with nature that we possess because they can substitute public luxury for private or household consumption. They can square the circle between environmental sustainability and a decent standard of living. I mean, however big your library is or vast your swimming pool, it'll never be the same as the New York Public Library or a great public pool. No mansion, no San Simeon, will ever be the equivalent of Central Park or Broadway.~Mike Davis, author "Planet of Sums"
Neoncat | December 22, 2006, 3:57pm | #
I've noticed a lot of anti-rural posts on the Hit & Run boards lately. Those who prefer the more pastoral life to the busy city are accused of squandering energy and resources. While one would expect the libertarian minded to say, live where you damn well please, the tone I have come away with is that you are an idiot if you live in the country.I have lived in Atlanta most of my life, and have seen a lot of the eastern US, including New York City, Kansas City, Cleveland, and Pittsburg, among others. I have also been privileged to see the Adirondacks, the Smokies and the Thousand Islands, among other places. On the whole, with all the terrific advantages, culturally and otherwise, the city offers, there are times when I would love to live in some spot where one cannot hear the sound of an internal combustion engine, a car stereo being kindly shared with other drivers or a person talking on a cell phone.
So, really, once I can afford to live in such an environment, the more people that want to live in cities, the better. You can take my place.
douglas westerman | December 22, 2006, 4:10pm | #
Ha! So Mr. Bailey grew up on a dairy farm. He was scarred for life against country living!!Cities which are small enough to be complete and interesting, but don't have all the congestion and bad air are best. Places like Sao Paulo and Mexico City suck. Victoria, the biggest city on Vancouver Island is fantastic.
george | December 22, 2006, 10:45pm | #
douglas westermanVictoria, the biggest city on Vancouver Island is fantastic.
The part that I saw was pretty 'touristy', but then I was a tourist.
Larry A | December 23, 2006, 12:18pm | #
The majority of human beings are living in cities for the first time in history.What's a "city?" Is the town I live in a "city" because it has 20,000 population and is far enough away from San Antonio so we have our own hospital, live theater, etc? Then I agree with the article. OTOH if it isn't considered a "city," then a whole lot of people are moving here to get the hell out of Houston.
Rural living is restful until you get old enough to need civilization. After you get through on 911, 45 minutes is a really long time to wait for an ambulance.
Paul | December 23, 2006, 9:22pm | #
and animal and human power to sustain lifeThat's why I'm not a vegetarian. Gotta keep my connection to the natural order'n stuff.
Jim | December 23, 2006, 9:40pm | #
My first trip to New York City was to see a Picasso exhibition at MOMA in the 1970s. I emerged from the subway at Columbus Circle, looked around, turned to my friends, and said: "I'm home." I eventually had the great pleasure of living and working New York for about 8 years.My first trip to New York consisted of a recruiting trip to a local school of higher education in the early 80's. I have more than a couple vivid memories, the traffic double and triple parked and trying to jam too many lanes in one direction, hookers with tits popping out along the side of the road, but most of all the obnoxious assholes I ran into out there generally. That was over 24 years ago, and I swore I would never go back to that anus of the planet.
I'm glad you enjoy it as home. I've thus far kept that promise and foresee no danger of breaking it.
MainstreamMan | December 23, 2006, 11:39pm | #
Jim,"That was over 24 years ago, and I swore I would never go back to that anus of the planet."
It ain't the place you saw at all. Much has changed. NYC is now one of the friendliest, safest cities in the world.
Jim | December 24, 2006, 1:55pm | #
It ain't the place you saw at all. Much has changed. NYC is now one of the friendliest, safest cities in the world.And you have a bridge for sale?
people should live where they damn well please. this way we can visit each other, say "nice shack/apartment," compliment the local women and/or beer and go back home and tell stories about the other place and how much it sucked.
biologist | December 26, 2006, 12:37pm | #
"hookers with tits popping out along the side of the road"Jim, you say that like it's a bad thing