Historically, America = Mobility. Now, apparently, no longer. America’s built landscape is ill-suited for $5 or $12 gasoline, plus all the other costs associated with scarce, expensive petroleum:
Decision by decision, dear petrol is having a transformative effect on the American household.
But the full extent of the changes underway may not become clear for years, or decades. The structures of America’s cities and towns, its economy and way of life were formed during a long era of cheap petroleum. But for the oil scares of the 1970s and early 1980s, the price and availability of petroleum have never been issues we’ve needed to think much about. But now we must, and we will likely be shocked by the pervasiveness of petroleum in our society.
Among other things, we’re likely to see a reversal of the Sunbelt migration patterns of the past generation, while compact Northeastern cities with robust public transportation systems make a comeback. And the global supply chains and just-in-time production techniques that bring stuff from China to your door may become financially unsustainable. (In other words, the Wal-Mart retailing model is likely doomed.) At least in its physical configuration, 21st century America is starting to sound something like 1950s America.
