A Suggested Link: Meet James Knustler . . .

I was first exposed to Mr. Knustler's work in the mid-1990's with his book THE GEOGRAPHY OF NOWHERE: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape. His weekly blog is entitled a mood-setting Clusterfuck Nation--one of my regular online reads (among others). . . His commentary is far-reaching about what the places of our country have become and he unapologetically discusses the upcoming train wreck in which he thinks it is all heading. He believes the United States (and the World) is at the onset of a energy emergency where the last 50 years of rampant American suburbanization and near-abandonment of our core cities has essentially written a check we can't cash without continued cheap energy.

Also, he may be the guy who initially coined the phrase "McMansion" . . .

For traditional stinging Knustler commentary check out the 30 October 2006 entry on his visit to a Georgia college town . . . What he describes is what New Orleans has managed to mostly avoid (at least better than most places) in the past 50 years. Will we be able to sustain "it" in the post-KTMB world?

Also be sure to check out his Eyesore of the Month . . .

TAGS: Katrina, New Orleans, NOLA, James Knustler, Urban Planning, Suburbanization