Malcolm Gladwells book: "The Tipping Point" has got me to wonder if the problems I see in everyday life aren't really just a collection of small things that became epidemics. Obesity is commonly referred to in media as an epidemic, and I think I would consider suburban living to be an epidemic as well. There was even a tipping point to get suburban living started. And, surprisingly enough it wasn't the automobile itself, but rather the spread of highways.
Before the 1920s roads were mostly dirt and there was no such thing as a multilane highway. Therefore, it was still not feasible for urban populations to live away from mass transit systems, or to live far away from their wok workplaces. But, with the introduction of massive paved highways during and after WWII, suburban expansion followed swiftly.
Similarly, many are predicting that the suburban experiment will fail, not because of a new technology, but because of high oil prices. I tend to agree, but even if we can still operate our vehicles cheaply in the future. It doesn't mean that we need to live in these sprawling communities.
Even though obesity and suburban living have been shown to be directly linked, there has been no move to change lifestyles. Maybe high gas prices will be the cure to more than one epidemic in North American Society.
