James Howard Kunstler on Permablitz ‘Heroes’

“Permablitz is a great idea for raising public consciousness about the urgency of getting our act together on locally grown food. It’s also a welcome sign that the young adult generation is capable of heroism.”

James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere and The Long Emergency (www.kunstler.com)

Thanks Jim!  American social commentator James Howard Kunstler doesn’t have much hope for the future of suburbia.  He has said that suburbia represents “the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world.”  Why?  He believes mixed use higher density urban planning offers better lifestyles for less energy, and that rising energy costs from peak oil will make suburban sprawl difficult to service and maintain in the coming years and decades.  It’s a perspective explored in the documentary The End of Suburbia.

The permablitz movement looks towards retrofitting the suburbs so they are more community oriented, more sustainable and more self-sufficient.  I met JHK on a recent tour in Melbourne and said we hoped to prove him wrong, to offer a life raft to suburbia.  He asked how I thought we might go with that.  I said we’ve got some great models and we’re learning more fast, but the city is a big big place…

Come to a permablitz to help settle the argument.  And be a hero.