Welcome to Suburbia!
The first thing I noticed about this quiet suburban city of 50,000 nestled between Dallas and Fort Worth was the sprawl. Cars in every direction, these communities were built entirely around housing, with few businesses other than grocers and, of course, fast food restaurants.
There is no public transportation.
Nor would it be feasable or economical even if a politican were to propose it, because the population density is so low--and americans so involved with their automobiles--that it is beyond impractical. I find it curous that people think "everyone drives in L.A." But at least in Los Angeles there is Metro, and the public transit system is not so bad. Because of the design of the city and its massive size, commuting by automobile is the preffered way to travel if you have any sort of real job. Mexican immigrants largely patronize the bus services, while the rail and subway system enjoy a more diversified ridership.
A Metro survey found the average sallary of a Los Angeles bus rider was around $12,000 anually.
But in Texas, cars--trucks rather--are even more pertinent. This is clearest in the suburbs. At night, youths drive around aimlessly with nothing to do. Mostly because there is nothing to do. What I noticed most is the lack of a place where people can go to meet up and hang out, without planning ahead.
So, what then? Well, video games, television, movies, and other homebound activities are certain to prevail. Americans are spending more money on home theatre equipment than ever before. Children are living longer with their parents and recieving more financial assitance for longer as well. People are fat. Not because they want to be, but because the stresses of commuting often make preparing a healthy meal unappealing, and there are no places to walk to.
So when it's late in the evening, and one is bored, what is there to do? If parents want to help prevent against their kids doing drugs and alchohol, stop living in the surburbs, where your adolescent youth are dependant on automobiles to get around, and there's no way to explore the world in which we live.
What I love most about cities with public transit is that any kid with permission from his parents, even at middle school ages, can board a bus and see the world, even if it is only the city. This is important, because not only does the child get excersise by going around on foot, social, economic, and cultural barriers are also broken down.
You see more than just your home.
What forces have built our communities like this? We worry on terrorism and war, but if we look closely, we can see that we're really killing ourselves with our own backyards.
They have built this world where people are in love with a home to themselves and the illusion of security created only by being so hard to get to without car. Who are they? Where are they?
And how can they be stopped?