By Stephen C. Rose
For now if we mean to get out of this crisis.
For later in the manner of Carter's remorseful speech if we do not do these things now.
THE BAD NEWS
1. Say that we cannot build an economy that will work by creating and selling more and more private vehicles. Effective now our policy will be to replace private vehicles by public transportation and other steps noted below.
2. Say that we cannot build an economy by spreading sprawling single dwellings that declined in value because they never were worth what people paid for them. We will be moving toward new human settlements that bode a new and more integral society.
THE GOOD NEWS
By these two decisions we have the basis for the new economy. We will design new human settlements and make them a model for the world that will exist when we have moved beyond the car and sprawl.
To begin to develop the positive talking points, set your speechwriters to reading the following:
Please read Our Crisis Is Not Economic as a starting point.
It has been said that the President puts little stock in blogs so I am not holding my breath. He is in good company. Huffington Post typically sinks my pattern language posts in record time. And even people I try to explain this to scratch their head. So why do I keep on? Because I know that the economy will not come back on the strengths of a private car and single homes economy. I know that the new economy will take place when we change to a society based on livable, car-free human settlements where the features of urban life are within reach of everyone. Read the links above and think about it.
Oh, and what caused the crisis? A gluttonous economy based on an unfounded belief in growth based on selling more cars and more houses.
You have just read what no administration voice has said thus far and until the President says it we will tank more and more.
Oh, and where I did get these odd ideas? Studying with C. A. Doxiadis in the 60s and advocating similar principles with no success since then.