KunstlerCast #88: In General
KunstlerCast - Suburban Sprawl: A Tragic Comedy
English - November 12, 2009 18:42 - 24 minutes - 28.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 380 ratingsPlaces & Travel Society & Culture History city economy planning politics architecture cities kunstler sociology suburb urban Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
James Howard Kunstler speaks about the role of generalists in a world of hyper specialists. Although hyper-specialists are experts in their narrow fields, their work is often disregardful of the larger picture. Traffic engineers, for example, can move huge numbers of cars extremely efficiently, using fine-tuned formulas for curve ratios and grades, but their final product often makes downtowns un-walkable for pedestrians. A sense of hyper-individualism in U.S. culture is another obstacle that stands in the way of thinking about our society and its problems in general terms. At the close of the show, a listener shares his thoughts on the vibrant center city of Philadelphia.
Sponsors: Chelsea Green, publisher of Waiting on a Train by James McCommons, with forward by James Howard Kunstler. http://chelseagreen.com. Additional support from: http://audiblepodcast.com/kunstler