High gas prices aren’t going to force people back to urban areas. It’ll promote a small degree of downtown revitalization to serve those currently living in suburban communities for the convenience of malls, etc., who would move closer if the amenities were there, but those who live “in the sticks” and commute to downtown offices live “in the sticks” because it’s a lifestyle they want. My wife and I both work with folks who commute 60+ miles each way because they’ve found a plot of land they wouldn’t leave for anything. The cost of gas and time spent in the car is just part of the sacrifice for their little piece of paradise. Others (like me) live where we live because of the quality of the school systems. I could move closer to work, but the school systems aren’t as good.
High gas prices will promote more telecommuting, and the technology keeps improving to facilitate that. I can access my work PC from my laptop anywhere in the world. I can have a face-to-face conversation with someone in Australia without leaving the comfort of home. A few years ago when gas prices last pushed $4/gallon, my wife’s office had a marked increase in the number of folks who worked from home one day a week. There have been studies that have shown how working from home one or two days a week increases productivity in many instances.
The sad reality is that we’ll never have a European-style public transportation system here. Politicians and taxpayers alike are typically too short-sighted (or partisan) to see the long-term benefit of the investment–even when they can see tangible results of how that investment has already paid off in other areas of their own community. Denver’s light rail system is a perfect example. Development along the line where the light rail has been built has been fantastic. There are no vacant shopping malls anywhere near a light rail station, park-and-ride lots are typically full, and real estate values near the light rail have actually seen an increase over the past two years! Yet those in communities “planned” to be served by the light rail are very vocal in opposition because it’s “too expensive,” and will “ruin our community and property values.” I don’t get it. Maybe–just maybe–$4 - $6/gallon gas will begin to change that mindset, but I doubt it. All this talk about breaking our dependence on foreign oil, and the locals here are still vehemently opposed to any kind of local energy production, be it oil, natural gas, solar, or wind–resources which Colorado has in abundance. “We want cheap oil, but you can’t have the stuff that’s here because it will ruin the landscape.” I just don’t get it…
Later,
K