Existence Minimum

I propose that Americans, once searching and striving for the American Dream of a house on a plot of land with a little picket fence and 2 cars in the driveway, are becoming more willing to accept a more space conscious private lifestyle. I believe that as growing numbers of Americans find the American Dream impossible to achieve economically and as they are forced to reduce spending to in order to maintain their connection to work, play, and society (the car) a trend toward existence minimum will be revived. This will also go along with recent developments in the understanding of what our lifestyle is doing to the environment.

Along with this will have to come a development of a stronger public life and a more active and well designed public realm. Public life will have to move back out of the home (see European social scene) . The current public realm is deteriorating or is designed with the suburban lifestyle in mind (malls especially). A revitalization of street life and free public spaces will be fairly easy to accomplish with a little bit of attention to design.

Cars in Disguise

I think that the way cars are advertized to Americans is already beginning to suggest their level of flexibility in use and design.


The new.














The old.














The conveinient.








Transformation can be easy, flexible, and groovey.



Who would have thought the Transformers would have become a part of my acedemic research. Guess I'll be forced to see the new movie when it comes out.

How MUCH is your commute?

Aside from the possible psyclogical damage associated with spending an hour in traffic every morning for that commute, the monetary cost of a car is astronomical. It costs about $6000 per year to own and operate a cheap compact car. This is a quote from a few years back before the huge increases in the price of gas so that number is probably much higher now. Heaven forbid if you have to pay for parking, tolls, or ,what is becoming increasingly popular, pollution "taxes."

How long is your commute?

An American with a one hour daily commute will spend 7 weeks of every year in their car. How long is your commute?

On an "average day" in 2003, persons in the U.S. age 15 and over slept about 8.6 hours, spent 5.1 hours doing leisure and sports activities, worked for 3.7 hours, and spent 1.8 hours doing household activities. During the remaining 4.8 hours, Americans ate, drank, went to school and shopped. from here

My fifth year will be focused on the development of my thesis document and project. My research will focus on the development of the car culture in the United States and its subsequent effects on urban culture and personal living space. Throughout the year I will be keeping this blog on the subject to maintain a continuous flow of my thougts as well as to open it up to general discussion.

A good deal of focus will be on the development of the new existence minimum (with much research and inspiration drawn from the work of J.J.P. Oud).

Resources

This will be a list of the books (in bold), articles or papers (in bold italics), and websites (as links) I have read/referenced (organized by topic) as part of my research. Some of the items listed were read long before I started this specific line of research.

Urban:
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler
Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck
Oath of Fealty by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
The City is Not a Tree by Christopher Alexander
The Nation: Cities Shed Middle Class, and the Richer are Poorer For It by Janny Scott, New York Times, 7/23/06
Retrofitting Suburbia by Victor Dover

Existence Minimum:
Mini House by Alejandro Bahamon
The Very Small House by Azby Brown
Compact Houses: Architecture for the Environment by Cristina Del Valle
Compact Living by Jane Graining et al
Mini House Style by Rico Komanoya
Portable House by Irene Rawlings and Mary Abel
The Big Book of Small House Designs: 75 Award-Winning Plans for Your Dream House, All 1,250 Square Feet or Less by Don Metz, et al
Small Houses: Contemporary Residential Architecture by Nocolas Pople
Good Green Homes by Jennifer Roberts
The Minimum Dwelling by Karel Teige
"100x100" by Michael Wolf|Photography|Hong Kong|
Brooklyn Bargain? First, Check the Cellar by Lisa Selin Davis, New York Times, 7/6/06

Cars:
Cars and Freedom, Cars and Fear by Mary Childers, New York Times, 7/23/06
Capitalist Roaders by Ted Conover, New York Times, 7/2/06
Gas Guzzlers Find the Price of Forgiveness by Anthony Depalma, New York Times 4/26/06
Vital Signs: Aging, Giving Up Driving, at Personal and Societal Costs by Eric Nagourney, New York Times, 7/25/06
Grease is the Word: Fill it up with Fry Oil by Jim Norman, New York Times, 7/23/06

Cars and Architecture:
Carchitecture by Jonathon Bell
Mobile Homes by Famous Architects by Steve Schaecher


Nomadic Lifestyle:
Car Living Your Way: Stories and Practical Tips from Those Who Have Been Down the Road by A.J. Heim
Ideas and Trends; On the Road with 4 TVs and a Fireplace by Bill Marsh, New York Times, 7/9/06
College My Way by Kate Zernike, New York Times, 4/23/06
Living In a Car from BBC Radio, script and audio here
Wandering Scribe a blog from a woman living in her car
Existing Home Sales Dropped in July by The AP, New York Times, 8/23/06

Environmentalism:
If I throw a stone I can find half a dozen websites and articles so most of these will not be listed.