Gated Communities are a localized and decentralized response to the security issue, real or imagined, that civil and social order is failing and that the state does not have sufficient reach or budget to protect life, limb and property uniformly.

They were decried to an extent as the rich locking themselves away, and in truth it was probably not necessary in countries with functioning governments such as the US or Australia; however in places like Brazil where economic inequality is much more violent, it probably was an essential entrepreneurial response to a weak state.

Ecocuidad, MVRDV + GRAS

I don't see how the eco-green utopias like the Logrono Montecorvo Eco City project are any different to the principles of the gated communities. This is a localized and decentralized response by entrepreneurs, the state and designers to the issue of energy security.

It may be cooler to have a carbon neutral urban node, it may be more ethical to live in a green community; but it is a mechanism to 'design out' through energy isolation; the arbitrary, volatile and potentially destructive possibilities of catastrophic energy failure.

I consider both, gated communities and energy communities, as perfectly valid lifestyle and economic choices. It is an interesting organizational pattern.

I am not sure why suburbia cops so much in the way of hostility. I grew up in Sydney's north western suburbs, and other than a stint in Coogee/Maroubra, the rest of my time in Australia and the United States has been in suburban environments. Even now I am living in suburbia. I like it.

Normally the stereotypes of suburbia are thrown up, such as the row upon row of aesthetically similar houses, townhomes and condos. Like in the picture above which is a new suburb in Nth Virginia. What isn't seen in that picture is that those townhomes back onto a town-squarish type of mall.

The other arguments against suburbia are that it is boring, looks too similar, lacks culture, people are fleeing back to the urban environments because of gas prices, houses use too much gas/electricity, roads and petrol consumption, etc. While urban environments achieve green economies of scale the impact from suburbs is not that great. Most of our fossil fuel emissions are from stationary energy sources, not road transportation. Same with water consumption, agriculture is the biggest user of fresh water, not residential (urban or surburban).

There has been an exit from suburbia recently - as in the last two decades - as young people seek more cultural lives in the town squares of cities and the increasing cost of suburban housing followed by the foreclosures - have placed pressure on the suburbs. Historically there has been an ebb and flow from the urban and suburban centers. This is nothing really new. The urban-scapes will most likely one day become unpalatable for a multitude of reasons and the suburbs will grow again.

The other issue is that as technologies decentralise, whether it be transport of the 1950s, telecommunications of the 80s and 90s, or maybe solar technology of the future. The large land areas of the suburbs will most likely come to the fore as productive areas again. A roof is a large solar collector for instance, more than a condominium balcony can offer.

David Owen argues [pdf] for urban green with himself as a New Yorker as example. He lives in a modest house; has limited consumption because of his small house; does not own a car; and uses his feet, legs or public transport to get around. (more)

Roger Scruton is a political philosopher who continues a tradition of common law conservatism going back to Edmund Burke. His A Political Philosophy is a short sketch of that philosophy on various issues of the day - with the bioethical and social thought foregrounded and economic consequences a side effect. It is a book for mainline conservatives, old countryside Tories, a book where settled law and cultural convention carries weight.

It is also an environmentalist book. Scruton has recast the old arguments for conservatism in the language of twenty first century biology. Conservatism, here, is the process of preserving and enriching the social ecology; of defending it from entropy and death; from generation to generation. (more)

Tony Abbot writes , "Rudd's real test won't be how he handles consorting allegations. It will be explaining how it's possible to tear up workplace agreements and halve greenhouse gas emissions without sabotaging the economy." I am with Al Gore on this one, solving global warming is an opportunity to grow an economy. (more)

Bruce Sterling recently declared that Viridian greens are winning . In a week where John Howard hails climate scientist Tim Flannery as Australian of the Year , he might have a point. In 2007, you're green or you're dead in the water. Which brings us to libertarians. (more)