Linked by David Adams on Thu 18th Oct 2007 13:57 UTC
Remember those great "home of the future" demonstrations from days past? If you're not old enough to remember them from world fairs, Disneyland, or movie newsreels, you've probably seen the cartoons parodying them: Robotic maids, self-cleaning kitchens, futuristic-looking plastic furniture, dehydrated food; everything white, round, and sparkling. Well, it's the future now, and it didn't exactly turn out the way they thought it would, but thanks to ubiquitous computer technology, today's home can have capabilities that futurists 50 years ago would never have imagined.
Permalink for comment 279163
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:
2005-07-08
Plus, property and landscaping maintenance is annoying and expensive for suburbanites. Townhouse communities offer centralized outdoor facilities like pools, fields, and picnic areas that end up being better-maintained and a whole lot cheaper because the cost is spread over many families.
You don't have the privacy or exclusivity, but there's always a heavy premium associated that. For people who spend so much of their time at work, it's convenient to be able to meet new people and socialize at the community pool or fitness center. Having many more families nearby and without any main roads is great for kids.
Modern society, and I would suggest America in particular, is losing its sense of togetherness. If we don't find more effective ways of bringing people together, the religious fundamentalist nutjobs will continue to proliferate their self-righteous hatred. I tell you, science and rationalism was doing great until people started moving to the suburbs and finding this new brand of megachurch Jesus.