Passages from "The End of the Hamptons" & More Lecture Notes

Yesterday (Tues. 2/24) in class I quoted the following passages in class from a book entitled, "The End of the Hamptons." Both passages had to do with what the authors of "Affluenza" call "swollen expectations," specifically as regards housing.

First, a definition of sorts of the "McMansion," which has become commonplace today:

"Despite the wide range of characteristics that McMansions seem to possess, most architects, scholars, and critics seem to agree on the basic elements of these fashionable houses. McMansions range from 3,000 to 7,000 square feet or more and are erected on relatively bare lots that have either been clear-cut of trees or occupy old farmland." (p. 60)

Then, an extreme example of excess in housing: "...no residential building has inspired more hyperbole than Ira Rennert's planned 110,000-square-foot complex, called "Fair Field," in Sagaponack. Rennert, a billionaire whose money comes primarily from buying and selling chemical and coal companies and cashing in on junk bonds, has designed a "home" that will feature almost 30 bedrooms, 40 bathrooms, a 164-seat theater, a restaurant-size kitchen, and an entire English pub reconstructed piece by piece from its historic location in Britain." (pp. 61-62)

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LECTURE NOTES ON CHAPTER 4: CHRONIC CONGESTION

A. We are literally "all stuffed up," which explains the growth of the storage industry. "In our homes, workplaces, and streets, chronic congestion has settled into our daily lives -- chaotic clutter that demands constant maintenance, sorting, displaying, and replacing." (p. 32)

1. They raise the question of: "...do we have stuff, or does it have us?" (p. 32)

B. Car clutter is a good case in point. We've been building and selling more and more cars to the point where we now have more cars (204 million) than registered drivers. And we can't keep up in terms of highway/road construction. Paradoxically: "The Texas institute researchers concluded that every 10 percent increase in the highway network results in a 5.3 percent increase in the amount of congestion." (p. 34)

1. And it's a very costly proposition when you consider the price tag for Boston's "Big Dig" was $18 billion (and counting because it still has problems), all to accommodate the private automobile.

2. And this is not to mention the serious environmental and health costs.

3. It is not going to get solved until we get serious about re-organizing communities (ending sprawl) so as to better accommodate mass transit and more walking, etc. -- higher density of housing.

C. "Despite tangible indications of indigestion, we keep consuming, partly because we're convinced it's normal." (p. 36)

1. But as the authors note, citing Erich Fromm (remember my reference to his concept of the "pathology of normalcy"): "That millions share the same forms of mental pathology does not make those people sane." (p. 36)


That takes us up to Chapter 5, where we'll pick up tomorrow. I wanted to get through Chapter 4 for the sake of your first essay assignment, which is DUE TOMORROW (THURS. 2/26).