Global Wandering

I’ve been traveling on a regular basis for about ten years. That is long enough to notice trends ⎯ which I suppose is one advantage of getting older, you’ve been around long enough to collect sufficient data points to draw definitive conclusions.

Today’s definitive conclusion is people are hauling around more and more stuff when they travel. Ten years ago roller bags were just gaining popularity. Most business travelers still used garment bags. In fact, there are still a few travelers with anguished faces lugging around garment bags. I’m convinced they endure this back breaking work not because they are cheap or can’t afford a roller bag. No, it is because no one has told them that if they buy decent clothes, they can pack them in 22 inch roller bags, hang them up at night and they won’t be wrinkled in the morning. Believe me, I was one of those misguided souls.

Back in the day, if you were going on an extended journey you would pack your things in a wood trunk or a few American Tourister suitcases. The volume of items packed was limited by your ability to physically transport it, especially given the trunks and suitcases were extremely heavy, even when empty. Now thanks to advances in lightweight ballistic fibers and precision wheel technology, travelers are free to pack whatever they want. And they do. This is most evident on rental car shuttles where I see people drag aboard roller bags that are almost as big as they are.

Now if you are going to stay somewhere for an extended length of time, you don’t rent a car. It’s too expensive. So I know these people with excessive luggage will only be at their destination for a week or two. As I sit on the rental car bus and compare my diminutive 22 inch roller bag with the rolling freight cars stacked on the floor, I can’t fathom what one would pack for a week’s vacation to fill them up. Food, perhaps?

If anyone has an idea, let me know.

Yesterday I had a few hours to kill before my flight so I took a long drive through Los Angeles neighborhoods. I headed north on La Brea Street toward Hollywood and didn’t stop until I was on the skinniest of one lane avenues high up in Hollywood hills where the famous folks live.

Los Angeles is one giant suburb. Cities and suburbs were on my mind because I had just read a white paper by Harvard’s Edward Glaeser titled Urban Resurgence and the Consumer City. The paper was an elaborate study of why people in the U.S. still live in cities.

Up until the late nineteenth century cities were a horribly unhealthy place to live because unclean water and poor sewage disposal led to disease. With the advent of the ingenious invention called the municipal bond in the early twentieth century, cities began borrowing funds to build sewage treatment plants and water systems. Cities became more livable and people lived there because that was where the jobs were and without cars it was uneconomical to live anywhere else. These large cities usually developed along rivers and lakes so coal and other goods and supplies could be easily transported.

With the invention of the automobile and cheap fuel, the great migration out of northern cities to warm southern riverless suburbs began and continues.

According to Glaeser, this vast migration out of cities to warmer suburbs is unique to the U.S. because in Europe, the countries are smaller, hence the weather more homogenous within a given country, and the gas taxes are much higher so it’s more expensive to own a car. Gas taxes and land must be cheaper in Australia than in Europe, because I noticed when I visited Australia last August, the country seemed to have as many suburbs as the U.S.

What I found surprising about Glaeser’s study is common wisdom suggests sprawling suburbs lead to longer commute times. In fact, individuals that commute by car on average have shorter commute times than individuals that use public transportation (public transport takes longer due to the necessity of walking to the bus stop or train depot, waiting for the train to come, and then walking to your workplace once you arrive in the city⎯after sitting in LA traffic, I’m not convinced commuting by car is faster in that locale.)

Other surprising thing about the study is folks in the suburbs actually have more social interaction with residents then people do in cities. Also, the reason housing prices in northern cities haven’t fallen significantly despite declining populations is the housing stock is permanent so immigrants and people who can’t afford cars have moved in to take advantage of the affordable housing prices and public transportation.

There is hope for cities though, as many of these places are experiencing a renaissance. Cities are attracting more people because crime has fallen and the choice of amenities is greater in the cities than in the suburbs. These amenities include live theatre, concerts, museums, and fine restaurants.

What I wonder is how suburbanites will adapt if gas prices hit 4 or 5 dollars a gallon, a distinct possibility that I won’t elaborate on here. Suddenly, cities will be even more appealing.

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