Densities

Spending a week in a California suburb, I can't help but notice what
low-density living is like. I always knew Californians were more
laid-back and us East Coasters were more high-strung. But I wonder
how much cause and how much effect densities are in these differences.

I live in a big city. Things are crowded together, and it's a good
thing, because it makes the place wonderfully walkable. Whether it's
high-rise condos, office skyscrapers, or public transportation,
compactness is a virtue.

Contrast that with California living, where houses are never more than
two stories high, and always unattached and moated by front lawns,
back lawns, and even side lawns. Retail is all one-story, surrounded
by vast parking lots. Highways are three, four, even five lanes per
direction. It's not quite rural, but I'm sure people here enjoy
having their space.

It's been kind of fun to check out of high-density living for a week,
and enjoy that space, too. It's a nice way to vacation, contrasted
with many people, for whom low-density living is the norm, and
vacation means heading in the other direction, to crowded resorts or
big cities.

But while I've enjoyed the slower daily rhythm and vaster personal
space of the West Coast suburbs, I'm itching to get back to my East
Coast city, to the compactness and energy and character of the streets
of Philadelphia.