[johnmarkos]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('marek', 'C')alifornia = ecotopia? My memories from the Golden State include the sprawl along El Camino Real / US-101. San Francisco itself is much better (it is actually my favorite U.S. city), but it still lacks a good public transportation system. I think Portland, OR represents the ideal of a city built on a human scale.

[bart]

Thanks for bringing up Ecotopia, johnmarkos. It presents a vision that was decades ahead of its time.

There's a companion volume, Ecotopia Emerging, which describes how the Ecotopian party took power.

The author, Ernest Callenbach, is retired and lives in Albany (near Berkeley). Occasionally he gives talks and writes articles. He recently put up a website, http://ernestcallenbach.com/ , which unfortunately causes my Firefox browser to crash.

Online articles by Callenbach:
The Green Triangle
The Earth's Commandments

Sad to say, Marek's impression about sprawl in the SF Bay Area is largely correct. We had a chance to go green in the 70s, but we blew it. On the other hand, there are more parks and open space here than in almost any other metropolitan area, according to Galen Rowell.

[johnmarkos]

Here's an interview with Ernest Callenbach.

http://www.energybulletin.net/4458.html

BTW, I was just in Portland, which was nice. The MAX (light rail) is cool. However, compared to the city of San Francisco, where I make my home, Portland is pretty sprawling. It's like the suburbs within the city limits of Portland (they have big yards, lots of parking, etc). I can't imagine biking or walking as comfortably there as I do in San Francisco. Nonetheless, they seem to have done a good job of containing most of their sprawl within the city limits. In San Francisco, we pack 'em in within the city limits and let the suburbs sprawl.

[born2respawn]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bart', 'H')e recently put up a website, http://ernestcallenbach.com/ , which unfortunately causes my Firefox browser to crash.

[bart]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('born2respawn', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bart', '
')He recently put up a website, http://ernestcallenbach.com/ , which unfortunately causes my Firefox browser to crash.