As long as I'm on a David Lereah kick, spurred by the recent Wall Street Journal article about him, here's a satellite photo of his house (which he bought exactly seven years ago today). As the article says, he works at home nowadays.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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No pool? Poor guy. I wonder if that big house is worth it now that he is known as the NAR jester
ReplyDeletewho misleaded the public with his pitch that "it's always a good time to buy."
no sidewalks - another neighborhood built to promote TV and obesity
ReplyDeleteNotice too how the walkway leads from the driveway and not the sidewalk (or lack thereof). It is a complete abandonment of the idea that anyone would ever walk to the house.
ReplyDelete" It is a complete abandonment of the idea that anyone would ever walk to the house."
ReplyDeleteThe suburan experiment (circa 1948 - 2008) is winding down.
Let's hope they keep those bridges to VA closed permanently!
James,
ReplyDeleteI love this. Not because I'm interested, but I just love good troll-baiting.
Awesome.
Chuck
I propose first step in upgrading our infrastructure is to put sidewalks in every neighborhood, and connecting sidewalks/walking trails between neighborhoods and businesses
ReplyDelete"I propose first step in upgrading our infrastructure is to put sidewalks in every neighborhood, and connecting sidewalks/walking trails between neighborhoods and businesses"
ReplyDeleteCareful with what you say around here. To some, the statement above tantamount to communism. Heaven forbid some fat slob (whether he lives in a house or an apartment) has to walk anywhere. Its un-American!
Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete"no sidewalks - another neighborhood built to promote TV and obesity"
Where he lives, it's too far to walk anywhere. Sidewalks would be useless.
James,
ReplyDeleteIt is that train of thought that has waistlines busting at the seams. Sad.
Anon 1:15,
ReplyDeleteJames clearly cannot see past life with his automobile. For most Americans, life *is* an automobile.
Interesting how 'enlightened' people don't realize that their car-centric way of life is but a blip on the radar screen of history.
Geez,
ReplyDeleteHeart disease became the #1 killer of Americans in the late 1940s. The medical community scrambled to find the cause of the epidemic. Here is what they eventually learned after decades of research:
- Americans became sedentary after WWII, which is when the personal automobile and suburban communities became standards in American lifestyles.
What does all that have to do with a housing bubble blog? If you can't see the relationship between home values, community design (e.g. 'sidewalks') and ubiquitous obesity in this country; you're blind. (I'm looking at you, James)
Here you go: it is called the "Framingham Heart Study"
http://www.framinghamheartstudy.org
You're welcome. Enjoy your commute tonight.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteIf you can't see the relationship between home values, community design (e.g. 'sidewalks') and ubiquitous obesity in this country; you're blind. (I'm looking at you, James)
I'm sorry, but there is a limit to how fast people can walk (about 5 mph). At that rate, it would take David Lereah at least an hour to go anywhere (other than other people's houses). Then it would also take him at least an hour to get back.
Also, the idea that sidewalks are required to walk from one place to another is ridiculous. In more rural areas, people just walk on the side of the road.
People don't walk more in the city because there are sidewalks. They walk more because there are destinations within walking distance.
"People don't walk more in the city because there are sidewalks. They walk more because there are destinations within walking distance."
ReplyDeleteThats really the issue. Things in the city are built to a human scale - they have what James Kuntsler refers to as "a sense of place". The places out in the burbs dont have that...
Unlike the fellow doomer here, I dont think all suburban areas will become slums. There is simply not enough dense space to fit everyone in and too many people who have the means and the desire to live in the burbs.
Just watch your neighborhoods carefully. The first time you hear someone wanting to subdivide a McMansion into a duplex or a quadriplex, leave - immediately...
If he lives in snow country you don't want sidewalks. Otherwise you are responsible for clearing them and liable for someone else getting injured. Your plan for Utopia will require tort reform.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDelete"These posts are just ridiculous!! Who gives a rat's ass about the sidewalks."
People who need a place to spit their gum.
Anonymous said...
"If he lives in snow country you don't want sidewalks."
Lereah lives in a very heavily-wooded area in Northern Virginia.
What's ridiculous is suburbanites defending "rural" living.
ReplyDeleteActually, what is more ridiculous is the notion of a "heavily-wooded" area in NOVA. You can't walk for more than ten minutes in any 'wooded' area in NOVA without coming across a strip mall or a community made of particle board.
The only way that makes sense is if walking for ten minutes meets your definition of the term "working out". And in that case, a community of 1 acre lots is "the countryside" to you.
"People who need a place to spit their gum."
ReplyDeleteWe have two classes of suburbanites downtown:
Those who spit their gum on the sidewalk while walking to/from their parking garages; and those who are paid by the hour to scrape the gum off the sidewalk at night before returning to their suburban rental communities.
Does Lereah wear boxers, or briefs? Or boxer-briefs?
ReplyDeleteJames, please let us know.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteActually, what is more ridiculous is the notion of a "heavily-wooded" area in NOVA. You can't walk for more than ten minutes in any 'wooded' area in NOVA without coming across a strip mall or a community made of particle board.
Yes you can.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteWhat's ridiculous is suburbanites defending "rural" living.
I wasn't "defending" rural living. I was pointing out the fallacy in assuming that sidewalks get people to walk.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteActually, what is more ridiculous is the notion of a "heavily-wooded" area in NOVA. You can't walk for more than ten minutes in any 'wooded' area in NOVA without coming across a strip mall or a community made of particle board.
According to Wikipedia, the average walking speed is about 2-3 mph. Assuming Lereah walks at 3 mph, it would take him roughly an hour-and-a-half to reach his beloved Dunkin Donuts. The return trip would take another hour-and-a-half.
it speaks volumes about mainstream media that someone with so little credibility and an obvious conflict of interest was quoted so often.
ReplyDeletesadly, the same can be said about the morons that actually listened to him and believed his lies.
"According to Wikipedia, the average walking speed is about 2-3 mph. Assuming Lereah walks at 3 mph, it would take him roughly an hour-and-a-half to reach his beloved Dunkin Donuts. The return trip would take another hour-and-a-half."
ReplyDeleteYou are overweight, aren't you?
James, if you must do a little research to learn how fast the average person can walk, you clearly are a sedentary person.
ReplyDeleteI walk 4 MPH, by the way.
Sorry, but very few people walk around with pedometers, or otherwise measure their walking speed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, even if Lereah walked 4.5 mph, it would still take him an hour to reach the Dunkin Donuts he loves so much. Again, the return trip would take another hour.