Irvinitis

We were traveling through Sacramento, Citrus Heights, and Roseville today. More Irvine-like oversized mansions, in artificially idyllic settings, far away from everything -except the other monster houses. Gated communities with poetic names and bronze lettering. With wide drive-ways, cul-de-sacs, and designed-for-cars-only hallmarks.

It is just crazy. This country went on a building spree the likes of which it has not seen for many decades. And this time around, all houses are oversized, overstuffed, with three and four car garages, and all of them are pedestrian unfriendly to the max.

There is no place to walk in these neighborhoods. Despite the many nicely-curved walking paths that are weaving around irrigated plants, and lighted with accent lighting but lead to nowhere, this is the most pedestrian-unfriendly wave of construction I have ever witnessed. And one that will soon prove ill-designed. This is car country. Humans are not welcome here, except as occupants of oversized SUV's and this new type of too-tall car they call a cross-over vehicle.

The first signs of decline are already visible, even before the new gloss fades. There are for sale signs everywhere and many have attached labels that read, price reduced, bargain, etc. The irrational exuberance of this building spree is there for all to see. What is not so visible yet is how these environmentally-destructive dwellings are soon going to go the same way as the oversized dinosaurs that preceded them. Extinction-prone.

We can only hope that people will be rational enough not to be tempted to buy into these bargain deals. A house like this is like a ball and chain. It forces you to pollute and waste energy no matter what you do. It is for addicts only. And like a huge box of coke, for some it will prove impossible to resist.