mcmansion mania

In 1991, a firestorm burned down over 3,000 homes in the Oakland-Berkeley hills. It was one of the largest disasters in US history. Now almost 20 years later, the area has been transformed in more ways than one. Before the fire the hills were densely overgrown with eucalyptus trees and large shrubs. The houses were small wooden structures, often dark brown in color, and hidden in the shrubbery. Many resembled cottages or ski-cabins of the sort one might find in the Sierra. One could easily travel up Tunnel Road near where the fire started, and not notice the houses in the canyon. These days it is hard to see the canyon from the mansions.

The area has been rebuilt with a vengeance. Huge estate-like homes that take up entire lots all the way to the property line, tower over one another. From some angles it looks like people built skyscrapers as one house looms large over another with no break in between. I read somewhere that before the 1991 fire there were no million dollar homes in Oakland. Now there is barely a house to be found in the "burn area" that costs less than $1 million. Most are over 4,000 sq ft. and comprise 3 or more stories.

One has to wonder what got into people. Surely many made a killing on insurance payments and what better way to spend it than to build a palatial estate and fill it with goodies. Shop till you drop. But the signs of trouble are already popping up. While construction activity is ongoing -and every new house is even bigger than the previous ones- there are several properties in foreclosure. Others are for sale and many of those have "new price" and "price reduced" stickers in plain sight.

The Bay Area prides itself on environmental responsibility. People here believe in recycling and buying organic food. They hate cigarette smoking. They also like the Prius hybrid. However, it never occurs to them that all their driving -and Bay Area residents like to drive-, their love of four wheel drive cars, and their lust for mcmansions is utterly irresponsible.

Apart from being environmentally unfriendly, big homes are also a big liability. They require a lot of stuff to fill, meaning a lot of extra money. And filling them people do. I have earlier commented on this fear of emptiness (see horror vacui) and the desire to always fill a dwelling to capacity.

Big houses also use a lot of energy to run. Most new homes have air conditioning despite the fact that it is barely needed in the Bay Area (unlike the Central Valley, summers are cool here). Air conditioning and heating, are but two of the many extra expenses these houses bring with them. Just think of all the light bulbs and all the TV sets that are needed to decorate the mansions. There is also cleaning, repairing, etc. All of this is fine as long as there is plentiful cheap oil.

Let's not forget about the water. Most Bay Area residents like their sprinkler systems. The bigger the house, the more water and energy they need. And so it should be no surprise that the East Bay municipal water district is thinking about rationing water again. Now add in the high price of oil, the weakening economy, and many of these wonderful new palaces start looking like overgrown dinosaurs waiting for extinction.