Climate Housing
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Ten years of car commuting could cost you $125,000
A lot of home buyers are pushing out into the exurbs because the houses are cheaper there -- but long commutes come with hidden costs that could seriously dent any money you might save on a mortgage. A personal finance blogger with the trust-inspiring nom de plume of Mr. Money Mustache (okay, so he's a mustache, but it's a MONEY mustache!) has calculated that a two-car commute of 19 miles each way would cost a couple $125,000 over 10 years. That makes a $250,000 home into a $375,000 home, but all you get for your extra money is a tension headache.
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The curse of the exurbs
Sprawling, farther-off suburbs like Yorkville, Ill., boomed during the housing bubble, but have taken a terrific tumble in the crash.
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How smart growth in cities saves wilderness [VIDEO]
The relationship between smart urban development and rural conservation is a mutually beneficial one.
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Which cities pay the most for gas?
Which cities eat up the most gas? Mint.com has the lowdown on how often their users buy gas every month, and how much they spend (click for a larger infographic).
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Mom who lost son in hit-and-run could face more jail time than driver
Raquel Nelson of Marietta and her three children were hit by a tipsy two-time hit-and-runner, Jerry L. Guy, in April 2010. Nelson's 4-year-old later died of his injuries. But prosecutors dropped a homicide charge against Guy, and he was sentenced to two years for hit-and-run and served only six months. Nelson, who was convicted this week of vehicular manslaughter for having the chutzpah to cross a street, could get 36 months -- six times longer than the man who killed her child.
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Look how much more space we'd have without sprawl
If we could just get everyone in the world to pack in a little tighter, we'd have a hell of a lot more open space to work with. Imagine the possibilities! We could pack everyone into the Midwest, fill Canada with wind turbines, and leave everything else for wildlife. Okay, maybe that's not realistic, […]
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D.C. will bribe people to shorten their commutes
If you live in the D.C. area, the Office of Planning wants you to get paid up to $12,000 to avoid a car commute. Wait, really? Car commuting costs a metric pantload in fuel and destroys your soul — isn't this like trying to pay someone not to slowly pummel themselves to death with Faberge eggs? But some […]
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Developer to make sprawl slightly less bad by putting solar panels on it
Oh man, one more of these and it's a New York Times trend story: First it was sprawl developers who had to give away cars in order to sell their McMansions in the eighth circle of exurban hell, now it's some developer in Phoenix who wants to attract baby boomers to purchase 11,200 new homes by […]
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Thinking ‘like an Avon Lady’ to get suburban workers on transit
Making a greener office park.Photo: Keith CuddebackFascinating case study in The Atlantic about getting people out of their cars and onto transit for their commute. Lisa Margonelli writes about a program at a suburban California office park that has had huge success in encouraging workers to leave the car at home — by emphasizing the […]
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The drugstore chains that ate America’s suburbs [VIDEO]
What is the fabric of the modern American community? Well, a big part of it consists of an endless parade of chain drugstores selling the kind of stuff chain drugstores sell (including booze!). That’s the landscape that Chris Weagel shows us from his hometown of St. Clair Shores, Mich. It is also a landscape that […]
