The BEST Post-Peak U.S. Locations Thread

coyote

Thanks Thuja! Smile

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"If a path to the better there be, it begins with a full look at the worst." — Thomas Hardy

AnniCat

benzoil

AnniCat

benzoil

Cobra_Strike

gego · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Mar 03, 2005 Posts: 1334

At the end of this road.

http://www.cluttercottage.com/CalLnet.jpg

TommyJefferson

The Goldilocks Post-Peak location criteria:

- not too cold, not too hot
- not too wet, not too dry
- not too rural, not too urban
- not too monoculture, not too diverse
- not too rich, not too poor

I'm looking for it. My part of Texas is too hot, too wet, too urban, too diverse, and too poor.

I'm going to have a look at Joplin, Missouri, and Bastrop, Texas this summer.
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UnpreparedMF

How about Western Illinois/Southern Iowa/Northern Missouri? I'm looking at areas that lie on a waterway that feeds the Mississippi. The real estate is relatively cheap, even on a waterway and you could invest in wind, solar and micro-hydro for personal electricity and meter back what you don't use. The farmland, with proper management can produce enough locally and you can grow enough for biodiesel to support your own operations and transportation fuel (Note, I don't have calculations yet to back this up, this is speculation).

I'm working on a research project to prove this out and hope to have enough time/resources to implement this on a personal scale.
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pea-jay

Detroit Urban farming... It's not as farfetched as it sounds

Detroit has lost half its population and close to a corresponding amount of constructed households. Decay hasn't been uniform, but good parts of the city look like this. (I posted this comment originally on the Oildrum.com, but it works well here.)

Stepping back for a moment...

This is dramatic. The left hand side of the aerial shows a neighborhood in definate decline. Quite a few of the blocks have only a few houses on them. Other neighborhoods have entire blocks that are empty. On the right side you can see a more-intact urban pattern. While there are missing houses there as well, it is far denser. Imagine this density over on the other side and you can get an idea how hollowed out this and other cities have become. It's not just residences. Businesses are gone as well. The largest open space on this area is by my guessing a former commercial or industrial building. Countless other examples like this exist elsewhere in the US rustbelt.

It's tragic and quite sad to witness this happen.

It also might be an opportunity for the future. Look around that first aerial and you will see intact streets (potholes not withstanding) and relatively intact electrical infrastructure. I am also presuming the water and sewerage system also remains in place (its easier to leave it in than dig it out) and mostly functional. What I am getting at is you have here is an existing (and grossly underutilized) urban infrastructure that is more adaptable to a low energy future than the surrounding suburbs.

Now, granted there is a reason why this area was abandoned in the first place; a flight of jobs and its rippling effects on the social and ultimately the urban fabric. Still, a low-energy future will turn previously held assumptions on their heads. Right now this land is obviously less than desireable. Now imagine a world where mobility is limited by fuel costs and shortages. These areas depicted above now, become MORE valueble. Distances between places (existing and new) are shorter. Road and sidewalk systems already exist. Infrastructure is largely in place (some repairs may be needed). The land layout is far more conducive to public transportation.

Then add the fact many of these properties are foreclosed or city-owned (and offered up at discount rates in many places). It all adds up to potential rebirth, at the expense of the surrounding suburbs.

Done right you could see new, energy efficient construction clustered just right to make public transit viable, surrounded by urban gardens and farms. Add in business relocations from the burbs as well and some of these rust belt cities could rise from aparent oblivion (thanks in large part to their open space)

It may happen piecemeal regardless whether or not urban govts buy into it. If one does, it may actually work.

But back to what's actually going on now. Here are a few snap shots of agriculture reclaiming the city of Detroit.

More pics located here.
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pea-jay

For those of you considering the Northwest...Stay away!

Just kidding.

Seriously though, my opinion is that this area does have some distinct advantages over other areas. A wet, mild climate with agricultural areas makes this region better off than others. In a number of places you could completely do without by rainwater harvesting (though you'd need a cistern to make it through the dry months). Urban areas are decent sized but small on CA or Eastern Seaboard standards. Still this area is hardly monotonous. There are parts that are pretty dry while others are so wet as to preclude much cultivation. (the average annual rainfall in my town is about 70"/yr, with a record year dumping close to 120". Mold is a problem. Some places are liberal hot-spots and others are completely conservetive. Some locations are close to everything (think small towns within biking distances of each other) and others that are close to nothing. Most places have renewable or alternate energy possibilities, but some are better than others. If you can find the right property in the Klamath Falls area you could tap geothermal resources and more than likely never have to worry about heat or hot water. Solar works in the sunnier dry areas, wood and wind in the stormy west.

It's not perfect by any means however. Most development post WWII is traditional suburban style (though denser in OR thanks to tougher land use measures) while lacking the historical connection to pre-industrial life like the lands east of the Mississippi R. Personally, I would feel most at ease in rural New England near anyone of those old mill towns bypassed by postwar suburbanization. But this area works for me.
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highlander

Just great. What the northwest needs is a bunch more pot smoking liberals sitting around applauding the demise of their previous digs.
STAY AWAY
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Highlander 2007

pstarr

Hey Pea-Jay! Suburban redesign is just a sledge and a nail-puller away from reality Laughing

A problem with older suburbia are houses sited to the road rather than the sun and wind, so 1/8 acre lots have lots of dead agriculture space. Nothing a little depaving and structure-shuffling won't mitigate Smile

highlander

pstarr:
your first post in this thread indicates you have a good grasp of reality. but be imaginative for a bit and think what the northwest would be like with half the population of vegas moving up here. Really, it's too hot in the summer and cold in the winter on the east side. It rains way too much on the west side. The taxes are too high. The roads are way too crowded.And when us country cuzzins get drunked up and start driving to the cities in our pickup trucks, watch out! As far as petroleum use, all I can say is.... biodiesel.
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This is where everybody puts profound words written by another...or not so profound words written by themselves
Highlander 2007

blaker · Coal Joined: Apr 20, 2006 Posts: 1

Are there no Peak-Oilers on the East Coast? I haven't seen any mention of locations East of Nashville. I've been strongly considering NC-Appalachia for a few years now. Temperate climate, plenty of water, not near any major cities (unless you count 2-3 hours from Charlotte) yet dotted with lots of small towns, plenty of available land. This would go for large parts of Virginia and all of West Virginia as well. You could go to South Carolina, but it's not as pretty there Cool

. Is there some major drawback I haven't thought of yet?