--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our building practices for the past…" description: "\"Our building practices for the past century have been plain stupid - especially the glorification of the single-family house in a subdivision, at the e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/james-howard-kunstler-2886_arrangements_our-building-practices-for-the-past-cent_923665.png" --- # Our building practices for the past century have been… ![“Our building practices for the past century have been plain stupid - especially the glorification of the single-family house in a subdivision, at the expense of all other typologies and arrangements.” quote by James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/james-howard-kunstler-2886_arrangements_our-building-practices-for-the-past-cent_923665.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/james-howard-kunstler-2886_arrangements_our-building-practices-for-the-past-cent_923665.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/james-howard-kunstler-2886_arrangements_our-building-practices-for-the-past-cent_923665.png) > “Our building practices for the past century have been plain stupid - especially the glorification of the single-family house in a subdivision, at the expense of all other typologies and arrangements.” [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern suburban development glorifies single-family houses, neglecting diverse housing types and community needs. **In simple terms:** Suburban focus on single-family homes limits better designs. Key Takeaway Rethink housing models. Themes urban planning suburban critique housing diversity Mood analytical concerned Type urban environmental When to use this quote - city planning - policy making - real estate development Key Concepts sprawl community design environmental impact Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives improve community resilience? - How can policy shift away from single-family dominance? A Different Perspective Single-family focus can ignore affordability and sustainability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrangements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangements/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Especially Glorification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/especially-glorification-1448636/) [Expenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expenses/) [Glorification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glorification/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [House Subdivision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-subdivision-1448635/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Plain Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plain-stupid-621744/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid/) [Stupid Especially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid-especially-1448634/) [Typology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typology-196537/) ## Related quotes > [Putting us in risk is just plain stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/putting-us-in-risk-is-just-plain-stupid/) [Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/) > [“Typology is the study of how OT historical persons, events, institutions, and settings function to foreshadow, anticipate, prefigure, and predict the greater realities in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-wellum/typology-is-the-study-of-how-ot-historical-persons-events/) [Stephen J. Wellum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-wellum/) > [Most of my library consists of books on the Catholic faith: conversion stories, books on saints and Early Church Fathers, Apparitions of Mary, prayer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-buckley/most-of-my-library-consists-of-books-on-the-catholic-faith-conversion/) [Gail Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-buckley/) > [Everything that happens in the Old Testament is a "type" or adumbration of something that happens in the New Testament, and the whole subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testament-is-a-type-or-adumbration/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“Thus, seeking to produce a typology of forms of the art of government, La Mothe Le Vayer, in a text from the following century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/thus-seeking-to-produce-a-typology-of-forms-of-the-art-of-government/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [In the final analysis the hierarchic pattern is nothing like the straightforward witness for organic evolution that is commonly assumed. There are facets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-denton/in-the-final-analysis-the-hierarchic-pattern-is-nothing-like-the/) [Michael Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-denton/) > [Stupidity really gets me going, when it's just plain stupid, obvious stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/stupidity-really-gets-me-going-when-it-s-just-plain-stupid-obvious/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [“You can only be innocent for so long. After that, you're just plain stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-boughn/you-can-only-be-innocent-for-so-long-after-that-you-re-just-plain/) [Wentworth Boughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-boughn/) > [Werewolves? Oh please, just plain stupid. Who wants to get it on with a man ruled by his inner dog?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/werewolves-oh-please-just-plain-stupid-who-wants-to-get-it-on-with-a/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [To err once is a mistake, twice a misfortune but three times is just plain stupid!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-err-once-is-a-mistake-twice-a-misfortune-but-three-times-is-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Continuously, we have to fight to defeat the primitive tendency towards the glorification of arms, the adulation of force, born of the illusion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/continuously-we-have-to-fight-to-defeat-the-primitive-tendency/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“To give up faith in Christ is to give up faith in humanity; to believe in Christ is to believe in the redemption and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-give-up-faith-in-christ-is-to-give-up-faith-in-humanity-to-believe/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I may be wrong, but it seems rare in our age to find a widely praised person whose own mouth is not the source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/i-may-be-wrong-but-it-seems-rare-in-our-age-to-find-a-widely-praised/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [War with all its glorification of brute force is essentially a degrading thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/war-with-all-its-glorification-of-brute-force-is-essentially-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by James Howard Kunstler > [ The ideas of \[ Le Corbusier \] that actually found their way into practice were deeply destructive - for instance, the tower-in-a-park, which mutated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/the-ideas-of-le-corbusier-that-actually-found-their-way-into-practice/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [ “On my way out of \[Atlantic City\] at quarter after seven in the morning, a young pump jockey at the gas station \[...\] mentioned… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/on-my-way-out-of-atlantic-city-at-quarter-after-seven-in-the-morning/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Ahead now, I think you'll see the big nations shrink back into their own corners of the world. I'm not saying we'll see no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/ahead-now-i-think-you-ll-see-the-big-nations-shrink-back-into-their/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [The task we face is reorganizing the systems we depend on for daily life in a way that is consistent with the realities coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/the-task-we-face-is-reorganizing-the-systems-we-depend-on-for-daily/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [White America is tortured by black America's failure to thrive, and all that guilt and anxiety has only gotten worse as a substantial quota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/white-america-is-tortured-by-black-america-s-failure-to-thrive-and/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [What we face is a comprehensive contraction of our activities, due to declining fossil fuel resources and other growing scarcities. Our failure is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/what-we-face-is-a-comprehensive-contraction-of-our-activities-due-to/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [We're living in a culture that doesn't believe in decorating buildings, or proportioning them properly. And they don't know how to do it anymore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/we-re-living-in-a-culture-that-doesn-t-believe-in-decorating/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Because I believe a lot of people share my feelings about the tragic landscape of highway strips, parking lots, housing tracts, mega-malls, junked cities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/because-i-believe-a-lot-of-people-share-my-feelings-about-the-tragic/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [No amount or combination of alternative fuels is going to allow us to continue running what we're running, the way we're running it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/no-amount-or-combination-of-alternative-fuels-is-going-to-allow-us-to/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Everything we do these days - our lust for ever more comfort, pleasure, and distraction, our refusal to engage with the mandates of reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/everything-we-do-these-days-our-lust-for-ever-more-comfort-pleasure/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [There's a lot of wishful thinking that somehow we'll replace fossil fuels with alternative energy sources, but they remain far from reality. We're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/there-s-a-lot-of-wishful-thinking-that-somehow-we-ll-replace-fossil/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Our twenty-first century economy may focus on agriculture, not information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/our-twenty-first-century-economy-may-focus-on-agriculture-not/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [I think that Obama's failure to reestablish the rule of law in money matters is the most damaging thing that he's done - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/i-think-that-obama-s-failure-to-reestablish-the-rule-of-law-in-money/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [I'm not against Kyoto. I just think it's a fantasy, especially considering China's energy predicament and their coal supplies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/i-m-not-against-kyoto-i-just-think-it-s-a-fantasy-especially/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [The American house has been TV-centered for three generations. It is the focus of family life, and the life of the house correspondingly turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/the-american-house-has-been-tv-centered-for-three-generations-it-is/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) [Explore all 146 James Howard Kunstler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) ## More Arrangements quotes > [for the obvious reason that nature - unadulterated and unimproved by man - is simply chaos. In fact, the camera proves that nature is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/for-the-obvious-reason-that-nature-unadulterated-and-unimproved-by/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Order is a prerequisite of survival; therefore the impulse to produce orderly arrangements is inbred by evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/order-is-a-prerequisite-of-survival-therefore-the-impulse-to-produce/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [If you are any competent musician, if you have creative ideas, ideas of songs, of arrangements, in a band like the Stones, where these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wyman/if-you-are-any-competent-musician-if-you-have-creative-ideas-ideas-of/) [Bill Wyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-wyman/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [Conservatism defends those coercive arrangements which a still-lingering savageness makes requisite. Radicalism endeavours to realize a state more in harmony with the character of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/conservatism-defends-those-coercive-arrangements-which-a-still/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The Beatles have a deeper appreciation of all music. There's a humor, there's a Broadway sense, and later on, the Indian stuff came in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-vivino/the-beatles-have-a-deeper-appreciation-of-all-music-there-s-a-humor/) [Jimmy Vivino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-vivino/) > [Marriage must cease to be a matter of arrangement made by parents for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/marriage-must-cease-to-be-a-matter-of-arrangement-made-by-parents-for/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Abundance, like everything else in the universe, is simply a specific arrangement of energy and information. With our intention, we can change the energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/abundance-like-everything-else-in-the-universe-is-simply-a-specific/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [One of the proven ways of getting workers more involved with their jobs is by dovetailing employee profit-sharing and stock ownership plans with greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-k-javits/one-of-the-proven-ways-of-getting-workers-more-involved-with-their/) [Jacob K. Javits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-k-javits/) > [Much of a behavior acceptable today would be socially offensive in a saner or more logical arrangement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/much-of-a-behavior-acceptable-today-would-be-socially-offensive-in-a/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Any new legal measures, or cooperative arrangements between government and companies meant to keep people from organizing violence or criminal actions, must not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/any-new-legal-measures-or-cooperative-arrangements-between-government/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [But since the Modernists (as they are commonly and rightly called) employ a very clever artifice, namely, to present their doctrines without order and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/but-since-the-modernists-as-they-are-commonly-and-rightly-called/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [There must be a judicious arrangement of all the parts. Considered conversely, the artist's task is to fill his panel with a design that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/there-must-be-a-judicious-arrangement-of-all-the-parts-considered/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Autonomy means women defining themselves and the values by which they will live, and beginning to think of institutional arrangements which will order their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/autonomy-means-women-defining-themselves-and-the-values-by-which-they/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [Donald Trump has the media wrapped around his little finger. And this is a contributing factor to why so many people are bothered and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-has-the-media-wrapped-around-his-little-finger-and-this/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) [Browse all 536 Arrangements quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangements/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our building practices for the past century have been plain stupid - especially the glorification of the single-family house in a subdivision, at the expense of all other typologies and arrangements.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Howard Kunstler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/our-building-practices-for-the-past-century-have-been-plain-stupid/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arrangements" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/our-building-practices-for-the-past-century-have-been-plain-stupid/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/james-howard-kunstler-2886_arrangements_our-building-practices-for-the-past-cent_923665.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/james-howard-kunstler-2886_arrangements_our-building-practices-for-the-past-cent_923665.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/james-howard-kunstler-2886_arrangements_our-building-practices-for-the-past-cent_923665.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our building practices for the past century have been plain stupid - especially the glorification of the…” — James Howard Kunstler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Howard Kunstler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our building practices for the past...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/our-building-practices-for-the-past-century-have-been-plain-stupid/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/our-building-practices-for-the-past-century-have-been-plain-stupid/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```