Who still has the dream of the individual house?

Everybody knows the present issues of biodiversity loss. Indeed, for fifty years?, we have seen a dramatic and tragic biodiversity collapse. Reasons for this huge degradation have already been identified and documented: Pesticide use, intensive agriculture, biological homogenization and destruction of habitats.

This last point can be explained through a lot of explications but one of them urban sprawl. Since 1992, the IPBES assessment has said: “urban areas have more than doubled”. In fact, population growth with the quantity of people living in urban zones has increased city size all around the world.

That’s why we have to think about the future urban model. Many companies, industries and other local officials continue to pretend “everyone wants an individual house with a lovely little garden!”. They use some non-academic studies, studies they often paid for in order to prove this fake fact.

The right question to ask is who still has the dream of this lifestyle? Citizens of cites or businessmen who want to sell houses?

In France, this year, a huge company (Maison phenix) of individual house building was in serious economic trouble. This company which built low cost individual houses was indeed placed under liquidation. I hope it’s just an introduction to the beginning for a general awareness, the necessary start of shifting for a new ecological paradigm. We should educate citizens to live in sustainable cities. We must create plant-friendly and ecological cities and abandon absurd smart cites (very high tech and connected cities). Urban sprawl is nonsense, today the majority of urban planners and ecologists converge towards the need to build higher. Elevating our buildings seems unavoidable, though rarely done. Higher cities are necessary to absorb the 2 billion more human beings that this land will count by 2050: the interest is obvious, to save the arable land that we have left.

The individual house dream was born in the USA in the 19th century, through globalization this life goal came to Europe. The American dream of stampeders is over, why that’s other American dream is still alive?

Everybody is concerned about our future urban model. Also, scientists need to evaluate and create efficient methods and protocols for urban planning, effectively integrating biodiversity into the development of urban zones, promoting natural experiences, and making patchworks of wilderness inside cities. All these points are firstly to manage the urban heat island effect but can help people’s well-being as well.

To continue in the French context, Paris will have the climate of Marseille in 2050. So, it’s not only the right way to connect people to nature, it is furthermore necessary to have livable cities tomorrow. We have to live together, we have to learn communal life in our new ecological cities and exorcise the fear we have of each other. The archaic dream of the individual and polluting houses is over. No offense to the constructor!

Aurélien Judic