“Places that have done the worst are places where basically real estate was the economic engine,” says Ed McMahon, senior research fellow at the Urban Land Institute, a non-profit group that promotes sustainable development.

I interpret this to mean that the “growth” in past years was from new construction, based on the rising-ever-upward housing market.

So if that kind of growth was sham growth, what does that say about our whole economy’s growth in recent years? Sarah’s right; becoming more urban, with jobs and cheaper housing, is probably the only way forward. Great post.