Yesterday I went with my very fit Swabian uncle to walk up a hillside which used to be part of the rural fields and woodlands that circled Melbourne. I was shown the spot earlier this year but didn't get to fully explore.
The views are amazing! But what I saw really brought home to me just how messed up our country truly is.
Urban sprawl in Melbourne is taking over vast tracts of arable land and habitat and the size of the houses being constructed astounds me. Who is living in all these enormous houses that are taking over our landscape? What is their connection to the land? How are they using the space they now inhabit and the resources they have commanded? After talking to builder friends here it seems that most of these enormous houses are completely excessive. I have heard too many stories of middle aged people buying big houses simply because they have the money to afford a bigger house in a new estate.
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| Sprawling mansions a celebration of wealth and excess but sadly empty by other accounts |
In Australia there are about 116,000 homeless people. Housing is unaffordable for so many people yet there are so many large houses with more rooms than people could possibly need. People are living out in these suburbs barricaded in their mansions, I imagine owning such imposing real estate has not reduced the lonely and disconnection that modern life seems to impose on the population. Most likely they are just as lost searching for meaning as the homeless and stateless people they could be helping. They could probably use some company but why dont they share?
See link HERE
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