The nation is learning a tough lesson -- that designing our lifestyles around cheap gas was a short-sighted mistake for two reasons.

We're vulnerable and the amount of what we use is unsustainable.

First, we're using twice the energy we did before the first oil embargo of the 1970s which makes us vulnerable to pricing, speculation and gouging. Despite the lessons of the mid-70s when lines formed at the gas station and the nation's president asked the country to do without Christmas lights, energy use is 50 percent greater today than it was back in 1970.

"Second, much of the way business is done in the United States has been based on the availability of low-cost energy. This ranges from delivering all manner of goods across the country to transporting people from one place to another, whether by ground or by air," writes economist Irwin Kellner of Marketwatch.

An obvious example of how cheap energy has affected our way of life, says Kellner, is the proliferation of the suburbs. "Single-family homes use more energy than apartments, and require more than one vehicle per household, since schools, shopping, places of business and entertainment are spaced far apart."

As he points out, there are not only more houses today than there were 38 years ago, they are larger as well. "In 1970 the average new house was about 1,500 square feet; today it is nearly 60% bigger!"

Other industries are already adjusting to high gas prices. American Airlines is eliminating eight percent of management and support jobs and furloughing 900 flight attendants in August. Smaller carriers are cutting back service to smaller communities.

But housing isn't so nimble. Right now, many homeowners are stuck with homes they can't sell that are too expensive to operate, that are too far from work centers. They can't even get rid of their SUVs.

This is a situation that is going to take some imagination and guts, and some long-term planning by the major cities that lost population to the suburbs in the first place.

And the cities, thanks to record mortgage defaults, have less money to create miracles.

As our population grows, the joint problem of housing and transportation will only become more urgent.

And that's why now is the time for our cities to act.

From extending public transportation to the suburbs, to clearing inner city brownfields for mixed-use redevelopment, our cities have the power to reroute our commutes.

But with tax revenues dropping, cities aren't in the position to do as much as homeowners need to turn things around. They can make some headway with homebuyer and corporate tax incentives but cities can do more -- like creating safe bike routes and rezoning for more mixed use developments. The rest is going to have to come from personal and corporate volunteerism to include mentoring and community support for schools and small business development, trash cleanups, festivals, crime watch groups, matching grants for home improvements, and incentives for ride-sharing and home officing.

If you have any good ideas that are working for your city and its homeowners, send them to me: Blanche@realtytimes.com.

Published: July 3, 2008

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.