Episode Details

This is an edited, re-released version of an episode first recorded in Sept. 2008: For this program James Howard Kunstler and Duncan Crary visit Colonie Center, a 1.3 million square-foot enclosed two-level regional shopping center located in suburban Albany, N.Y. After more than $12 million in renovations to this shopping center's exterior and interior, Jim remains as unimpressed with this place as he was in the 1970s when it was first built. Before entering the mall, Jim describes the heroic suburban 6-lane boulevard of commerce upon which Colonie Center is located. Inside, Jim relaxes in one of the lounge areas provided for shoppers and provides a brief history of enclosed shopping areas. He also discusses the price that Americans have paid for trading in real public places for private commercial spaces. He speaks to the clerks at a "sideways hat store." He also observes the local fauna: land whales.