Oh, and there's this nifty tidbit from Kunstler's brand new comments section:
As for the Canada/USA difference - I still haven't figured that out. It seems to be due to subtle policy differences, including the fact that they ditched their arbitrary and inefficient (e.g. the East Syracuse police department) local governments years ago in favor of regional systems. One thing I will share is an anecdote from a bus trip I took from Montreal to Albany. This other American and I were talking with two British men sitting behind us when we pulled into Plattsburgh. It was their first trip to America (besides NYC), so they were shocked at they commercial strips. When they asked what those weird buildings were, we told them they were drive through banks. They just started laughing (enough said)!
