Lyrics
Yo, listen up, there’s something I gotta say
Cities form in different shapes, cities form in different ways
But with urban zones crumbling, any time, every day
We gotta figure out sustainability’s the way
The way to better cities, subsidies, escape the fifties, smart growth
Greenbelts, karate chopping carbon footprint, under oath,
You me both oughta know, save the doe, help the low,
Bridge the gap, help to slow urban sprawl, that’s the hope
From New York, to “La Belle Endormie,” that’s Bordeaux
Aye, but let’s talk about how this came to be
Different city models made from Detroit to oversea
Burgess, Hoyt-sector, Harris Ullman, bid-rent theory
Southeast Asian, Sub-Saharan, Latin American, on a spree
To name a few, man they flew, not achoo, they were huge
Explainin(in) everything that we needed answers to
Like how they grow, what the zones, where the richest people go
And you know, just to wrap it in a pretty little bow
CBD, 2 or 1? Got a spine, is there none?
Any ports, Europe forts, or something of the sort?
Squatter settlements, favelas, all around, periphery
Yeah these models, they important, they can really help us see
Socioeconomic divisions, yeah they real
Sector 5, surf and turf, sector 3 ain’t got a meal
Gentrified, left to die while the moneybags, they thrive
So they go, all alone, squatter settlements outside
City limits, city borders, city boundaries, city streets,
All the homeless, pot-o-gold-less, they ain’t got enough to eat
Illegal land, take a stand, even if they got no feet
Urban sprawl just on repeat, what to do, can we defeat
Innovation, contemplation of the urban way of life
To survive, overdrive, help alternates arrive
Less urbanism, centralism, skepticism, mechanism
No more smoke, ain’t no joke, I ain’t making no euphemism
Aye, reduce the number family cars
Yeah we gotta treat the scar
Earth get heated by the star
Gotta simmer down, no char
And I know I’m spitting bars
They be going kinda hard
Are you with me so far? (Yessir)
More walkable, public transportation too
These are all innovations, make it livable for you
Transportation-oriented development, what that do
Plan the cities around the buses, we don’t want no Subaru
“Ay, mixed-land use, what’s that all about?”
Putting residence with business, you don’t need no 2nd route
Diverse housing options, if you tall and thin or short and stout,
Even gotta place for 3 lil pigs, this one ain’t blowing down
Speaking of all them wolves, they all criticize the plan
Housing prices, uninvited, they be going up again
De facto segregation, it be splitting us apart
Not enforced, par for course, no one looking to restart
Loss of place, human race history just fades away,
Good and bad we need to weigh, you get what I’m trying to say
How to navigate the mess, make it through the murky haze
Is new urbanism good, is it really just a phase
Just like wandering a maze, feeling puzzled, feeling dazed
And the hedges all ablaze, but I guess I should rephrase
