Word: suburb
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...dawn, the mists of spring float over the rolling green lawns of the village of Hinsdale, 25 miles west of Chicago. Petals from thousands of flowering fruit trees swirl down wide, brick streets and settle in pink drifts around sprawling Victorian houses. The casually wealthy suburb of 15,906 seems safe from any kind of drastic change, especially an energy shock. Says Louis Duncan, Hinsdale's president: "We are individually concerned about energy, but our life-style hasn't changed...
...management executives at the large Ford Motor Co. plant, professors at Cologne's famous university, and chemical engineers who work at the massive refineries near the city. About 30% of the families earn more than $21,000 per year-a cut above the average for the typical German suburb. Nonetheless, a lingering frugality engendered by the war years pervades Rösrath and makes the residents far more energy-conscious than their counterparts in Hinsdale. Says Housewife Edith Szyperski, 42: "When we were children we had to save. We often had petroleum only a few hours...
Like the Americans, the West Germans love their cars. There are no speed limits on the two autobahns that flank the suburb, and most commuters drive the twelve miles to Cologne instead of taking the train, which comes only hourly. But many of the cars in Rösrath are gas-sipping compacts or minis, an understandable situation with the price of fuel at $1.40 a gallon. The few standard-size American cars stand out like whales in a school of porpoises...
...energy-saving advantage that Rösrath has over Hinsdale is that the German suburb, unlike the American, has conveniently located shopping areas. An everyday sight is a housewife pedaling her bicycle home from the supermarket, straining to see over the top of grocery bags stuffed into the handlebar basket. Rösrath teen-agers can get where they have to go on bicycles or mopeds-bikes powered by a small, auxiliary motor that can cover 200 miles or so on a gallon of gas. There is no compulsion for adults to go into Cologne in search of entertainment. Rosrath...
...srath's moderate climate helps energy conservation. During the Hinsdale summers, the mercury often climbs into the 90s, but it seldom rises above the mid-70s in the German suburb, which has no need for air conditioning. In the winter, when the temperature averages about 25° in Hinsdale, Rösrath has comparatively balmy readings in the mid-30s. As it happens, Rösrath also benefits from the coincidental fact that wood is scarce: virtually every building is made of stone or brick slathered generously with gray-white plaster. Windows tend to be small, doors heavy...