What a fantastic, humorous, yet disturbing article! Thanks for sharing your insights! Your closing had me laughing, so I had to read it to my roommate, which ended in both of us laughing yet still disturbed by the facts and predictions. Great post!

~Jen

I don't see it so much as honoring or dishonoring our past but an issue of enabling the indigent homeless as described in the article. I counted 5 people of all ages sitting on their rears watching TV. I wonder what will happen when they get bored? Maybe add a second floor. The article says they are homeless. I am not sure this fits the description. Someone is making a lot of money off of the condition. Who pays for the utilities and food? Is someone who does not own the mausoleum renting out the space to them? If it is their ancestors, the lot is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the area. No wonder they are poor. Maybe this is a good way to maintain the abandoned gave yards in other areas. Where else can you find a house these days with marble walls and floors with built in furniture?

It is here already - search "tent cities in America" on YouTube.

In today's society, I question why our passion to bury a body, a bio degradable substance, in a box sealed for eternity. For those of us who feel cremation is appropriate, absolutely we can live with the dead. Not unlike shrines seen in many other countries, homes can be built to honor our relatives, rather than 'out of sight, out of mind'. However, with America's transcient nature, it may be hard for us to accept someone else's 'shrine' as we move from rural to suburban, suburban to urban, and vice versa. I'm fortunate to have been raised in a family that values our return to nature. For that reason, I can see my grandparents and parents everyday while watching the sunset over the ocean. What a peaceful way to celebrate life in a sustainable setting!

"That is something else..."

"Wow! Those are some sobering images. And the facts you listed certainly did give me a moment of clarity. Thanks for posting."

I agree with Barry. Maybe in the future there may be a few mausoleum "squatters," but eventually zoning will be enforced.

In my area, there are few mausoleums, and the ones that are there are little bigger than a walk-in-closet. We have more green grass with headstones, more like a park than a place to live. It could be that people could set up tents, but we probably have more park space than cemetary space. Maybe in the future, golf courses will become encampments.

Many planners would say that the suburbs are already an example of living with the dead in America. Interesting link. The Philippines is grossly overcrowded and my guess some enterprising type thought this would be a great way to use interior space that largely goes unused -- by the living --, as a place to live quietly. Reminds of the great Groucho Marx line from "The Cocoanuts" - "Now look...I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it, but I like you.

Golf courses & cemeteries are the biggest wastes of real estate" - Rodney Dangerfield, Caddyshack. I'm sure that there are several LEED points available for this type of development. I'm sure that we'll have social policies in place that will limit families to 1 kid (preferrable male) to limit population growth.

This is sort of a bizzaro world twist on John Cheever's story, "The Death of Justina," in which, after a relative of the narrator dies in his living room, the mayor informs him that this part of town isn't zoned for dying. You can't underestimate the importance of zoning, the mayor tells him.

"Grant: I looked at the article and what I saw deeply, deeply disturbs me. What disturbs me more is that I seem (on a personal level) incapable of doing anything about it. In Washington, D.C. they close off an entire city block, at night, which is used as a gathering place, of sorts, for the homeless. They sleep within three blocks of the U.S.Capital - it's dome clearly visible in the distance. I've seen people living under bridges in Texas, and I've watched people from mental hospitals and old folks from nursing homes getting "dumped off" back when Ronald Reagan was Governor of California. As always, it seems I am incapable of doing much, if anything, about it. I only have one tool at my disposal, at that is my vote. Here in America, my vote still accounts for something, and I intend to use it wisely. Is living with the dead coming to America? My prediction is that it is already here -and we just haven't seen an image of it, yet.

"Simply gruesome..."

"Not likely due to cultural reasons."

Sad but interesting; it could happen sooner than we might like. Thanks for sharing.

sustainabilty should be about creating solutions to observed bonafide and specific "problems", not fear mongering with extrapolated examples exclusive of future human inventive engineering and adpative reactions along the way.

Yet another example of why cremation and medical science donation are much better ways to dispose of our bodies when the time comes. Mr. Dye is right, there has to be significant infrastructure to support these double duty "homes.

Hey, it works great if you run the local mortuary, water well, sanitary servicing company, or DVD rental service ("Night of the Living Dead", "Dawn of the Dead", etc. might be great rentals here). Not for me though.

I've always liked cemeteries. Maybe because no one else likes them, so they are quiet and allow me to be contemplative. But it's been years since I've visited my family grave sites. My instructions to my family for my corpse is something to the effect of "do what feels right." Cremation is ok. Burial is ok. I recently toured a cemetery - one with grand tombs and mausoleums - and they mentioned that cemeteries used to be more park like. Families would picnic near their family graves. I find the photo with the article disrespectful, too extreme.

Interesting article however this is based on the current rate. I would be interested to see some historical data on predictions 41 years ago about where we would be now.

I think some issues like zoning, marketing, legal issues, potential lawsuits, and cultural biases would make this somewhat difficult to accept in the states. Maybe if we had the zoning for it, then we could somehow create a cemetery multi-use district. Maybe the stores, housing areas, and so forth that would market from this area could somehow create effective marketing campaigns to encourage people to shop and eat next to the dead. We'd of course have to watch out for potential legal liabilities like soil contamination from the garbage and excess rainwater runoff from extra impermeable surfaces of human habitations potentially disrupting the graves, and further contaminating the water and soil with human decay. And we'd have to create new legislation to help avoid people suing each other because of other people walking all over their loved ones, or parking over them. And, we'd have to create tv campaigns and advertising to get over any cultural biases against sleeping next to, walking on, eating next to, or cooking over good ol' Uncle Henry or Aunt Josie. But other than these things, I think it could be a possibility.

I find it very interesting, Grant, that in most of the discussions about climate change we rarely hear of population control. Such an important topic - and one that runs directly into ingrained behaviors and traditional values. I'm glad you raised it issue and provided the pictures. Quite mind-boggling (but then - to a lessor extent - so was the many pictures of tent cities that have sprung up in the US due to our economic crisis.

If you up the habitable and arable land taken up by cemeteries you'll find hundreds of thousands of acres in the US alone that could be converted to more productive use. I see laws discouraging embalming and internment coming down in the not too distant future, as cities feel pressed for development and property tax revenue. Even the funeral industry is going green, with bio-degradable and all-natural caskets and concentrated crematoria housing. We should re-examine our burial traditions and come up with more efficient ways to dispose of remains that is easier on the land, before we are forced to through necessity.

First, let's stop illegal immigration into our country. That will help slow down the growth - and save us bundles of cash in the process. Second, I want to make sure my mausoleum is outfitted with electricity and with cable. But, please put the service feeds right into my coffin so at least I can enjoy it in the afterlife.

My local cemetery is one of the nicest quietest parks around, a couple dozen ducks think it is a great place to be also. I had a bit of an epiphany there on St. Patricks day, see my blog at drheaton.typePad.com. I would like to see all buildings and grounds used. I would like to see the empty storefronts / stores used for something... maybe they could not pay full rent... but if the owners would allow temporary use that just pays for utilities we could use them for innovative things... I would like to see AIA have a special discounted rate for the national convention, I am unemployed, I have time to go... now if I could actually afford to, I would. We need to set up a nearby campground (or use a public or private campground...)... No mausoleums though, that is a bit overboard, but then building the mausoleums is overboard to begin with.