Although I've lived in New York City for the past 35 years I grew up in New England with a traditional New Englander's point of view about living and spending—if you can't afford to buy it, don't, and if you decide to buy your home pay it off as soon as you can.

Certainly, not everyone has this point of view, and economists might say a slowdown in consumer spending could cause a slowdown in the economic recovery. Regardless, how and where people live fascinates me. I have spent many, many hours driving up and down streets in various neighborhoods in and out of New York City taking in the landscape, style of homes, stores and local transportation. If you are also interested in how and where people live the Mid-Manhattan Library has two upcoming evening programs that might interest you:

Monday, October 21st at 6:30pm author Jeffrey P. Rosenfeld, Ph.D., will be presenting a program titled Unassisted Living: Ageless Homes for Later Life. Rosenfeld is an environmental gerontologist. This illustrated lecture will focus on Boomers who opt for unassisted living. Hear about five distinctive Boomer lifestyles for retirement living.

Tuesday, October 22nd at 6:30pm Julie Torres Moskovitz will present an illustrated lecture on her book The Greenest Home: Superinsulated and Passive House Design. Passive Houses are well-insulated, nearly airtight buildings that can decrease home heating consumption by 90%, and overall energy consumption up to 75%. Hear about eighteen of the world's most attractive Passive Houses. Author Julie Torres Moskovitz is the founding principal of the collaborative design firm Fabrica 718 in Brooklyn. She retrofitted the first certified New York City Passive House in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

To view a list of Mid-Manhattan's evening programs go to our website at www.nypl.org, click on 'Classes and Events', then on 'Programs.'

If you would like to read about how and where people live as related to the economy try reading Richard L. Florida's books:

• Who's Your City: How the Creative Economy is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life
• The Rise of the Creative Class and How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life
• The Rise of the Creative Class: Revisited
• The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity
• The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent

On Thursday, September 12th Martin Treu presented at the Mid-Manhattan library a fascinating illustrated talk on his book Signs, Street, and Storefronts: A History of Architecture and Graphics Along America's Commercial Corridors. Treu, an architect, author, graphic designer and urbanist, has traveled around the world studying the character of towns. His website is http://martintreu.com.