John's Blog

Love it, hate it, live it. It's hard not to have mixed feelings about living in the suburbs. Homogenized, sanitized, and seemingly "safe", suburbia exploded in the postwar period fueled by one part optimism, one part racism, and the helping hand of the federal government via an expanding interstate highway system. As a special bonus, that move proved to be a kick in the groin for public transit and cities in general.

Luckily, cities have bounced back and suburbs are showing a bit more diversity than their white bread beginnings. Many have grown into large edge cities, or boomburbs. Unfortunately, too many older suburbs have the potential to turn into the slums of tomorrow. And don't even get me started on the whole McMansions thing. It might help to look back at a simpler vision of the suburban ideal.