Goodbye, suburbia

The Atlantic has an interesting read this month on the future of suburban living — that there will be much less of it. The author suggests a host of reasons for this. Essentially it’s a combination of rising oil prices/rejection of the car culture, lack of community in the suburbs, and the monotony of suburban life. His summation of the latter is rather amusing:

When Hollywood wants to portray soullessness, despair, or moral decay, it often looks to the suburbs—as The Sopranos and Desperate Housewives attest—for inspiration.

He argues, rightly, that a collapse of some suburban living is a positive development:

Despite this glum forecast for many swaths of suburbia, we should not lose sight of the bigger picture—the shift that’s under way toward walkable urban living is a healthy development. In the most literal sense, it may lead to better personal health and a slimmer population. The environment, of course, will also benefit: if New York City were its own state, it would be the most energy-efficient state in the union; most Manhattanites not only walk or take public transit to get around, they unintentionally share heat with their upstairs neighbors.

Perhaps most important, the shift to walkable urban environments will give more people what they seem to want [not to have to drive everywhere]. I doubt the swing toward urban living will ever proceed as far as the swing toward the suburbs did in the 20th century; many people will still prefer the bigger houses and car-based lifestyles of conventional suburbs. But there will almost certainly be more of a balance between walkable and drivable communities—allowing people in most areas a wider variety of choices.

See also:

+ A Short History of America - our urban suburban development in 12 drawings