I’ve got to call bullshit on a large percentage of this thread. What is the definition of “suburbs”? At what level of density do they become bad?
I ask because I don’t think the ill-defined categories bandied about here apply to a lot of cities.
Take Indy. Unigov of Indy/Marion county in the center surrounded by eight “doughnut” counties. Downtown is smack dab in the middle of Indy. Fine, we can concede that that’s an “urban” environment.
And, surrounding that urban environment are residential areas that typically do not contain McMansions. But big box stores and vulgar chains of all stripes? They’re scattered everywhere, urbs and suburbs. Nice little indie shops and restaurants? Scattered everywhere, urbs and suburbs. And so on.
The neighborhood where I live in Marion county, just a 20-min drive from Downtown yet also just a 5 minute drive max to the county above, was probably considered the “suburbs” when it was built in the 1960s.
Out in the doughnut counties you can find the admittedly scornworthy McMansions. The reason they’re built there seems pretty simple: Other land was taken.
Let’s dispell some other bullshit in this thread. The thing about farms disappearing is stupid. Agricultural land is plentiful and won’t ever be used up unless someday we have a three billion population in this country. Most of New York State, California, and Illiinois (the homes of our three biggest cities) are the boondocks. Rural. Bucolic. Fairly unchanging. Guess what, people are going to build on empty fields near big cities.
The constant bitching about WalMart is beyond retarded. It’s a big store that sells the basics of life for a reasonable price. It’s fine to point out what the corporate entity does wrong, but the basic concept is sound and will never go away. The idea that WalMart hurts small stores is crap; in fact, the opposite is true–and quite easy to understand if you get the concept of “anchor.” People go to Wal*Mart for the basics and visit all the smaller chains AND indie shops and restaurants in the shopping center.
The idea that the suburbs are killing American life or whatever is also a pile. Where are these evil, soul-crushing neighborhoods? I sure haven’t seen them. I see kids involved with all kinds of sports and activities and adults partying with their friends. And yes, neighbors associate with each other.
And a personal peeve of mine: The notion that a large-scale, long-term trend is occuring because of the collective lack of virtue among the people. “If only people saw how much better urban living is and lived accordingly!”
Duh. People do what they do because they are incented to do so. If given the opportunity to live in a massive house on a big plot of land at a monthly payment they can afford, many will go for that.
Finally, they’re called the “vulgar masses” for a reason. The average person doesn’t have refined tastes. They buy McMansions, hang Thomas Kinkade paintings, and call it macaroni. A hundred years from now it will be no different, and I’m sure they’re will be people pissing and moaning about too, just as many of you are in this thread. (Not that it’s not fair game for a roasting, but to expect anything else is folly.)