The Suburban Label

Just like anything else, the suburbs have changed over time. Not much is the same as yesterday, last year, or even a decade ago. The suburban image of houses that look the same or as  Margaret Crawford states; identical houses inevitably produce identical inhabitants is a suburb of the past. My experiences with the suburbs have been a transitional stage between the rural and the city. Where I'm from suburbs are not the same house repeated infinitely, but a diverse culture of difference that all strive for ownership, solitude, privacy, healthy community, etc... that can not separate themselves completely from the work offered by the city or the lifestyle of the rural.
Ellen Jones mentions that urban dwellers generate 1/3 less carbon footprint than suburban dwellers. That is great and there is a serious lifestyle problem we all created with the car, but does the city really solve that problem or contribute to it? Charlotte, NC has been in the top 10 smuggest cities for the last 6+ years. As people move to the city (the majority) for an urban environment they generally  take their lifestyle and carbon footprint with them.