Suburban Endgame

I think part of the problem is that we are not honest with ourselves.  We’re not honest with the desires we have.  We say we don’t want alienation or boredom and choose to live in the suburbs.  We decry the suburban environment as a terrible thing yet, when in reality, most of us will live in a suburb ourselves at some point.

I grew up in a suburb.  Right across the street, Travis, Justin and I used to ride bikes, climb trees, and play with action figures in the yard.  When I moved to Pennsylvania, Brian, Eric and I would play football in our backyards.  In some ways, the suburb is the best of both worlds – it is community on demand.  When one isn’t “feeling it,” it’s time to close the garage door and quickly lock up.  It is so easy to disengage.  Yet, when other friends live in the area and one is in a particularly social mood, it is super easy to drive a fraction of a mile down the street to eat food and drink with those in your neighborhood. Besides, nobody really minds driving 20 minutes to work instead of relying on public transportation.

We want the 20 minute commute.  We want all the conveniences that come with urbanism but none of the social effects. Less reliance on cars, closer proximity to places where we can buy things – what’s not to like? Only the fact that in a more urban context, what you do is no longer private.  Neighbors hear … lots.  Who we are and what we are doing is suddenly no longer kept hidden but exposed.  And there seems to be no escape.  The suburb is not only an American reality anymore.  Other countries with a burgeoning middle class, such as China, are trying to build the perfect suburb – no sidewalks, 6 foot fences, and vehicle access as the only means onto the property.  

There’s something about the suburb that seems so stale, so artificial.  There would be times I felt like I was living in an old TV-Land rerun of the perfect 1950s family, yet life was so far from perfect.  What the suburb promised, independence and autonomy, was delivered – but with side effects of urban sprawl and an infestation of strip malls and chain restaurants.  In some ways, the suburb is a promise of the American dream (which according to my generation is a dead concept) – get a plot of land, raise a family in peace and quiet, yet still be connected, just like the thousands of others living with you.  You are never too far from community, but only when desired.