The Irony of Urbanizing Suburbia

     I found this article to be completely ironic. Of course, while the ideas are valid and many of the points would better develop the areas around cities (Suburbia), one has to look back on the reason Suburbia was created in the first place. People starting migrating away from cities to become more secluded, have their own plot of land, and not have to worry about the inconveniences that living in a city creates, all in mind that that would sacrifice the benefits of living within the city itself. Developing and retrofitting suburbs into "instant cities" defeats the point of why suburbs were planned in the first place. While it is adding convenience, it is really just creating another micro-city in the process, or in a way growing the larger city into the suburbs (ex. Charlotte's relation to Rock Hill, Philadelphia's many neighboring towns.) 

     In order to change the fabric of Suburbia, we first have to undergo a culture change. Americans want to be independent and spread out, and don't mind driving everywhere (Not all of us). Our urban planning mentality is car-first, pedestrian-later. If you begin to create "instant cities" with better connections to the larger nodes, then those who wanted to live in suburbs will move elsewhere and just create more suburbs. At the same time, America is a nation of convenience, so I'm not surprised there is a clamoring for better connection from suburb to city. In essence, the creation of Suburbia has a direct relationship with culture. If you truly want to solve the "Suburban" problem, then you should look at the people, not at the environment. Making Suburbia into a smaller city doesn't address or solve the issue, it just postpones it again and again. The more instant cities, the more suburbias.