Reversing Suburbia

The suburbs were formed to expand the cities and to move [generally affluent] citizens out of the grime and toxic air.  It’s a little ironic that the trend is starting to reverse: the affluent are returning to the cities (because they can afford it) and suburbs are starting to become their own little cities.  Rather than the big cities, though, suburbs seem to be imploding in the best way possible: they’re becoming walkable centralized centers.  It’s like adaptive reuse, but on a bigger scale.

It's like the cigar factory in Charleston.

I guess adaptive reuse is a good metaphor for the future of suburbia: what was once a small part of a larger whole, is now something all on its own.  It’s its own little world now.  I think that's what suburbs are becoming.  They're no longer dependent on the identity of the city they surround; they are their own space with their own identities.