Suburbia and the Picket Fence

 “Bit by bit, beneath the static image of uniform tract houses, many suburbs are undergoing significant physical, social, and cultural change – not all of it positive. For the first time in history, suburban municipalities now house more people living in poverty than central cities do. Maps showing recent mortgage foreclosures concentrated in the newer outermost suburbs indicate the likelihood of further decentralization of poverty and an ever-shifting terrain.” 

-Ellen Dunham Jones

 

Having grown up in the suburbs, gone to school in the city, and traveled to cities across the country, I’ve come to realize that both the city and suburbs have their positive characteristics for all ages. One trend that seems to be fairly consistent is the distribution of ages in the suburbs and how people of all ages are neighbors. When it comes to cities, you see more of a breakup in neighborhoods in terms of demographics. For instance, college neighborhoods in cities consist of primarily students, while the older neighborhoods in a city have families that are living in that location for a longer period of time. The benefits of living in a city while you are young are pretty obvious to me, more opportunities for social interaction, transportation and work. Living in the suburbs seems to be ideal to families because there is typically more room for growth. 

 

It seems to me like the suburbs will begin to adapt city-like characteristics in order to support their growing populations. For instance, my hometown has built a new train stop, incorporated a bus system, and built up a lot of row-homes near the train stations in the last 5 years. These elements within the suburbs allow for people to live the suburban lifestyle with the picket fence but feel like they have access to the amenities within a city.