Suburbia – Are there good reasons for its appeal?

 I understand the negative aspects relating to suburbia. Suburbia could be considered inefficient, materials are often cheap, streets seem haphazard, and the long-term resiliency of the homes probably isn’t what we would like it to be. However, are there good reasons for its appeal? There must be some because Americans keep buying homes in the suburbs.

I think some of the good reasons might include, abundant green space, all eyes on the streets (for safety), and similar expectations of like communities when moving from one part of the country to another.

Like most of us, we have probably all lived in one type of suburbia of some stripe. However, when Prof. Franco mentioned The Woodlands, Texas as a more robust form of suburbia, it made me think back to the New Jersey neighborhood I lived in for ten years. Homes were spread out pretty far, streets were never busy, tall trees were kept intact, and there was a lot of privacy. I would still call this neighborhood “suburbia” simply because it was a planned development, but it was a lot quieter and serene than many others I have been to. I believe it achieves a similar level of quality to The Woodlands, TX.