Suburbia: The American Nightmare
When I think of 1950 suburbia, I think of cookie cutter houses and families that look like clones off a conveyor belt. This was a result of white flight from the inner cities when Roosevelt signed the GI Bill offering affordable homes to middle class white families in communities outside of the city limits. This act changed the identity of towns and cities across America as the new “American Dream” came with land and a white picket fence. With more and more people leaving the city, highway systems became more extensive. Cars became necessary and downtowns became a thing of the past. The built environment was completely changed. Malls began to spring up and consumerism became a hot commodity. People wanted more and more. Houses got bigger and people constantly wanted something new. With this, demand became too high, and resources began to diminish so prices went up and now people are working to live and barely getting by. The American dream actually became the American Nightmare.
Gauge suburbs have an impact on the economy. It can be beneficial in many ways, just like it negatively impacts certain things. Suburbs these days help people fight the higher cost of living. It is hardly possible for a family of four to find a three-bedroom house in a city for an affordable price. They eventually turn towards the suburbs as their alternative. Suburbs do have an impact on the economy.
ReplyDeleteI understand how you are seeing the suburban sprawl as a nightmare, but what should we do to stop (or more likely to just slow down) the process? Suburbs give the opportunities to let people grow families and have privacy, things that the urban cities cant quite compete with.
ReplyDeleteSuburb communities is constantly changing over the years. With the developments of malls in rural areas it has change how people will interact outside the city limits. Malls has made it possible for people to travel shorter distance without going into the busy city for groceries or basic necessities. Suburb can not always be a bad idea, it could be a great opportunity to start something new just like the malls.
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