ides.861.week11.thompson

(I have a cover page created)

Suburbia: Keeping it Alive Through Reformation

Levittown is labeled as the iconic city that began the coining of neighborhoods as suburbia. At the time, the United States was dealing with the issue of high demand for housing, a situation never having had to be dealt with. Fast, affordable and duplication are three words that sum up what was once viewed as a solution to that housing crisis. Unfortunately, that solution created a larger crisis that is becoming more apparent each year; unfinished neighborhoods with damaged ecosystems, unhealthy lifestyles for residents and a need for aggressive means of transportation. Through an analysis of the current suburbia and the introduction of sustainability, the possibility exists that suburbia can begin to thrive as it once did for Americans. While sustainability of suburbia can come in many forms, this essay will address “reinhabitation”[1], “redevelopment”[2] and “regreening”[3]. Currently, “Suburbia accounts for 75 percent of developed land in America, and more than half of us live and work—in it.”[4] In essence this sprawl that has evolved from the ever-expanding suburbia has created compounding effects on many aspects of life.

Citing the combinations that are affected by this sprawl is beyond the scope of this essay. However, for the reader to fully appreciate the repercussions that sprawl has had on Americans, examples of time, health and lifestyle will be stated. First, an example of time: The middle class commuter may now spend up to an hour commuting each day despite the labor movement of the 20^th century which declared an 8-hour workday to increase family time. Commuters are now essentially working 10 hours per day because of the drive they face each day given their proximity to their jobs.[5] The adverse effects on health: “One in three kids born today faces the prospect of developing diabetes as a result, in large part, from having nowhere to walk to, and many suburban families spend more on transportation than they do on housing.”[6] In reviewing adults, the average person’s weight has increased 8 pounds in 10 years, which in turn means that 60% Americans are considered overweight.[7] Finally, some examples of lifestyle changes: cul-de-sac kids, soccer moms and bored teenagers are just a few words that describe the lifestyle changes that have occurred within suburbia. Children find themselves reliant on their parents for rides more than ever because of the lack of proximity to anything. Mothers have left careers to raise their children and have found in order to do anything outside their neighborhood they have to drive to get there. Teenagers have begun to turn to crime and society has seen an increase in car related crashes that have taken lives.[8] While no singular factor of suburbia can be blamed for these major issues, there is a clear connection to the inception of suburbia and the major changes brought on as a result.

Keep in mind that these issues have arisen over time, Levittown was a response to a

housing shortage and at the time was a respected solution to getting houses built

quickly for the move-in ready soldiers and their families.

---

Notes

1. Katharine Logan, “Retrofitting Suburbia”, Green Source The Magazine of Sustainable

Design, November/December.

2. Katharine Logan, 73

3. Katharine Logan, 73

4. Katharine Logan, 73

5. Andrew Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck, “Weary Commuters”,

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream. New York: North Point Press. 2000.

6. Katharine Logan, 73.

7. Katharine Logan, 73.

8. Andrew Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Jeff Speck, 118-119.

Bibliography

Antoine, Thomas J. “Making Heaven out of Hell: New Urbanism and the Refutation of Suburban

Spaces.” Southern Communication Journal 72, no. 2 (2007): 127-144.

Chiras, Dan. “From Suburbia to Superbia.” Mother Earth News, June/July. 2002.

Dagenhart, Richard. “Comment on Garde: Retrofitting Suburbia: Is It About Image or Form?” Journal of

the American Planning Association 74, no.3 (2008): 342-346.

Duany, Andres, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and

the Decline of the American Dream. New York: North Point Press. 2000.

Forsyth, Ann, and Crewe, Katherine. “New Visions for Suburbia: Reassessing Aesthetics and Place-

making in Modernism, Imageability and New Urbanism.” Journal of Urban Design 14, no. 4 (2009): 415-438.

Logan, Katharine. “Retrofitting Suburbia.” Green Source The Magazine Of Sustainable Design,

November + December. 2011.

Saunders, William. Sprawl and Suburbia: A Harvard Design Magazine Reader. Minneapolis: University

of Minnesota Press. 2005.