“The government in the past created one American Dream at
the expense of almost all others: the dream of a house, a
lawn, a picket fence, two children, and a car. But there is
no single American Dream anymore.”
For nearly 70
years, the suburbs were as American as apple pie. As the
middle class ballooned and single-family homes and cars
became more affordable, we flocked to pre-fabricated
communities in the suburbs, a place where open air and
solitude offered a retreat from our dense, polluted cities.
Before long, success became synonymous with a private home
in a bedroom community complete with a yard, a two-car
garage and a commute to the office, and subdivisions quickly
blanketed our landscape.
But in recent years things
have started to change. An epic housing crisis revealed
existing problems with this unique pattern of development,
while the steady pull of long-simmering economic, societal
and demographic forces has culminated in a Perfect Storm
that has led to a profound shift in the way we desire to
live.
In The End of the Suburbs journalist
Leigh Gallagher traces the rise and fall of American
suburbia from the stately railroad suburbs that sprung up
outside American cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries
to current-day sprawling exurbs where residents spend as
much as four hours each day commuting. Along the way she
shows why suburbia was unsustainable from the start and
explores the hundreds of new, alternative communities that
are springing up around the country and promise to reshape
our way of life for the better.
Not all suburbs are
going to vanish, of course, but Gallagher’s research and
reporting show the trends are undeniable. Consider some of
the forces at work:
The nuclear family is
no more: Our marriage and birth rates are steadily
declining, while the single-person households are on the
rise. Thus, the good schools and family-friendly lifestyle
the suburbs promised are increasingly unnecessary.
We want out of our cars: As the price of oil
continues to rise, the hours long commutes forced on us by
sprawl have become unaffordable for many. Meanwhile, today’s
younger generation has expressed a perplexing indifference
toward cars and driving. Both shifts have fueled demand for
denser, pedestrian-friendly communities.
Cities are booming. Once abandoned by the wealthy,
cities are experiencing a renaissance, especially among
younger generations and families with young children. At the
same time, suburbs across the country have had to confront
never-before-seen rates of poverty and crime.
Blending powerful data with vivid on the ground reporting,
Gallagher introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters,
including the charismatic leader of the anti-sprawl
movement; a mild-mannered Minnesotan who quit his job to
convince the world that the suburbs are a financial Ponzi
scheme; and the disaffected residents of suburbia, like the
teacher whose punishing commute entailed leaving home at 4
a.m. and sleeping under her desk in her classroom.
Along the way, she explains why understanding the shifts
taking place is imperative to any discussion about the
future of our housing landscape and of our society
itself—and why that future will bring us stronger,
healthier, happier and more diverse communities for everyone.
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