The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream is Moving
- ISBN-10
- 1591845254
- ISBN-13
- 9781591845256
- Category
- Suburban life
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2013
- Publisher
- Portfolio Trade
- Author
- Leigh Gallagher
Description
After the U.S. housing bubble burst, no part of our country felt the pain more than the suburbs. Headlines screamed of foreclosed homes, displaced families, and an upsurge of crime in the once bucolic subdivisions that for so long symbolized the American Dream. Even five years later, conventional wisdom seems to be that this is all temporary - that once the economy rights itself and home prices return to pre-recession levels, we'll go back to the lives we led before. But that's not true. According to Leigh Gallagher, the recession was simply a catalyst for a much larger trend. The suburbs may have represented the dominant pattern of housing and population growth in the United States for more than half a century, but powerful social, economic, and demographic forces - along with the suburbs' poor design to begin with - are converging to render them unnecessary, and even undesirable, for an ever-increasing number of Americans. Consider some of the forces at work- The nuclear family is no longer the norm- U.S. marriage and birth rates are steadily declining, while the number of single-person households is skyrocketing. The main selling points of suburban life - good schools and family-friendly lifestyles - matter less. We want out of our cars- As the price of oil continues to rise and commuting becomes more expensive, once-affordable homes on the suburban fringe are no longer a bargain - and we are driving less, in general, for the first time since the invention of the automobile. This is especially true among teenagers, who are delaying getting their driver's licenses, and young adults, who are opting to live in more walkable, action-packed communities. Cities are booming- Once abandoned by the wealthy, cities are experiencing a renaissance, especially among younger generations and even among families with young children. At the same time, suburbs across the country have had to confront never-before-seen rates of poverty and crime. Not all suburbs are going to vanish, of course, but the trends are undeniable. In this deeply reported work, Gallagher introduces us to a lively cast of characters, including the charismatic leader of the anti-sprawl movement, a mild-mannered Minnesotan who quit his job to convice the world that the suburbs are a financial Ponzi scheme, and a grade-school teacher whose commute entailed leaving home at four a.m. and sleeping under her desk in her classroom. Blending powerful data with on-the-ground reporting, Gallagher takes us inside the hundreds of new communities springing up around the country - such as shopping malls that are being converted into downtown-like neighborhoods and dense pedestrian-friendly urban centers that are more reminiscent of small towns than sprawling modern-day suburbia. Offering a fascinating and timely portrait of our changing landscape, Gallagher reveals irrefutable reversals taking place - and demonstrates why the post-cul-de-sac future is not a bleak one but a better one. The end of the suburbs, as Gallagher foretells it, will mean stronger, happier, and healthier communities for all of us. 'The most convincing book yet on the lifestyle changes coming to our immediate future.' Andres Duany, coauthor of Suburban Nation 'This book is a steel fist in a velvet glove. Beneath Leigh Gallagher's smooth, elegant prose there is a methodical smashing of the suburban paradigm. When all is done, a few shards remain - but only because she is scrupulously fair. This story of rise and ruin avoids the usual storm of statistics - nor is it a tale told with apocalyptic glee. The End of the Suburbsis the most convincing book yet on the lifestyle changes coming to our immediate future.' Andres Duany, founding partner of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company and coauthor of Suburban Nation
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
The Chronicles of Marr-Nia: Short Stories Starring Barbara Marr
By Karen Cantwell" When Barb decides to tag along on a PI job with Colt, things don't go quite as planned, and she finds herself in yet another sticky situation. (A between-the-novels short) Other short stories: "Taming the Hulk," "Top Lawn," and "The Road ...
-
Suburgatory: Twisted Tales from Darkest Suburbia
By Linda KeenanThe original proposal for this book was picked up by Warner Brothers in 2010, and their imagining of Suburgatory can be seen on the ABC show of the same title.Tessa, the teenage character created by ABC's Suburgatory, was forced by the man ...
-
Over Here: How the G.I. Bill Transformed the American Dream
By Edward HumesAn analysis of the purpose and legacy of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 profiles it as the twentieth century's most transformative bill, discussing how it provided a wealth of veteran benefits, from home loans and health care to ...
-
The Promise of the Suburbs
By Sarah BilstonREVISING THE SHAPE OF MIDDLE- CLASS LIFE: THE VILLA GARDENER In 1850, The Suburban Gardener was posthumously released in revised form as The Villa Gardener, edited by Loudon's wife, Jane. What John himself planned for the text must ...
-
Vivre en banlieue: Une comparaison France/Canada
By Serge Jaumain, Nathalie Lemarchand... Canada ( titre provi- soire ) , à paraître , ISBN 978-90-5201-309-1 N ° 5- Britta OLINDER ( ed . ) , Literary Environments . Canada and the Old World , 2006 , 246 p . , ISBN 978-90-5201-296-4 N ° 4- Madeleine FRÉDÉRIC , Polyptyque québécois ...
-
Scenes from the Suburbs: The Suburb in Contemporary US Film and Television[Electronic Book]
This is a study of the representation of suburban space in US film and television.