Reorienting Suburbs Toward An Interdependent Future

As shoppers turn increasingly green, what effect will this have on the suburbs - domestic havens of consumerism? Will green just be "an accent color" in the suburbs, or can it facilitate a more profound shift in orientation?

"Greening the suburbs is about recalibrating philosophy, technology and public policy so we champion interdependence rather than individualism. The suburbs were born out of an ideology of separation from the city, but the 21st century requires new regional and global partnerships."

Interdependence can help reframe land use debates and smooth the transition toward transit oriented development. Interdependence can facilitate a growing awarenes that healthy bodies and a healthy planet can be complementary goals.

Right now, "the world's resources are disproportionately funneled into the metropolitan regions of industrialized nations." Can green suburbs reverse this trend? Is it possible to wean the suburbs off of conspicuous consumption and redirect those energies towards a "an obtainable lifestyle for Earth's 7 billion people," shifting their focus from 'me' to 'we?' "As Gandhi put it, 'Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.'"

Thanks to Scott Carlin