Cities and Suburbs at War?

"[A]s the rate of suburban poverty increases in the United States and those suburbs become more racially diverse, and as the nation's most prosperous cities become more expensive to live in and more dominated by typically suburban fixtures like chain stores, it may be time to ask whether the dichotomy needs to be revisited.

This is especially true because the environmental stakes involved are so high. The built environment -- how much land we take up, how much fuel we use to get around, how our homes are constructed and powered -- is emerging as a crucial factor in the battle to reduce carbon emissions. Maybe the crucial factor."

Bridging the gap between the pro-sprawl and anti-sprawl commentators seems impossible, but writer Sarah Goodyear suggests that the war can be toned down by searching for common ground between the two sides at the local level.