Suburbs

Poverty's Sprawling Tentacles

From 2000-2011 the number of poor Americans living in the suburbs increased at a rate double that of the country's cities. The result is that more poor people now live in the suburbs than in cities. A new book examines this troubling trend.

May 20, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

NYC from Hoboken

Reverse Migration Threatens New Jersey Suburbs

After a half century of growth driven by families fleeing New York City, New Jersey's northern suburbs face an uncertain future as young families, young professionals and retirees find a resurgent Big Apple more to their liking.

May 3, 2013 - NorthJersey.com

Gas Stations Get Guzzled as D.C.'s Suburbs Densify

Reflecting a nationwide trend, gas stations across the Washington D.C. metro area are disappearing, as rising land values and shrinking margins have station owners eager to sell.

April 29, 2013 - The Washington Post

Suburbs and Exurbs Were Hit Hardest by Great Recession

A new report from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program shows that areas located 10-35 miles from America's central cities sustained far higher job losses during the recession, staunching the sprawl of people and employment.

April 19, 2013 - Next City

Maryland Suburb Fights Sidewalks

The DC metropolitan area has a largely suburban character inherited from an era when cars were the only conceivable form of transportation. Efforts to expand sidewalk infrastructure are meeting resistance, especially in University Hill.

April 18, 2013 - Washington Post

Which cities are (perceived as) safest?

A Gallup poll asked residents of each Congressional district whether they felt safe walking alone at night in their city or area. Although city residents feared crime more than suburbs, there were some surprises.

April 16, 2013 - Michael Lewyn

Inequality Finds a Home in the Suburbs

Through the lens of the Los Angeles region, Becky M. Nicolaides and Andrew Wiese examine how America's suburbs sustain and reinforce inequality.

April 8, 2013 - The New York Times

D.C.'s Displacement Woes Spread to the Suburbs

D.C.'s decade of prosperity and growth has been accompanied by a wave of development and displacement that is now threatening to submerge its inner-ring suburbs. Robert McCartney examines the consequences.

April 6, 2013 - The Washington Post

Canada's 'Slab Farm' Blind Spot

In Canada, more people live in suburban high-rise apartment buildings than any other housing type. Doug Saunders looks at the country's belated recognition for its "elevator suburban" identity.

March 31, 2013 - The Globe and Mail

America's New Geography of Poverty

NBC News looks at the plight of the Simons family in West Hartford, Connecticut, to examine the growth of suburban poverty in the United States.

March 23, 2013 - NBCnews.com

The Life and Death of the Suburban Paradigm

A new article by city historian Graeme Davison traces the rise and fall of the suburban paradigm from its ideological roots in Victorian England to its current backlash.

March 15, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Chicago, IL

Downtown Chicago: America's Hottest Urban Center

With its surging job and population growth, and high retail sales, downtown Chicago is outperforming the suburbs for the first time in decades. Perhaps more than any other city in the country, it reflects the inversion of the post-war paradigm.

March 4, 2013 - Crain's Chicago Business

Dobbs Ferry

Bred in Brooklyn, Hipsters Now Colonizing the Suburbs

Facing increasing property prices, Brooklyn's hipsters must decide whether to abandon their lifestyle and recreate it "upstate."

February 18, 2013 - New York Times

Bhaji Bazaar

Urban Farming Model Takes Off In Boston Suburb

A suburban farming model based on shared private garden plots springs up in Needham, Massachusetts. Could Kate Canney's experiment be an antidote to the challenge of finding farmland that plagues prospective farmers nationwide?

February 13, 2013 - Mother Earth News

Successful Strategies for Building Up the Suburbs

A new report from the Urban Land Institute highlights successful strategies for adapting the infrastructure of America's suburbs to accommodate a densification of development.

February 12, 2013 - Urban Land

Empty Main Street

Should We Let Main Streets Disappear?

Kaid Benfield pens a provocative column in which he suggests that the traditional American Main Street is a thing of the past, and may no longer fit our modern retail economy. Are traditional main streets still worth preserving and emulating?

February 4, 2013 - NRDC Switchboard

Are Utopian Visions of Driverless Cars Realistic?

"Autonomous" and "driverless" cars are surely the next frontier for automakers, as recent announcements by Audi, Toyota, and Google indicate. But are visions for the potential impact of these innovations on cities overly optimistic?

January 24, 2013 - Next City

Dare to Live Outdoors

The old cool: Sealing yourself inside suburban air conditioning. The new cool? According to Howard Blackson, it's the joy to be found outside, connecting with one another and the world we share.

January 22, 2013 - PlaceShakers

How Technology Is 'Amplifying the Benefits of Urban Density'

Edward L. Glaeser takes the recent purchase of Zipcar by Avis as the jumping-off point for an essay on the ways that technology, which once aided the sprawling suburban lifestyle, can now amplify the sharing of infrastructure by city dwellers.

January 11, 2013 - The Boston Globe

Crime Watch

As Cities Become Safer, Crime Decamps for the Suburbs

Homicides are decreasing nationwide, but a federal study reveals that the rate has decreased about 17% in cities and increased by the same rate in suburbs. Two WSJ reporters look behind the numbers for the causes with a focus on Atlanta's suburbs.

January 2, 2013 - Wall Street Journal

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