With the suburban lifestyle clearing entrenched in the American mainstream, planners should stop criticizing suburban living and help address the environmental and societal problems that face the nation's low-density communities.
"Americans have continued to vote with their feet for suburban or exurban landscapes. These Americans now include not only whites, but also a growing proportion of recent immigrants, Asians, Latinos, and African Americans. And it’s not just people who are moving - suburbia is also snagging the lion’s share of new economic growth and jobs."
"Most projections show that the continued increase in the U.S. population and the projected 50 percent increase in space devoted to the built environment by 2030 will largely take place in the sprawling cities of the South and West, areas dominated by low-density, automobile-dependent development of residential, commercial, and industrial space.
For developers, builders, planners, and public officials, the key challenge will be to accommodate this growth in a way that both preserves the advantages of relatively low-density suburban living and addresses legitimate concerns about the environment and about family, cultural, and spiritual life."
FULL STORY: Suburbia: Homeland of the American Future
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?
Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.
The EV “Charging Divide” Plaguing Rural America
With “the deck stacked” against rural areas, will the great electric American road trip ever be a reality?
Judge Halts Brooklyn Bike Lane Removal
Lawyers must prove the city was not acting “arbitrarily, capriciously, and illegally” in ordering the hasty removal.
Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?
With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)