Showcasing Suburbia

An exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of Art offers an unbiased, "awestruck" exploration of America's suburbs.

1 minute read

October 8, 2008, 6:00 AM PDT

By Judy Chang


"About three dozen artists and architects blow past the narrow sterility and conformity found in Hollywood takes such as "The Stepford Wives" and "American Beauty" to offer neither a condemnation nor a celebration of suburbia but something trickier, a bit of awestruck contemplation of the way more than half of America lives.

Lee Stoetzel's photo of his playful scale-model sculpture, "McMansion 2," uses McDonald's Filet-O-Fish as the stucco for a large two-story home. Laura E. Migliorino's stylized photos quietly explode the lily-white suburban stereotype by showcasing a rainbow coalition of residents. (Almost half of new immigrants move straight to the suburbs.) Paho Mann's photos show how Arizona's abandoned convenience stores live on as tattoo parlors and tuxedo rentals in "Re-Inhabited Circle Ks."

Scale models explore new retail trends. For one, as Mr. Blauvelt says, no new enclosed mall has been built in the United States since 2006. (The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, which opened off Route 28 in Frazer in 2005, may be among the last of its kind.) Retail's new wave is a "power center" such as The Waterfront, where a string of big-box retailers loom above an assemblage of smaller stores and restaurants dotting an asphalt sea."

Sunday, October 5, 2008 in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view of red brick multi-story power plant building in Pittsburgh, PA.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower

A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

July 4 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Cyclist on protected bike lane in middle of street in Washington D.C. with Washington Monument obelisk visible in background.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”

The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

July 4 - Streetsblog USA

Blue and silver Amtrak train at small station.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train

The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.

July 3 - New Orleans City Business