Charles Marohn argues against the staunch conservative defense of suburbs (famously voiced by Joel Kotkin) by showing how suburban development falls short of conservative ideals and cities, on the contrary, embody them.
Marohn's argument is summed up by the claims like the following:
"Where Kotkin sees a 'forced march towards densification and ever more constricted planning augurs,' I see the unwinding of our great suburban experiment. As government’s ability to subsidize this artificial pattern of development wanes, a return to more traditional living arrangements is inevitable."
And:
"Clinging to the Kotkin Doctrine of suburban primacy during this period of change will not only lead to a generation of conservative exile; it will produce a much weaker America."
While previous conservative critiques of Kotkin's arguments have focused on the data used to back up his arguments, Marohn asks conservatives to reframe their assumptions about the role of the government in creating the suburbs as well as the natural role for conservatives to play in the political processes of cities.
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