"Suburbia," opening today at the new Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, allows a portrait of suburban living that goes well beyond the mundane. By redefining the history suburbia, the exhibit also tracks the contemporary evolution of suburbs.
John Rash reviews the "Suburbia" exhibit, which opened today at the new Minnesota History Center.
According to the themes of the exhibit, "midcentury modern arrived with modern media, especially television" and "[f]ormal rooms gave way to family rooms, and to TVs, which gathered families with programs projecting idealized lives."
The exhibit's designers describe the simultaneous rise of the suburbs and modern media as a matter of symbiosis, not coincidence.
Rash also gives voice to a remarkable opinion that might seem like a long-time coming to fans of the suburbs—the idea that the narrative about the blandness and ennui of the suburbs, which arose as a backlash to the suburbs as the grew to national prominence during the 20th century, might be a better fit for the gentrified urban cores of contemporary times. "Dynamism, however, might be the best description of suburbs today. In fact, urban gentrification can mean that some suburbs better reflect America’s mosaic than the center cities they surround."
Rash also spoke with William Frey, author of the Diversity Explosion, to discuss the evolution of the suburbs.
FULL STORY: Suburbia and modern media in symbiosis

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.

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

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.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
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.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont