Streetcar Suburbs

Pacific Electric streetcar

What Are Streetcar Suburbs?

Named after the mode of transportation that made their existence possible by dramatically reducing travel times, streetcar suburbs are communities located along streetcar lines farther out from city centers, on the periphery of the urban areas in the late 19th century.

June 17, 2021 - Diana Ionescu

Bryant Park

Downtown Won't Kill You

Despite the stress and pollution of urban life, even the most dense, traffic-clogged cities may be as healthy as streetcar suburbs.

April 30, 2018 - Michael Lewyn

Old houses with large porch and colorful siding

Inner Suburbs Face Identity Crisis

Places like Columbia Heights, an older suburb north of Minneapolis, lie at the focal point of conflict over development and gentrification. Can these places support a 21st-century urbanism?

April 5, 2016 - Governing

Northwest Portland Hostel

The Charms of 'Illegal Neighborhoods'

A longtime resident of an old, eclectic neighborhood reflects on what makes the area so desirable and why new places like it are effectively outlawed today.

October 2, 2015 - City Observatory City Commentary

On the Benefits of Streetcar Suburbs

Peter Saunders knows of the Corner Side Yard knows a good thing when he sees it, and that is good thing is the streetcar suburb.

September 5, 2015 - The Corner Side Yard

Cleveland 4th Street St. Patrick's

The Case for a Walkable Cleveland

In this long-form article, G.M. Donley reminds us why walkable and diverse communities have become such a planning staple. In Cleveland, New Urbanism contends with a history of sprawl and decreasing population.

April 27, 2015 - Belt Magazine

The Streetcar Solution

In a long excerpt from his new book Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities: Design Strategies for the Post Carbon World, Patrick Condon explains the advantages of streetcars, where they went, and why we should bring them back.

September 19, 2010 - The Tyee

Streetcar Suburbs May Not Actually Support Streetcars

Yonah Freemark suggests that the original streetcar suburbs were actually not dense enough to continue supporting streetcars back in the day.

April 20, 2010 - Next American City

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