A Love Letter To Suburbia

The landscape of suburbia and the landscape of our imagined American dream are one and the same: a manicured lawn, a three-bedroom house, and a middle-class life of security, stability, and safety.

Once upon a time, maybe suburbia offered truth in that vision for some. If we reach far enough into our collective consciousness of the suburban past, we might conjure images of block parties and church barbecues, school carnivals and progressive neighborhood dinners.

Yet this dream, this past - however imagined or real - is not the lived experience of suburbanites - a unique architectural demographic that makes up a whopping 52% of America’s population. Those who were sold the apex of the American dream often live in the nadir of its nightmare. Empty streets, overcrowded schools, endless traffic, and a life of anonymity rather than community define the current suburban experience.

Walk through any suburb, and you’ll find those manicured lawns empty of life. The broad streets meant for block parties are occupied only by cars. Rather than small businesses, giant corporations in big box stores rule the suburban economy.

More than an individual betrayal of the promised American dream, these soulless environments breed a kind of isolation antithetical to democracy. Fear grows in the distance between neighbors, and the promise of community withers. As a nation, we face the consequences of this architecture of accidental despotism every day on an individual, municipal, and national level.

But, it doesn’t have to be that way, according to Diane Alisa, author of the new book A Love Letter To Suburbia, How To Restore The American Village.

Expertly researched and beautifully written, Diane paints a compelling portrait of a suburban life as it might be - with individuals, families, and small businesses at the heart of planning. Rather than the dehumanized, economically disempowered, and politically disenfranchised built environments we see today, Diane’s vision of a better suburbia puts the power back in the hands of the people who live there.

Far from a castle in the sky, Diane’s vision is constructed on a rock-solid explanation of what must be changed for it to be realized: Zoning laws must become more flexible, people - not cars - must be the most important occupant of streets, and walkability must be the primary concern of suburban planning.

But to me, the most compelling aspect of Diane’s work is her point of view. Unlike the rather monolithic and lifeless body of urban studies scholarship, she approaches her from the perspective of a woman, family member, and mother - the person for whom suburbia was purportedly built but who is, in reality, its most neglected inhabitant. From this vantage point, A Love Letter To Suburbia offers truly unique insight into the problems of suburbia - but more importantly, into its solutions.

I was honored to talk to host Diane on The Female Body Politic this week.

Please consider buying A Love Letter To Suburbia or liking, commenting, and sharing this post to be entered to win a copy.