Monday, April 19, 2010

Suburbanization

Suburbization is a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. I do believe this is only an American phenomenon because I had a difficult time trying to describe what suburbs are in Chinese. Suburbs are one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl. Many residents of metropolitan areas no longer live and work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs and commute to work via automobile or mass transit. 

I am currently in one of the suburbs near Washington D.C. and I'll have to say that I prefer cities a lot more since people do have the choice to not drive and just walk. I do like driving but I only drive in NYC because I don't live in an area where public transportation is convenient. I think it is nice to look at a photo and know that is where I live. In the suburbs, I do not really have the choice due to the lack of sidewalks and all the shopping plazas.

There really is not a sense of character, history or culture associated with the suburbs. In fact, if someone was dropped into several suburbs, he/she would not be able to differentiate one from the other or even tell where they were. There are no buildings that are unique or special in architecture. I suppose a person could figure out that they are in one of the 18 states that has the Piggly Wiggly if they happened to see one..

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