In regards to urbanism and family, I think there's a fundamental disconnect in the way we talk about these places, as you sometimes allude to. Having grown up out in the middle of nowhere, I fully get why folks don't see big downtown city life as conducive to raising a family, even if that is ultimately untrue (and something we've, as a …
In regards to urbanism and family, I think there's a fundamental disconnect in the way we talk about these places, as you sometimes allude to. Having grown up out in the middle of nowhere, I fully get why folks don't see big downtown city life as conducive to raising a family, even if that is ultimately untrue (and something we've, as a society, forgotten the experience of).
The trick is, there are more options than just these sterile suburbs, which I honestly also couldn't imagine raising a family in. I right now live in a small town on the very very outer edge of the Chicagoland area. Not at all in a place that can be called a big city. But also nothing like these modern suburbs. It's a proper small town. I think it would be a great place to raise a family (still working on getting there myself, since it is, unfortunately, not a great place to meet women), for the very fact that it's a small town and not just suburban sprawl (although we have plenty of that, too).
I think to get the family folks on board, we need to learn to better emphasize that point. Just like a stroad is neither a street or road, a sprawling suburb is neither a city nor a town. We need to separate the concepts of towns and suburbs, because they really are different.
"We need to separate the concepts of towns and suburbs, because they really are different."
100%. Even older suburbs have some of that cozy town-like feel. The newest stuff we're building is just not good, and I don't think most people living there think it's the best kind of place to live. It's just what they can afford.
In regards to urbanism and family, I think there's a fundamental disconnect in the way we talk about these places, as you sometimes allude to. Having grown up out in the middle of nowhere, I fully get why folks don't see big downtown city life as conducive to raising a family, even if that is ultimately untrue (and something we've, as a society, forgotten the experience of).
The trick is, there are more options than just these sterile suburbs, which I honestly also couldn't imagine raising a family in. I right now live in a small town on the very very outer edge of the Chicagoland area. Not at all in a place that can be called a big city. But also nothing like these modern suburbs. It's a proper small town. I think it would be a great place to raise a family (still working on getting there myself, since it is, unfortunately, not a great place to meet women), for the very fact that it's a small town and not just suburban sprawl (although we have plenty of that, too).
I think to get the family folks on board, we need to learn to better emphasize that point. Just like a stroad is neither a street or road, a sprawling suburb is neither a city nor a town. We need to separate the concepts of towns and suburbs, because they really are different.
"We need to separate the concepts of towns and suburbs, because they really are different."
100%. Even older suburbs have some of that cozy town-like feel. The newest stuff we're building is just not good, and I don't think most people living there think it's the best kind of place to live. It's just what they can afford.