Ha ha ha, the suburbs are the new cool

Posted on October 11, 2007 by wyliemac

With all due respect to the Columbus Underground urban apologists, but you really ought to rethink your urbanery (i.e. urban snobbery). I know you don't want to admit it. But the suburbs are cool. Need proof? Check out Detail's "Is it time to move to the suburbs?"

“From a cultural standpoint, cities are becoming less interesting and the suburbs are increasingly where the action is,” says Joel Kotkin, author of The City: A Global History. “Partly because of the freedom the Internet gives us, but also because cities have become homogenized, inhospitable, and expensive beyond belief, people now live by the ethos of ‘everywhere a city,’ even if they’re in an outer ring, an outer-outer ring, or beyond.”

Want further proof? Think about where TV's cool characters live. Tony Soprano lives in suburban Jersey. Weeds is set in the midst of suburban sprawl California. So let's think local. And for me, Dublin is local. We've got TehKu. We've got Corazón. We've got Old Dublin. We've got Giant Dancing Bunnies. And of course, we've got giant freakin Corn. Oh yea, we've got the Dublin Irish Festival. Yea, we might not be a very walkable city. But we've got excellent bike paths. So please CU urban guys, stop putting the 'burbs down. You know who you are. UPDATE: I've been so busy with other things that I've totally missed the fact that, as of 10/19/07, there are 93 comments to this post on the CU. I'll have to take some time to read and respond.

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wyliemac

UncommonSense - You know I'm just putting stuff out there, eh? Just putting a Columbus spin on an article I read. Oh, and who are you calling riche! Thanks for commenting.

UncommonSense

I wonder how cool Dublin would seem if Columbus never existed at all? Or worse, if urban Columbus deteriorated to the point it resembled Detroit? I understand why people live in suburbs. I don't understand why they think suburbs are immune from the problems of the central city.

And Upper Arlington, Bexley and Grandview are a hundred times cooler than Dublin... freakin' nouveau riche!

wyliemac

UncommonSense - You know I'm just putting stuff out there, eh? Just putting a Columbus spin on an article I read. Oh, and who are you calling riche! Thanks for commenting.

UncommonSense

I wonder how cool Dublin would seem if Columbus never existed at all? Or worse, if urban Columbus deteriorated to the point it resembled Detroit? I understand why people live in suburbs. I don't understand why they think suburbs are immune from the problems of the central city.

And Upper Arlington, Bexley and Grandview are a hundred times cooler than Dublin... freakin' nouveau riche!

Walker Evans

That's not a bad commute at all. Glad the weather is finally getting nice enough for biking and walking around. I don't think I could ever be a year-round cyclist. ;)

wyliemac

Nice point Walker. $4 of gas will suck. Luckily I live exactly 3.5 miles from work. Today, I started riding my bike into work.

Walker Evans

Just thought I'd follow up the six-month anniversary of this declaration with a link to a story in today's Dispatch:

Will the exodus to the hinterlands run out of gas?

If we define "cool" as something new and hip that the general public has not quite caught on to yet, but will soon become commonplace... then no the suburbs are not cool.

If suburban sprawl is indeed on it's way out with rising gas prices, then I think that makes it the exact opposite of cool.

Walker Evans

That's not a bad commute at all. Glad the weather is finally getting nice enough for biking and walking around. I don't think I could ever be a year-round cyclist. ;)

wyliemac

Nice point Walker. $4 of gas will suck. Luckily I live exactly 3.5 miles from work. Today, I started riding my bike into work.

Walker Evans

Just thought I'd follow up the six-month anniversary of this declaration with a link to a story in today's Dispatch:

Will the exodus to the hinterlands run out of gas...

If we define "cool" as something new and hip that the general public has not quite caught on to yet, but will soon become commonplace... then no the suburbs are not cool.

If suburban sprawl is indeed on it's way out with rising gas prices, then I think that makes it the exact opposite of cool.

Walker Evans

Just thought I'd follow up the six-month anniversary of this declaration with a link to a story in today's Dispatch:

Will the exodus to the hinterlands run out of gas...

If we define "cool" as something new and hip that the general public has not quite caught on to yet, but will soon become commonplace... then no the suburbs are not cool.

If suburban sprawl is indeed on it's way out with rising gas prices, then I think that makes it the exact opposite of cool.

Jasono

Great post. Not very walkable, you are right, but definitely bikeable. I like it out here. But I also like the amenities that Downtown has to offer as well.

Jasono

Great post. Not very walkable, you are right, but definitely bikeable. I like it out here. But I also like the amenities that Downtown has to offer as well.

wyliemac

Walker - It's of Columbus of course : ). You are right though, I didn't mean to put down CU or it's folks on there. I just mentioned your site, because there seems to be an undercurrent of suburb/urban tension. At least in some of the posts. But generally, it's all done in good humor.

Eric

I'm not sure you really drove home the point of suburban living in Columbus. If you'd have said that they're quiet and have nice schools, I'd agree.

Instead, you went the route of listing a tea house in a rec center, a ridiculously priced spa, a park, an art installation, and a festival. I can find all of that downtown, so why exactly should I start a housing hunt out there? Especially when you consider all of the additional costs (cars, gas, time, health, taxes, etc...).

People criticize our neighborhood (rightly or not) for being dead after 5 and overpriced. The least you can do is take the criticism that suburbs are soul crushingly boring like a man. ;)

I'm kidding of course.

wyliemac

Walker - It's of Columbus of course : ). You are right though, I didn't mean to put down CU or it's folks on there. I just mentioned your site, because there seems to be an undercurrent of suburb/urban tension. At least in some of the posts. But generally, it's all done in good humor.

Craig

I am a little surprised that you reference the show "Weeds" to support your position. Have you ever watched the opening credits to "Weeds?" It is a very clear statement about the homogeneity of the suburbs.

Personally, I think that there is a lot to like about the suburbs, especially the inner-ring suburbs like Upper Arlington. There are still some suburban amenities that remain hard to get in the city. I also agree that there are people who think like urban elitists, as you suggest.

But cool or not, living the suburban lifestyle means a commitment to buy lots and lots of gasoline. Its not possible to live a car-centric lifestyle (in its current form) without tremendous dependency on foreign oil. So, even if someone were to concede that the burbs were cool for the sake of argument, the question remains: is this form of living sustainable for the long-term?

Ken

Joel Kotkin makes his living off of just this kind of provocation. Seen it for years and I'm bored. He's pretty much considered a joke anyway.

Thing is, the suburbs have already won-- we urbanites are not snobs. We're a very slim minority of folks who choose to live in a neighborhoods most normal Americans wouldn't be caught dead in after dark. We are lovers of the old city, the pedestrian friendliness, and we are and have been on the losing side of the issue for sixty years. That post is rubbish. Of course most people like suburbs better, the proof is in the population stats, the school system stats, the purchasing power, the gated communities, the proliferation of strip malls, and the fact that most downtowns, including ours, are still waiting for their day in the sun. Urbanites are passionate, opinionated, etc. We have to be.

Walker Evans

PS: Where is that header image up there a shot of?

;)

Walker Evans

There are plenty of people who post on Columbus Underground and live in the suburbs. The site may lean more towards urban development news, but that doesn't mean people who live in the suburbs are being disrespected in any way. Everyone in Columbus seems to have neighborhood pride no matter where they live, and I think that's great.

I find the "homogenized" comment to be WAY off the mark though, and I'm not really sure what the author could actually mean by that. I think there's a lot more diversity from street to street in and around downtown that you can find in most suburban areas in central Ohio.

I do think using TV shows as "proof" is a great connection though.... Suburbia... a great place to sit and watch TV shows about... Suburbia! ;)

Betty

I must say I enjoyed reading that. I get tired of some people rationalizing that discrimination against people based on where they live is ok, esp when it's where I live :)

I'm a big fan of Columbus. My address says Columbus. I try to take advantage of many of the things the urban parts offer. Still, my reasons for living where I do are just as valid as the reasons other people have for living where they do.

Can't we all just get along?

Eric

I'm not sure you really drove home the point of suburban living in Columbus. If you'd have said that they're quiet and have nice schools, I'd agree.

Instead, you went the route of listing a tea house in a rec center, a ridiculously priced spa, a park, an art installation, and a festival. I can find all of that downtown, so why exactly should I start a housing hunt out there? Especially when you consider all of the additional costs (cars, gas, time, health, taxes, etc...).

People criticize our neighborhood (rightly or not) for being dead after 5 and overpriced. The least you can do is take the criticism that suburbs are soul crushingly boring like a man. ;)

I'm kidding of course.

Dave

A refreshing post.

Craig

I am a little surprised that you reference the show "Weeds" to support your position. Have you ever watched the opening credits to "Weeds?" It is a very clear statement about the homogeneity of the suburbs.

Personally, I think that there is a lot to like about the suburbs, especially the inner-ring suburbs like Upper Arlington. There are still some suburban amenities that remain hard to get in the city. I also agree that there are people who think like urban elitists, as you suggest.

But cool or not, living the suburban lifestyle means a commitment to buy lots and lots of gasoline. Its not possible to live a car-centric lifestyle (in its current form) without tremendous dependency on foreign oil. So, even if someone were to concede that the burbs were cool for the sake of argument, the question remains: is this form of living sustainable for the long-term?

Ken

Joel Kotkin makes his living off of just this kind of provocation. Seen it for years and I'm bored. He's pretty much considered a joke anyway.

Thing is, the suburbs have already won-- we urbanites are not snobs. We're a very slim minority of folks who choose to live in a neighborhoods most normal Americans wouldn't be caught dead in after dark. We are lovers of the old city, the pedestrian friendliness, and we are and have been on the losing side of the issue for sixty years. That post is rubbish. Of course most people like suburbs better, the proof is in the population stats, the school system stats, the purchasing power, the gated communities, the proliferation of strip malls, and the fact that most downtowns, including ours, are still waiting for their day in the sun. Urbanites are passionate, opinionated, etc. We have to be.

Walker Evans

PS: Where is that header image up there a shot of?

;)

Walker Evans

There are plenty of people who post on Columbus Underground and live in the suburbs. The site may lean more towards urban development news, but that doesn't mean people who live in the suburbs are being disrespected in any way. Everyone in Columbus seems to have neighborhood pride no matter where they live, and I think that's great.

I find the "homogenized" comment to be WAY off the mark though, and I'm not really sure what the author could actually mean by that. I think there's a lot more diversity from street to street in and around downtown that you can find in most suburban areas in central Ohio.

I do think using TV shows as "proof" is a great connection though.... Suburbia... a great place to sit and watch TV shows about... Suburbia! ;)

Betty

I must say I enjoyed reading that. I get tired of some people rationalizing that discrimination against people based on where they live is ok, esp when it's where I live :)

I'm a big fan of Columbus. My address says Columbus. I try to take advantage of many of the things the urban parts offer. Still, my reasons for living where I do are just as valid as the reasons other people have for living where they do.

Can't we all just get along?

Dave

A refreshing post.

Ha ha ha, the suburbs are the new cool

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