Customer Reviews

The New Suburban History (Historical Studies of Urban America)

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This book is unlike other treatments of suburbia. It covers topics that are normally ignored by standard treatments of suburbia. An example is the treatment of research universities in promoting further sprawl. Another example is the divergence among whites of different economic classes in explaining their support for further sprawl. These are just a few examples of what the author covers. To put it simply this book is a refreshing review of suburbia. If you are conducting research into the topic, you must have this book to ensure you address normally overlooked areas it will add to your theoretical perspective. A real boon to those researching suburbia!!!!

Perhaps the book is essentially arguing that suburban America is the real America? Certainly, the bulk of the population lives in the suburbs. And the idealisations of domestic life as depicted by Hollywood are often shown as suburbia.

The book offers a tour of the development of the suburbs in the 20th century. It shows different experiences, that reflect the diversity of American society. And not just in the last decade, but across a century. Plus, we see that the development of suburbs has always involved Negroes, often valiantly trying to be integrated. As opposed to the simplistic picture of a white suburbia and Negro urban areas.

Nor is the text confined to racial topics. Various political issues, including rates of taxes and environmental concerns, also came out of suburbia, and helped shape the culture evolution and discourse of the society.

This book offers a political "interpretation" of American suburbs. There are ten essays presented which are essentially dealing with the old laundry list of the American left: The suburbs are white enclaves of racism and ethnic hatred. The suburbs are a plot to destroy the environment. The suburbs are an improper use of land resources. The evil people of the suburbs don't contribute enough in transfer payments to other people. And the republican party is a racist institution.

Rather than research, whats presented in the book is a bunch of reactionary arguments from old left who hate the suburbs and dream of turning the clock back (politically and living standards) to 1947. Hate for suburban life is accompanied by delusions about the nature of urban life.

Rather than wagging their fingers in disapproval at the suburbs, the authors would have done far better to look at what goes on within the gated communities and closely guarded worlds of academia. There is no small irony that a book that goes to such length to bash the suburbs for every imagined evil comes out of that ultimate gated "suburban" community for the children of the rich in America known as princeton. But of course, such a place can't be bad like the suburbs because the money&buildings are older and the politics of the locals are impeccably to the left of center.