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How does a suburb preclude community?

AnimalMuppet 6y ago
I know of no suburbs that offer community to the degree that baron816 is describing. Urban neighborhoods, sure, but not suburbs. Does a suburb preclude community? Not necessarily; baron816's vision is exactly that of a suburb that does not exclude it. But in current practice, yes, a suburb pretty much does exclude community.
- FroshKiller 6y ago
  I asked how a suburb precludes community, not whether a suburb precludes community.
  - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
    Ah. I will give two answers, one about peoples' attitudes, and the other structural. Most people who move to the suburbs do so as a compromise between being close to the city (jobs, shopping, culture) and further away from other people. That is, getting away from others is part of the point - it's part of why people move to the suburbs. They're not looking for community. (As I said, most people. It's not 100%.) Given that, most suburbs don't provide much structural support for community, either. (If people aren't looking for it, it would be a waste anyway.) They don't usually have a community center, not even an unofficial one, like a diner or a pub. (I should qualify that - first ring suburbs often have at least a diner or a pub, though second ring suburbs often don't.) There aren't stores within the suburb - that is, not within walking distance - so you have to drive to get to anywhere, unless you're explicitly going to a neighbor's house. And your neighbors aren't walking anywhere, either. There might be a park, but it's big enough that you can be separate from others who are there. "Community" becomes "When I'm out working in my yard and my neighbors drive by, I wave". What would make it different? Start by explicitly intending to be different, so you attract people who want to be different. Then give them support. Have a community center. (Figure out how it's going to be funded, or it's going to die.) Figure out a way to have stores and shops within the neighborhood - walking distance to people - and yet have the stores get enough business to survive. Maybe create joint garden plots between houses, so that 1) people don't put up fences between houses, and 2) people have something to do together.

I know of no suburbs that offer community to the degree that baron816 is describing. Urban neighborhoods, sure, but not suburbs. Does a suburb preclude community? Not necessarily; baron816's vision is exactly that of a suburb that does not exclude it. But in current practice, yes, a suburb pretty much does exclude community.

FroshKiller 6y ago
I asked how a suburb precludes community, not whether a suburb precludes community.
- AnimalMuppet 6y ago
  Ah. I will give two answers, one about peoples' attitudes, and the other structural. Most people who move to the suburbs do so as a compromise between being close to the city (jobs, shopping, culture) and further away from other people. That is, getting away from others is part of the point - it's part of why people move to the suburbs. They're not looking for community. (As I said, most people. It's not 100%.) Given that, most suburbs don't provide much structural support for community, either. (If people aren't looking for it, it would be a waste anyway.) They don't usually have a community center, not even an unofficial one, like a diner or a pub. (I should qualify that - first ring suburbs often have at least a diner or a pub, though second ring suburbs often don't.) There aren't stores within the suburb - that is, not within walking distance - so you have to drive to get to anywhere, unless you're explicitly going to a neighbor's house. And your neighbors aren't walking anywhere, either. There might be a park, but it's big enough that you can be separate from others who are there. "Community" becomes "When I'm out working in my yard and my neighbors drive by, I wave". What would make it different? Start by explicitly intending to be different, so you attract people who want to be different. Then give them support. Have a community center. (Figure out how it's going to be funded, or it's going to die.) Figure out a way to have stores and shops within the neighborhood - walking distance to people - and yet have the stores get enough business to survive. Maybe create joint garden plots between houses, so that 1) people don't put up fences between houses, and 2) people have something to do together.