1. Suburbs
Ch. 13 Urban Patterns

2. Think of suburbia…… detached houses, 2 parents with 2
Think of suburbia…… detached houses, 2 parents with 2.5 children & pets, white picket fences, 2 car garage, friendly neighbours, well kept gardens, parks, good schools, community BBQs, safe, quiet, spacious………
Can you think of any problems associated with this picture?

3. What are the negatives in these pictures???

4. Why is this a significant geographic question?
Post-War suburbanization represents a huge change in the distribution of the nation’s population.

5. There are 4 main reasons for the growth of suburbs in NA
Residential Preference
Housing policy
Changes in social & demographic trends
Transportation technology

6. 1) Landscape preferences – housing demand issues
18th Century French traveler, Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur summarized Am. cultural values:
Love of newness
Desire to be near nature
Freedom to move
Competitive urge
Sense of destiny
Suburbs are portrayed in the 1950s media as the ideal American lifestyle

7. Leave it to Beaver ( )
The Cleavers lived in the generic suburb of Mayfield.

8. Father Knows Best ( )
The Andersons lived in Springfield.

9. Pop. Decline since 1950 in many US cities by up to 50% (Baltimore, Buffalo, Detroit etc.)
20% Americans living in suburbs in 1950; 50% in 2000

10. The U. S. suburban population grew from 26. 7% in 1950 to 49
The U. S. suburban population grew from 26.7% in 1950 to 49.8% in 2000.

11. Phoenix as a case study. Suburbanization is a land-hungry process.

12. Suburbanization as a mass phenomenon after 1950.

13. Phoenix grew by 1 million between 1990 and 2000.

14. The Peripheral Model
An urban area consists of an inner city surrounded by large suburban residential and business areas tied together by a beltway or ring road
Lack severe social, economic & physical problems faced by inner cities
Problems include sprawl & segregation
Edge cities

15. Suburbs evolved from “sub” “urbs” to freestanding, self-sufficient entities – ”Edge Cities”

16. Density Gradient
Decline in density as you move further from city center (# of houses per unit of land)
Few apartments/condos in suburbs
Changes to gradient caused by
a) decrease in # of ppl living in city and
b) increased density in suburbs
= reduce the extremes

17. Suburban Sprawl Progressive spread of development
Developers seek cheap land
often not neighbouring existing built-up areas
swiss cheese landscape
Demand for detached homes
Wasting good agricultural land
Greenbelts (Europe)

18. Europe versus U.S. Cities: Sprawl
European cities, including this hypothetical U.K. example, tend to restrict suburban development, thereby concentrating new development in and around existing concentrations. This leaves large rings of open space, so-called greenbelts.

19. Urban Sprawl

20. 2) Mass production of housing- housing supply issues
Housing was produced by large developers on large tracts of cheap land.
70% of new homes were constructed by 10% of builders.
Mass produced styles made housing cheaper and more affordable.
Post-war mortgage programs. FHA and VA loans guaranteed creditors security on their loans by reducing down payments and extending repayment period.
New rules in Canada as of last year
Homeownership increased from 43.6% in 1940 to 65.5% in 2000.

21. 3) Social and demographic trends
High fertility of the baby boom era raised the demand for housing.
Large families demanded large homes.
The nuclear family replaced the extended family as the ideal.
Prevailing model of male breadwinner and women as homemakers. Suburban location gave them home, garden, and automobile – cult of domesticity.

22. Fertility peaks at 3.77 in 1957.

23. 4) Transportation
Freeways and transport corridors increased accessibility of the suburbs.
Critical link between transportation technology and urban form - 4 stages of urban development
pedestrian and horse-car travel from 1800 to 1890,
electric streetcars between 1890 and 1920,
recreational automobiles between 1920 and 1950,
freeways from 1950 to present.

24. Cars 25% of a city’s land is roads & parking lots
Cars give flexibility as to where ppl can choose to live
Price of gas – long term impact on suburbs?

25. Public Transportation
Each traveler takes up less space
Cheaper, less pollution, energy efficient
5% of work trips are by public transit, declining in US (23 billion in 1940s, 8 billion 2002)
Subway is the exception to this trend

26. Conclusions
Between 1950 and 2000, the U.S. became a suburban nation. 50% of population lives in suburbs.
Growth of suburbs reveals societal forces – transportation technology, residential preferences, housing policy, and demographic change.

27. Discussion Questions
What are the consequences of mass suburbanization for N. American society?
Plight of central cities
Urban sprawl
Social fragmentation
Local, state, and national politics
Will the trend toward suburbanization continue? Think about the forces that created mass suburbanization. Will they continue?