Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Earlier in this thread someone said "back to the suburbs you will want to go" once the OP gets married. I am not aware of any statistic that supports that kind of certain prediction. Maybe the OP if he or she gets married will be in the minority of married couples that do live in urban areas.
None of that contradicts anything I said. What I said was some minority of married people stay in the city, and we don't know if OP would be in that minority or not so it is wrong to tell the OP he or she will go back to the suburbs if he or she gets married. Neither of those links say that there won't be a minority of millenials that stay in cities.
There is your problem right there. The suburbs are NOT MADE for single people. They are made for "married with children" people.
Is this monoculture good, though? Doesn't this present a systemic weakness to be built so heavily around one socio-economic group with codes and laws so specific and inflexible? Remember, the suburb and the SFH are relatively recent in their popularity, so the "return to the suburbs" of married couples is neither inherent nor given.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NickB1967
They are built that way for economies of scale.
Again, is this a good thing? I argue that churning cities out at this pace and scale is actually a bad thing and produces fragile city finances, disconnected neighborhoods, and heavily subsidized and exaggerated economic cycles.
The 'burbs are well suited for families with kids. Childless singles? Not so much.
If you're in a 'burb, there's likely an urban areas in the middle of the ring of suburbs. Unless it's a donut hole metro area (decent suburbs surrounding a rotting slum core.) more there.
For starters, Joel Kotkin is a biased source. He's going to find evidence for what he already believes, and has an economic bias--subscribers--that pushes him to keep sounding the same message.
What that article leans on is preference. But preference is meaningless without context. I'd prefer a Porsche. But that's not demand. I don't demand a Porsche because I am not willing to pay for one. And demand is what matters, in cars or housing.
So I may prefer two acres, but that preference in the real world may ultimately take multiple forms based upon my HHD finances, the cost of housing, distance to work, commute conditions, and personal biases and tolerances. So I may end up with a house in the exurbs, or one closer in.
Now, the article even notes (toward the end) that cities are the real economic engines. Yet it does nothing to discuss the cost of the ever-growing commute to and from that engine.
He also does nothing to define what he means by a suburb or a city.
the first link for millennials prefers suburbs gives most of its evidence for a long assortment of links. One I clicked on says 38% prefer "urban"; sounds low but that's more than the population that lives in cities [unclear how urban is defined]
Is this monoculture good, though? Doesn't this present a systemic weakness to be built so heavily around one socio-economic group with codes and laws so specific and inflexible? Remember, the suburb and the SFH are relatively recent in their popularity, so the "return to the suburbs" of married couples is neither inherent nor given.
Again, is this a good thing? I argue that churning cities out at this pace and scale is actually a bad thing and produces fragile city finances, disconnected neighborhoods, and heavily subsidized and exaggerated economic cycles.
See my response in post #4. It is majorly untrue that suburbs are exclusively single family houses. Here are some examples from burbs I'm familiar with:
Is this monoculture good, though? Doesn't this present a systemic weakness to be built so heavily around one socio-economic group with codes and laws so specific and inflexible? Remember, the suburb and the SFH are relatively recent in their popularity, so the "return to the suburbs" of married couples is neither inherent nor given.
I don't see a problem with this. Suburbs (and cities and towns and rural areas) aren't developed for a particular demographic; they are developed to appeal to a certain lifestyle preference. While it may be true that suburbs appeal largely to those whose lifestyle is most commonly found among families with children, anyone desiring the suburban lifestyle is free to live in a suburb, providing they can afford it. Likewise for cities, whose lifestyles are largely suited for people whose lifestyle is most commonly found among young singles; but families with children are certainly allowed to live in cities, if they choose.
I, for one, am glad that there are a variety of development patterns from which to choose, according to one's own preferences.
See my response in post #4. It is majorly untrue that suburbs are exclusively single family houses. Here are some examples from burbs I'm familiar with:
I've noticed a pattern in suburbs and newer areas in pattern (such as above) of rentals being in big complexes separate from other residential neighborhoods. Weird design quirk. Looks hemmed in by busy roads, too. Why not just mix small apartment building with houses? Most older rentals in Massachusetts are small buildings on a street scattered with other house types.
Where darkeconomist lives has at least as many rentals as the above areas.
I've noticed a pattern in suburbs and newer areas in pattern (such as above) of rentals being in big complexes separate from other residential neighborhoods. Weird design quirk. Looks hemmed in by busy roads, too. Why not just mix small apartment building with houses? Most older rentals in Massachusetts are small buildings on a street scattered with other house types.
Where darkeconomist lives has at least as many rentals as the above areas.
Well, he seems oblivious to them, in that case.
I posted pictures of complexes to show apartments, so someone couldn't post "that doesn't look like an apartment building to me!" Of course there are small apartment buildings, and even houses subdivided into rentals in the suburbs, plus rental houses.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
