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So then, why is suburban U.S. a dystopia compared to suburbs in other countries?
I think suburbs in places like Europe tend to have a bit more life in them as in a little downtown area with a main shopping street, etc.
Some more recent US suburbs are just lifeless sprawlville. I think that is what people take issue with. Just house farms spread across thousands of acres without any thought to a central hub for dining, shopping, nightlife, movies, etc. Most suburbs around here are based around old towns like that, but we do have the further flung sprawlvilles also.
Here are two different older established suburbs outside Philadelphia far apart from each other. But both have a bit of a central core.
I think suburbs in places like Europe tend to have a bit more life in them as in a little downtown area with a main shopping street, etc.
Some more recent US suburbs are just lifeless sprawlville. I think that is what people take issue with. Just house farms spread across thousands of acres without any thought to a central hub for dining, shopping, nightlife, movies, etc. Most suburbs around here are based around old towns like that, but we do have the further flung sprawlvilles also.
This is an older established suburb outside Philadelphia:
Great one. As i have been saying in the thread i think the west coast and northeast both have the best suburban urbanism in the US.
And, again, despite some negative aspects already pointed in the thread, i think those "midwestern" types of suburbs have at least two strengths.
1. Space. Say what you want, but, until i live in some great neoclassical apartment in Paris or something like that, those suburbs seems like an excellent a option to live in if you have a family, with really nice houses, a big yard, maybe a pool, lots of rooms, etc. It promotes less sedentism lifestyle at home, wich is always a good thing. Also, more space between house=less noise and a more amigable ambient sound.
2. Tranquility. I have spent vacations in suburban places like this:
And you can feel that tranquility in the mood of the people of the town when you go to buy food, souvenirs, etc. The people there are more laid back and in a less hurry than in the city. I don't know if this description apply to USA suburbs.
My question is: how is it to grow up in these hellholes? How's the life there? Does it resemble the medieval European village community where everyone spies on their neighbours just to catch some "suspivious activity"?
We have exactly the same in The Netherlands, all around the big cities. Like Carnisselande near Rotterdam, Eiburg in Amsterdam, Ypenburg near The Haque etc. etc. They're called Vinex Wijken here (Vierde Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening Extra). Here's how many: Vinex - Wikipedia
And they actually look a lot like your pics, even duller.
Dozens of these kind of neighbourhoods were build between '95 and '05. All the nice little villages around the big cities were swallowed by these ugly neighbourhoods. Just rows and rows of literally thousands of exactly the same houses. There's absolutely nothing to do for the people or their kids, only a shopping mall and a sport centre here and there. We call them "Sleep Cities" because all you can do there is work and sleep.
My wife has lived there before we met and she hated it. And from what she told me, the people there are actually like you portray here. Dutch are terrible at this. Spy and keep track of every little thing their neighbours do, gossip about who's kid done what, talk bad about the guy that just bought a new car (where does he pay that from? Can't be a sucker like that makes that much money, surely he's up to his neck in credit). And the kids that grow up there group up in little wannabe gangs vandalizing the shopping malls because there's nothing interesting for them to do....
If people like to live there, fine. But it's not my cup of tea....
most people in suburbs probably use medication for depression, not a single soul on the street, everyone in their homes
Funny, people are saying how depressing and bleak these "dystopian" suburbs look when they are actually more closer to, and surrounded by, parks and nature reserves (at least those in Sydney) than some of the other neighbourhoods. These suburbs are walkable with "green" pathways and they have sense of quietness where you can relax from this overly loud and drudging world.
In Sydney, these suburbs always tend to contain a park nearby and, at times, a walkable woodland area. For me personally, the more closer you are to nature the least your life is stressful or "depressing".
Seriously, to get out of the solace of your home and to suddenly enter a bustling commercial center? Hell to the no.
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