S U B U R B I A !

[Hydrogen]

It's interesting to listen to you chaps pine for a reverse-neutron bomb... one that would destroy all the buildings but leave the people. ....

That made me laugh.

It was not all that long ago when the emergence of the new communication and information technologies were being described as the means to end commuting to the central cities. In some of these imaginings, people could work from their suburban homes, order goods online, and never have to worry about driving to a central office unless they absolutely needed to. The future was to be the suburban campus and not the high-rise tower. In a way, these technologies were being described as enablers of suburbia - much like the highways and road system that predated them.

 

[Long Island Mike]

SUBURBIA: A good photo expose!

Flar and everyone: This SUBURBIA topic was one I looked at and had to chime in on-I have lived on Long Island since the late 60s after moving out there from Manhattan,NYC as a small child. LI-in case anyone does not know-is one of the USA's largest suburban conglomerates-with Nassau and Suffolk counties today having upwards of 3 million people.

I can see the types of architecture in Toronto's suburbs compared to older suburban areas like the one I live in-built in the mid 60s-and older pioneer areas like Levittown in Nassau County-dating from the late 40s. I was never a fan of McMansions like the one pic posted and satired by Mustapha-but I see older established suburbs to be much nicer.

I remember Levittown pics from the early 50s I saw recently-I noticed the lack of trees and the sameness of the houses then new-a recent effort was made I recall to find a unaltered Levitt house there-virtually all of the homes have had alterations and additions of some type today.

Today I am no fan of car-dependent suburban sprawl-those that have higher density or mass transit options will benefit today due to the high price of fuel. This massive North American sprawl-built on the premise of cheap oil and other energy-is possibly now slowing or stopping especially if oil becomes very expensive.

In the past the thing to do for many was to abandon the cities in favor of a decent home of your own-but today it is probably better to move to higher-density areas or back to the cities-if the real estate is affordable. Toronto and NYC in particular it is tough with the high cost of real estate.
Comments and observations from LI Mike

 

[afransen]

Looks like they're trying to make this a Toronto architectural style...

 

[adma]

Why not? That's New Urbanist logic: use some kind of indigenous vernacular as a stylistic starting point. (Where is that?)

 

[flar]

That is in Stoney Creek in a subdivision between the QEW and the lake.

I wouldn't say it's a Toronto style, its style is based on the Gothic revival stuff found in practically every town in Ontario:

 

[afransen]

Well, I guess when I said Toronto, I didn't mean it as not Milton or Elmira, but not Boston or Chicago.