Imagine a 19th-century doctor, convinced that the city was fundamentally unwell, riddled with disease and decay. His cure? Bleeding. Drain the city of its lifeblood, its teeming masses, its bustling workers, its very vitality. Send them to the… suburbs. Gruesome analogy? Perhaps. But think about the 20th-century exodus to the suburbs. Driven by good intentions, perhaps – a desire for fresh air, green space, and a perceived escape from the grit and grime of the industrial city. But in retrospect, wasn't it a kind of urban bloodletting? A draining of the city's core, a scattering of its vital components to the periphery, in the misguided belief that this would somehow “cure” its ills? Instead, we got… sprawl. Vast, car-dependent landscapes, ecologically damaging, socially isolating, and economically unsustainable in the long run. And while “New Urbanism” has emerged as a powerful force for revitalizing urban centers, reclaiming walkability, and promoting urban density, a vast percentage of the population still lives in the suburbs, or, more accurately, the exurbs. And it's these areas, these sprawling exurban landscapes, that are perhaps in the most urgent need of a cure. We need a New Suburbanism – not as an addition to New Urbanism, but as a critical evolution, a reimagining of the exurban model, one that moves beyond the unsustainable sprawl of the 20th century and towards something ecologically, socially, and economically viable for the 21st.
The Exurban Condition - Sprawl and its Discontents
Let’s face the exurban reality. What do we have now? Car dependence taken to an extreme – you need a car to get everywhere, even for the shortest errands. Low density sprawl stretching for miles, consuming vast tracts of land, separating homes from jobs, shops, and everything else. Significant ecological impacts – fragmented habitats, polluted waterways, energy-guzzling houses, and a massive carbon footprint from endless driving. Social isolation, despite being surrounded by neighbors – cul-de-sacs that discourage interaction, a lack of walkable public spaces, and a built environment designed for cars, not people. And underlying it all, a deep economic unsustainability – the long-term costs of maintaining sprawling infrastructure, the vulnerability of car-dependent lifestyles to rising energy prices, and the potential for exurban areas to become economically stagnant as demographics shift and younger generations increasingly favor urban living. The 20th-century exurban model, born out of a desire for escape and a faith in endless resources, is simply not fit for the challenges of the 21st. It’s a system that's… bleeding resources, both environmental and economic, and leaving us increasingly… unwell.
New Suburbanism - A Vision for Exurban Revival (Not Just Sprawl)
But what if we could reimagine the exurbs? What if we could take the core principles of “New Urbanism” – walkability, mixed-use, community focus – and adapt them, not just to urban cores, but to the sprawling landscapes of the exurbs? That’s the promise of New Suburbanism. It’s not about trying to shoehorn dense urbanism into a suburban context. It’s about creating walkable, connected, and vibrant communities within the exurban grain. Think walkable nodes – creating higher-density, mixed-use centers within exurban areas, places where you can walk to shops, restaurants, services, and even some workplaces. Think mixed-use development woven into the fabric of exurban neighborhoods – integrating small-scale commercial and community amenities within walking distance of homes, reducing the need for constant car trips. Think transit options, not just endless highways – improving bus service, creating park-and-ride hubs, and exploring innovative transit solutions tailored to exurban contexts. Think green infrastructure, not just asphalt and manicured lawns – preserving natural landscapes, creating green corridors, incorporating parks and natural areas into development, and embracing sustainable landscaping practices. Think community building, not just isolated houses – designing public spaces, parks, and community centers that foster social interaction and create a sense of place. And yes, think about diverse housing options, moving beyond the single-family house as the only option, allowing for townhouses, apartments, and accessory dwelling units in strategic locations to increase density and affordability in targeted areas. New Suburbanism isn’t about replicating urban density in the exurbs; it’s about reforming sprawl, about injecting walkability, community, and sustainability into the exurban model itself, creating a fundamentally different, and far healthier, kind of exurban environment.
Urban Offal in the Exurbs - Finding Hidden Potential in Sprawling Landscapes
And here’s where Urban Offal thinking becomes crucial for New Suburbanism. Just as urban centers have their “offal” – those overlooked, underutilized spaces ripe for creative repurposing – so too do the exurbs. Think of those endless commercial strips, those seas of asphalt and generic storefronts. That's exurban offal, waiting to be transformed into walkable, mixed-use “main streets” and local centers. Think of the vast parking lots surrounding strip malls and office parks, often empty or underutilized. That’s exurban offal, prime land waiting to be redeveloped into buildings, public spaces, or even green infrastructure. Think of the abandoned or underperforming big box stores that dot the exurban landscape. That’s exurban offal, vast shells waiting to be repurposed as community centers, indoor farms, flexible workspaces, or even… gasp… housing. Think of the fragmented green spaces, the disconnected patches of nature swallowed up by sprawl. That’s exurban offal, waiting to be connected, enhanced, and transformed into larger, more usable parks, green corridors, and natural amenities. Even the grey infrastructure right-of-ways – highway medians, utility corridors – can become exurban offal, reimagined as linear parks, bike paths, and greenways, stitching together fragmented neighborhoods and creating new connections. New Suburbanism, fueled by an “urban offal” mindset, can see the potential in these seemingly unpromising exurban landscapes, finding opportunities to create pockets of walkability, community, and sustainability even within the sprawl.
Exurban Rebirth - From Bleeding to Blooming in the Sprawl
The 20th-century experiment in suburbanization, while driven by understandable desires, has left us with a sprawling, unsustainable, and often isolating landscape. It was, in a sense, an attempt to “cure” the city by “bleeding” it, a misguided approach that has created new problems even as it sought to solve old ones. But it’s not too late to rewrite the exurban story. New Suburbanism offers a vision for exurban rebirth, a path towards creating more walkable, connected, and sustainable communities even within the sprawl. And the key to unlocking this potential may lie in embracing the spirit of Urban Offal – in seeing the hidden opportunities within the seemingly unpromising landscapes of the exurbs, in finding creative ways to repurpose underutilized spaces, and in stitching together pockets of vibrancy and community within the sprawling grain. Let’s stop “bleeding” our cities and start “blooming” our exurbs. Let’s move from exurban exodus to exurban rebirth, transforming the sprawl, one “offal” site at a time, into places worth living in, walking in, and truly… belonging to.
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