Aarti Bhatia
Honors 159J
SUMMARY OF SUBURBIA
Suburbia developed in the early part of this century, making it a
relatively new phenomenon in history. We have spent a lot of time in
class discussing both the history and the impacts of suburbia in America.
In general,
I find suburbia to be a basically good place. It is especially a good
place to grow up. The suburbs in America were originally based on family.
A typical household had a mother, father, a couple of children and
possibly a pet. Family events such as birthday
parties really explained a
lot about the dedication to family in suburbia. Children and their
upbringing were the center
of parents lives, and suburbia was a good place to keep those priorities
in order. Even everyday activities like dinnertime centered on family. The family had
to be together at this time everyday to keep relations strong. When
everyone sat down to dinner together in suburbia there was a very healthy
sense of family. Suburbia and family are dependent on each other, this is
why suburbs were designed around the concept of a close-knit family.
The layout of suburbs was designed
particularly for the typical
type of family. This community design is highly evident in the town of Greenbelt, Maryland. Growing up in a
suburb was beneficial to many
children. They grow up with a sense of community, friendship and safety.
Where else can parents feel safe while their children at the same time
that children can have enough friends and things to play with. In cities
there is a lot for kids to do, but there are not many parents who feel
completely at ease knowing that their children are running around with
possible unknown dangers. In rural areas, parents may feel safe about
their children's where abouts, however there may not be other kids to play
with for miles around. Suburbia tried to achieve the perfect balance
between city and rural life.
Unfortunately there is no such thing as perfection when it comes to life.
In trying to create perfection in suburbia there are some problems that
have arisen. Exclusion and materialism are the two greatest issues the
that I believe have developed in our suburbs. Up until the populuxe era,
families tended to be more simple. In the forties and fifties, a new
attitude was seen in suburbia. Thomas Hine has coined the term populuxe
to describe the materialism of this time in suburban history. There was
a great deal of materialism described in my project on the movie
Heathers. The girls that set the trends and were absorbed by
materialism,
looked down upon everyone else. They and their peers considered them the
highest on the social ladder of a suburban high school. The attitudes of
the girls in the movie excluded a lot of their peers.
Exclusion has often been based on materialism. If a family could not keep
up with the trends, then they were often not accepted into the community.
There have been other factors in suburbia that have resulted in exclusion.
These include, race, sex, religion, and social status. It is hard to
determine if suburbia is the cause of these exclusions or not. I have
come to the conclusion that suburbia is not the root of all these evils,
but rather society itself is responsible for these problems. Living in
suburbia may contribute to the perpetuating of these problems, but in
order to solve them, society needs to correct the attitudes of its people.
Since there is no such example of perfect living, we should accept this,
and move on to try to create communities that better adapt to the current
lifestyles of Americans.
Suburbia is evolving to meet the needs of the people who live there.
Earlier, cities were blended with rural life to create
suburbia. Now as the needs of people are changing,there is a trend to
build a new type of community. These new developments are a blend of
cities and suburbia. Many sociologists have denoted these areas as
technoburbs. One of the largest technoburbs in this area is Gaithersburg,
Maryland.
Since I am from Gaithersburg, I can personally describe the
advantages to living in this form of what I see as the "new suburbia".
The neighborhood I live in is just
like any typical suburb. There are parks to play in, and friends
everywhere. There is suburban feeling of safety, even though there is not
any place completely free from crime. In addition to my suburban
neighborhood, there are all the conveniences of the city. All shopping,
recreation, and entertainment centers are nearby. Also there are many
large and small corporations that have relocated to the area. My mother
who is employed by a contract for the Department of Education works in the
Gaithersburg/Rockville area. This was very
convenient when it came to situations where I or my sister was sick, and
needed to be picked up from school.
Gaithersburg is a good example that
suburbia is not dead. It just happens to be metamorphisizing into a new
form. The "new suburbia" or technoburbs are designed to convenience its
residents. Before we give up on suburbia, perhaps we should explore the
new and everchanging forms that it is developing into.
PORTFOLIO