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i'm really not that freakish about urban sprawl to think we should "burn the suburbs", but I saw this slogan on a pin that jason had on his bag the other day and thought it would be an appropriate title in light of a report that urban sprawl may have linkages to increased cases of obesity, high blood pressure, and other ailments.
When I saw your blog entry, Charity, I felt I must comment. The older we've gotten, the more Dave and I have had a growing angst toward the suburbs. A lot of this has stemmed from spending time in Dave's hometown: Overland Park, KS. For those of you who are not as familiar with this suburb of Kansas City, let me fill you in. It is part of Johnson County, Kansas, which has been ranked one of the fastest growing suburban areas in the country. Picture South Pointe going on for 10-15 miles. We've had many a discussion about our frustrations with the suburbs as we've driven numerous times throughout the monotony of spackle-colored, up-scale strip malls. What is the mentality with thinking that one is "moving up" in the world by moving away from the riff-raff of the city and into the suburbs?
I once heard a radio commentary on NPR about the monotony of the suburbs and the commentator pointed out that you can go to any suburb in the country and find your standard Old Navy, HOme Depot, Chili's, Macaroni Grill, Applebee's....and on and on. And it's not that I have anything against any of these businesses, because I enjoy them from time to time, but the problem is that the suburbs are stripping away the identity of the city. When driving through Overland Park, I thought that this suburb, in reality, could be any suburb in America and I wouldn't know the difference. Add a little scenic mountain backdrop and it could be a suburb of Denver. There's nothing unique about most suburbs anymore, nothing that makes them stand out, nothing that you couldn't find in some other city.
I certainly don't want to burn the suburbs either, but I guess these are just some observations I've had the past couple of years in frustration over what the suburbs are doing to America. What does everyone else think?
(By the way, Charity, when i tried to read the article, it just took me to a home page and not directly to the article, I'm not sure if I was doing something wrong or what.)
You need to be a registered member to read articles on the Washington Post's site.
Jason is right, the link says you have the register. However, I went to google.com and typed in "washington post" + "Sprawl May Harm Health, Study Finds". I was able to access the article w/o registering.
Great article, Charity. I've been reading a book by David Brooks called On Paradise Drive (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743227387/102-9401673-9464915?v=glance). It's a witty and incisive look at what drives us to the suburbs. If the suburban chain restaurants merged, he said it would be called Chili's Olive Garden Hard Rock Outback Cantina.
eat local, lincolnites! save our city!
(not that i have any personal motives...*cough*greengateauon10thstreet*cough*)
We could also say, "Buy local, Lincolnites! And go to Lee Booksellers instead of B&N." (Too bad I love B&N so stinkin' much...)
Also, if you don't want to register at sites like WP's, go to http://www.bugmenot.com/.
Yes, too bad that I also fork over a good portion of our entertainment budget to the South Pointe nazis. Okay, they're not nazis, but we love B&N, too! Almost nothing can beat all the fat and calories in a frappaccino...ah, pure bliss! I live in the city and I go to the suburbs for my entertainment?? Go figure.
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