It once seemed like suburban growth was destined to continue forever. The expansion of suburbia dominated the U.S. landscape from the 1950s to the 1990s. However, in the last couple decades, suburban growth has clearly slowed down, especially since the housing market collapse that began in the mid-2000s. The question now is whether suburban sprawl will continue, or is suburban growth essentially dead? Check out this interview with real estate mogul Sam Zell for one answer:
What do you think?
John Karras believes that all communities have the potential to become more vibrant. John’s professional passions are aligned at the three-way intersection of urban planning, economic development and transportation policy. John founded urbanSCALE.com to empower urban planning and economic development professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to make their communities more vibrant. John is also the creator of the urbanSCALE Rating System, the first comprehensive measure of how urban a city is on a scale of 1 to 10.
Zell suggests that first class city schools can serve as a magnet to draw people back into urban life from suburbia and help renew urban centers. What besides education could be a magnet of change back to communal life at our city centers?
A very important question. Zell is right that top-notch education is the biggest location factor for families when looking for housing. But, equally as important for attracting people to city centers is an extensive transit system. A high-quality public transportation network opens up the opportunity for households to live with only one car, or in some cities without a car at all.