Western suburbs are becoming more like big cities,
and because of it, suburban living is growing richer and
more sophisticated.
Sunset has chronicled the Western suburban
lifestyle for more than three-quarters of a century now,
watching trends come and go. We’re not oblivious to the
criticisms of suburbs — that they’ve promoted urban
sprawl and increased traffic, that they’re
architecturally uninspired and culturally homogenized —
but we’ve always maintained that suburban life is
essentially the good life. And most people agree:
They’ve voted with their wheels. Since 1950, more than
90 percent of all growth in U.S. metropolitan areas has
happened in the burbs.
For this story, Sunset looked closely at that
growth, focusing on the suburbs of the West and how
they’re changing. What we see are suburbs becoming more
diverse, more interesting, more neighborly, and more
like complete communities instead of just bedrooms — in
short, taking on the best qualities of larger
cities. The principles of New Urbanism — the now
20-year-old philosophy that promotes the collection of
homes, offices, shops, and recreation into compact,
pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods served by transit —
are taking root.
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| Amanda
Koster |
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| Friends gather
in Hillsboro, Oregon’s Orenco Station. |
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The Western adoption of the New Urbanist philosophy has
created walkable new suburbs, with inviting front
porches instead of blank garage doors greeting streets.
Some, such as Oregon’s Orenco Station, are actually
planned around mass transit. Older suburbs, meanwhile,
are redeveloping their anemic, even abandoned downtowns
and creating new cultural amenities. In Washington, for
example, Bellevue sponsors a biennial sculpture
competition in its downtown park. And in Orange County,
California, the town of Brea swings with an annual jazz
festival.
Here are some of the forces that are reshaping
suburban life:
Urban density, thanks to skyrocketing land costs, has
reached the once wide-open West. Ten of the 15 most
densely populated urbanized areas in America are here,
led by the Los Angeles metro area (7,068 people per
square mile; New York City’s metro area has 5,309). New
subdivisions are shoehorning 7 to 9 single-family houses
or even 10 to 12 townhouses onto 1 acre. Traditional
front and backyards are being sacrificed; they’re
getting ever smaller. Instead, new developments are
providing lavish common spaces. Outdoor living is
gravitating from private retreat to shared property, so
we’re getting to know our neighbors again.
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| Erik Rank |
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| Denver’s
Stapleton reinterprets the traditional American
town. |
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Satellite communities are no longer culturally out in
space. The digital revolution and the increasing number
of stay-at-home or working-from-home parents mean that
more suburbanites are sticking around during the day, so
we’re demanding and creating more cultural and
recreational pursuits — everything from community
theater to bike trails. Where developers once hardly
bothered with sidewalks, there’s now genuine street life
blossoming in the burbs — people walk, jog, skate, and
meet for lunch.
And forget homogeneous. The burbs are becoming ethnic
stews, attracting immigrants in greater numbers than big
cities are. As Joel Kotkin, Los Angeles–based author of
The City: A Global History, observes, “The best
ethnic food in L.A. is in the suburban strip malls.”
This diversity enriches our cultural life, and at a
deeper level it might even point toward an American
future less fractured by race.
Some problems, of course, continue to plague suburbs
as well as cities — and many of them are the same
problems. Unaffordability tops the list. In October, the
median price of a single-family home in King County,
Washington (where Seattle is situated), was $390K, and a
real estate analyst dryly noted that buying this home
now requires nearly 150 percent of the local median
family income. (Shocking news to Northwesterners, but
the source of rueful humor to many Californians who
can’t buy a garage for that amount.)
Increasingly, we’re trying to outrun the price spiral
by fleeing to exurbs 50 to 100 miles away, trying to
stay connected to the world through a computer instead
of an office. But when enough of us do this, it drives
up the cost of land and housing in the once-quiet exurb,
where local salaries can’t keep pace.
And some New Urbanist developments, where
architecture, land use, and often even landscaping are
tightly controlled, discourage the very idiosyncrasies
and quirks that make urban life interesting. Many
traditional suburbanites like it this way, but the
increasing diversity of the suburbs may bring change. In
his research for “The New Suburbanism,” a paper on
emerging suburban trends, Kotkin has heard “downshifting
boomers” say they want to stay in the burbs, but they’re
craving neighborhoods that are “funky but safe.” This
won’t happen from the top down. “If you have to have a
campaign to make yourself hip and cool,” Kotkin says,
“you’re not.”
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| Dan Chavkin |
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| Celebrating a
birthday at the Maricks’ in Brea, California |
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Can the suburbs ever be hip? Maybe they already are. On
the following pages, our choices for best places to live
represent the progressive New Urbanist values we’ve
mentioned, and most have already proven to be great
family environments centered around good schools,
well-kept parks, and lively commercial districts.
Consequently, we’re starting to spot fashionistas of all
ethnic persuasions pushing $1,000 baby strollers through
these downtowns. But it’s bigger than that: People from
all over the globe are buying into this green, leafy
swath of the American dream whenever and wherever they
can.
Western suburbs have what a lot of people want.
Sounds pretty cool to us.
Building a better burb
Just west of Phoenix, the
Verrado housing development could have been the
usual homogeneous cluster of single-family homes
serviced by strip malls and megastores a car’s drive
away. But it’s not. Developer DMB Associates had a
different goal in mind: to create the look and feel of
an authentic small town.
While the development, located within the city of
Buckeye, doesn’t address the larger regional issue of
traffic — residents who work in Phoenix face a 26-mile
commute downtown — it does incorporate some of the best
attributes of the most successful small towns in
America. Here’s a look at what makes it work.
1. A working city center
Live/work lofts and apartments give the core an
appealing urban look.
2. A downtown that buzzes
The four-block-long town center is filled with shops,
cafes, and restaurants, covering the basics on a
convenient scale.
3. Local greens
A golf course and clubhouse may not be a small-town
mainstay — but this is, after all, Arizona.
4. Big lots not forgotten
While providing affordable property was the main
objective, the developer did incorporate larger lots for
big homes.
5. Safe, easy access
Narrow streets leading into Verrado encourage drivers to
slow down as they approach residential neighborhoods.
6. Convenient education
Elementary and middle schools are located in the heart
of the community.
7. Classic street grid
Main Street is, in fact, the main artery and leads to a
village green.
8. A small-town feel
The mix of housing styles creates diversity — and almost
70 percent of the homes have front porches.
9. “Invisible” garages
Many houses have garages on rear alleys, leaving room
for front porches.
10. Walk-able neighborhoods
Verrado’s tree-lined sidewalks promote casual strolling.
11. Open space nearby
Scattered pocket parks are an easy walk from homes.
— Peter O. Whiteley
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Thomas
J. Story |
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Bringing neighbors together
helps build a sense of
community. |
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25
more ways to make your neighborhood a community
by Amelia Ashton
When Sunset
went looking for neighborhoods that are great
places to live in, we collected creative ways in
which residents all over the West have improved
their areas, many by strengthening the bond they
share with neighbors. Here are some of your best
ideas.
Organize community events
1. Host an annual Southwest-style luminaria
display (one neighborhood has more than 50,000
candles in bags lining its streets).
2. Combine cause and community by
presenting an annual home tour to raise money
for charities.
3. Organize regular wine-tasting
parties. You’ll be surprised at all the local
sommeliers.
4. Hold small music concerts on a
common green. Encourage karaoke (responsibly).
5. Sponsor a holiday celebration such
as an Easter egg hunt, a summer solstice party,
a Fourth of July bike parade and party,
Oktoberfest with grilled bratwurst, or a
Halloween block party.
6. Start a regular “Mom’s night out.”
Wine and dine, go bowling, or catch a late-night
mani/pedi.
Help each other
7. Create a new kind of Neighborhood Watch:
Build a “care force” that helps out with dinners
and errands when neighbors need a hand, and/or
host an emergency preparedness night in which
you get organized and learn about your
neighbors’ special skills (CPR training, etc.).
8. Schedule an annual “barn raising,”
at which a volunteer work crew helps neighbors
with household projects, from fixing the pipes
to mending a fence.
9. Share house keys with your
next-door neighbors, and know whom to call in
case of an emergency.
10. Encourage a word-of-mouth
community network so kids know there’s always
someone watching over them.
11. Start a progressive dinner
tradition on your block. Ask each home to serve
a dish, and go house hopping until you’re
contentedly full.
12. Host movie nights, using a garage
door as the movie screen. Alternate which home
gets to pick the rental, and don’t forget the
popcorn.
13. Consider building a gate in fences
between backyards to foster camaraderie and use
for emergencies.
Develop community spaces
14. Work with the city to convert old
railroad tracks or easements into multi-use
trails. Then start an urban forest. Let
neighbors plant their own trees, and revisit the
site to watch your work grow.
15. Establish a community garden,
converting neglected public space, however
small, into a pocket garden with a bench or two.
Digging in the dirt together creates plenty of
opportunity for bonding, not to mention some
tasty fruits, veggies, and herbs.
16. Make your own playground. Take
advantage of a cul-de-sac by devising a play
area with a tree swing, basketball court, and
plenty of room for riding bikes and skating.
(Erect a yellow warning sign to let visiting
vehicles know that kids are at play.)
Communicate
17. Produce a community newsletter to keep
everyone informed and to build community spirit.
The venture can bring together writers, artists,
and designers and keep the neighborhood up to
date.
18. Put up a community website and a
Yahoo group site for public notices, referrals,
ads, and event notices.
19. Got a swimming pool? Use a flag
system to let neighbors know when their kids can
join your kids for an adult-supervised swim.
Green flag, come on in. No flag, don’t ask.
Create a community-friendly front yard
20. Plant a colorful perennial border
between your sidewalk and the street, put a
chair or bench in your front yard, then prepare
to say hi to your neighbors when it becomes part
of everyone’s stroller route.
21. Instead of tall, narrow walls or
fences that close neighbors out, build
half-walls wide enough to function as a seat.
22. Plant in front of as well as
behind perimeter walls. “It’s like a gift to the
neighborhood,” one homeowner said. It also
inspires adjoining houses.
23. Build a fire-pit in front of your
house. On cooler nights, throw down some beach
blankets, share a glass of wine with the
neighbors, and watch the kids play. Or just
settle down out front in some folding chairs on
a Friday or weekend afternoon, and invite the
neighbors to join you.
24. Hang a swing from your porch to
get you out front and socializing.
25. Transform those big trash
containers into works of art. Working with the
local garbage company, one neighborhood painted
its containers with scenes of tropical islands,
flower gardens, a Southwest landscape — even a
strawberry ice cream cone.
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