Dear Cara, stop justifying yourself for how interesting you find the things you talk about in these videos. I clicked on them because I share the same interest! Kisses from Italy, where suburbs are way different
Suburbs were created to get ppl away from the crime of the cities. Im pretty sure the ppl that busted their asses to be to afford to live there feel the same way. This is why many suburbs dont even have sidewalks.
@@thefinancialfreedomgirl Don't worry about nasty commenters. Worry about the people who like you and want to hear what you have to say. We don't want to hear all the big apologies and caveats before you get to your point. If you believe in what you are saying, then stand by it. Good luck :)
YES! Living in a city and a 5 minute walk from the metro, my cost of getting to work/bars/etc is so much cheaper and better than having to own a car and pay for insurance,gas,etc. It seriously changes your brain chemistry. Love seeing your urbanist arc, Cara
I love cars, I'm a car guy; but I hate all the paperwork that goes with owning a car. I'd love to not have to own one and just look at fun ones I see on the road or seeing them online. Owning and fixing a bike is way better and easier than owning a car
@@ambiarock590 dude that’s exactly me. I’m currently looking for a project car to wrench on, and to hopefully take to track days. But just because I think cars are cool, doesn’t mean I think our cities/towns should be designed around them.
Anyone with a family is not going to be able to live in a city without a very nice income. They are cost prohibitive for a lot of people. I would much rather a nice town or outskirts of a town than a city or suburbs. Towns such you can find on the northeast/mid Atlantic US.
Just look at the old east coast small towns. I grew up where a lot of kids parents had just one car - everything wasn’t sooooooo frickin spread out and parents could share a car. One would drop one off at work and then go to their job. It wasn’t super common but it was extremely doable and helped tremendously with money. Cars are so expensive and all these new suburbs every single person in the house needs a car just to live. I don’t know how people afford it
Amen. I grew up outside of Philly and while it was the 80s, we didn’t have a car - none of the adults in my family did as far as I recall except my grandpa with the Lincoln towncar 😂 He would pick us up to take us wherever we needed to go that couldn’t be reached by trolley or bus. We moved to CA when I was 11 and there have been 2-3 cars in my parents’ driveway/garage ever since. I live in TX now, with stints in FL, and there is absolutely no way I’d have been able to make it without one in either state, and that’s multiple cities in those states. I know this because I’ve had car trouble while living in both and having to find a way to do the most basic of things without wheels had been super frustrating. The public transportation in some major cities is absolutely atrocious if you live in a further out suburban area, as I do now in San Antonio. It’s a 2mi walk to the nearest transit station that’s only served by one express bus line that only goes to the downtown areas. Good luck finding a decent job in TX that doesn’t require that you drive 🥴
Agree!! Streetcar suburbs are the way to go; center has stores, train/bus station, city hall and other govt buildings, then small apt buildings, townhomes, smaller single family homes, then larger single family homes. Car dependency ruined the small town
That’s because those cities on the east coast were built decades, and in some cases centuries before the automobile existed. Businesses had to be close to home and easy to access because people couldn’t travel at high speeds to destinations of 10 to 15 miles or more away from home.
When I first discovered NotJustBikes and I fell down that rabbit hole, my mind was blown and I could not stop talking to everyone about it. I think this is a super important topic to discuss and encourage others to question why things are the way they are, and not just accept things for being the way they are. So glad you made this video and hopefully some fresh eyes become aware of this destructive trend.
One thing that made me especially angry was when I realised that the government was virtually forcing me to have a car and license because affordable housing is in suburbs/estates, whilst simultaneously charging me for registration of my vehicle and license, tax on petrol, and loss of income for the time I spend unproductively commuting, when public transport would allow for greater multitasking. That's my rant. Sincerely, a rural suburbian whom's home town does not have a train station and the closest one is thirty minutes away but "it's okay you can catch the bus" which will have me at my destination in 2.5 hours when I could drive 50 minutes 🥲
@@tacotahlia2095This is also so true. I also realized this a few years ago and it is honestly so fucked up how much we financially exploit people in this country by forcing them to own and maintain a car. Not to mention how much this limits the youth and elderly and those with disabilities. I live in a small City that's a bit less than 200,000 people, I can walk in bike most places, and it makes a huge difference to my quality of life
The burbs are mentally exhausting. It sometimes feels like a maze trying to find someone's home and can add like 10 minutes to travel time with having to turn down 5 different roads even though they're "technically" only 2 miles away.
Don't forget the secregation of zones. You could have a supermarket, cinema, restauraunts right behind your yard, but there's no direct path to walk there by foot. Instead you need a car to drive a mile round the whole neighbourhood to the main "stroad", then turn back and drive through a sea of empty parking which is being subsidised by your taxes.
@@19Lillith the difference is that you don't have to drive to get places in a good city. I just attended an event where my friend and I wanted to meet up. She drove, and I took the train. I live farther away, left a little later, and stopped at a spot off the train to get a bagel and some coffee, but I still got there sooner than she did because she got stuck in traffic and then had to deal with the massive parking garage at the event. We walked about the same amount of steps, but she paid $20 for parking and was stressed out while I paid $6 for an all day train pass and got time to enjoy breakfast. Also, when fewer people are on the road, it means fewer traffic jams for people that are driving. Cities support way more people on a block than suburbs, so while it sucks to drive them, there's way fewer cars on the road than it would be if you moved everybody to the suburbs where you need to drive, and most people can just walk or take transit.
@@rachaelhapeman2710lol. You don’t live in the city do you? You want the suburbs to be over populated; lower; rat infested; stink; and infested with crime just like the cities. But hey, at least you will have plenty of buses to share with the homeless and violent crack addicts 😂
I moved from the netherlands to Canada for working holiday and I cannot drive. I walk to the stores and there are so many places where I just have to walk over the road. Back home I bike everywhere but even with a bike here, I don't feel safe enough on the road simply because it is all so car centric. During the strong winter there was so much snow and obviously only the main car roads got cleaned out, so I would have been stuck if it wasn't for friends being able to drive me to the grocery store etc. It's horrible and I can't understand why everything has to be this way. There is so much room to make people more healthy/active and to just make the towns nicer.
@@VANILLAMILKISGUD haha I have lived in Netherlands all my life so now I have something to compare it to I guess! But yes roads/infrastructure are way better back home. But at least gas and electricity are more affordable here in Canada etc...Trade offs 😅😅
Canada is a large country and your country is tiny. Of course it will be more car- centric. There’s not enough people in that country to provide taxes, in order to build massive infrastructures for public transit system, in enormous mass of land. Do you have any idea how costly it would be? Having cars is more efficient - costs less and more reliable for timely travel unlike public transit.
@@myranaam8562 hi from Russia . We have public transport . Our cities are wAlkable . And we don’t have much money 🎉😂😂😂 you Can invent other excuses why your towns are unlivable
@@myranaam8562 I didn't even mention public transit once but there are already roads, why not have a functioning bus system at least. My issue that its build with cars only in mind from the ground up. While they very much could have at least have a functioning cycling path or even walking paths etc. Everyone is always driving everywhere despite it not being so far away. Literally like Cara said everything is an "island" you drive to. Heck there are entire places in the US that used to be walkable that have been destroyed in favor of cars, it's a shame. "Having cars is more efficient - costs less and more reliable for timely travel unlike public transit." Truly spoken like someone who has never experienced anything else. What about young people who are not allowed to drive, someone who cannot afford a car etc, the environment? How do you explain larger countries like japan that have a functioning public transit system?There are so many factors and reasons to improve things. Even if it costs a lot, that doesn't take away that it's shit and we can have an issue with it. Did you even watch the video?
THANK YOU!!! I have ranted SO many times about how we romanticize collage in our culture when in reality it is simply the last time we live in a walkable area, designed at a human scale, with community centers where we can meet new people! As it turns out, we can just PLAN CITIES LIKE COLLEGE CAMPUSES!
I think its that way because everyone there shared a culture of learning. It was the main reason you were there. This culture doesn't translate to the real world outside of a college campus because ppl have different goals that definitely dont involve learning. Some positive some negative.
Growing up I would visit Mexico during summer vacation and even as a kid I realized how great it was that in Mexico I could walk to get groceries, school supplies, meat shop, small corner shops and even restaurants! I came back to my suburban town and couldn’t stop bragging to everyone how much I loved Mexico because people walked everywhere! How my grandmother would send me to buy tortillas as she made dinner! We had fresh food available across the street. No need to drive 15 min to a grocery store. Wish I had that lifestyle here. 😊
The 15 minute city conspiracy is so weird to me. I live in an accidental 15 minute city, like most cities in Europe. I can access all my needs (excluding higher education) in 15 minutes or less. I still could travel daily to the other end of the country if I felt like it lmao
Yeah, in my British suburban home it's a 10 min walk to the supermarket or a 2 min drive. We've driven up north several times for family members who all live up there. It really is just another thing in a long string of completely harmless things that people pretend is bad so they have something to get worked up over.
You are conflating the concept of 15 minute cities imposed vs ones that aren't. There's a large push of people that think they know better vs people that don't want these changes, especially since they lead to slippery slopes. In the short term you'll get your convenience, until in the long term, there is a possibility you can't go anywhere anymore. Why not just let people decide what they want in their cities by voting?
@@pyros4333 literally nobody wants to impose that lmao "the slippery slope" Europe has been like that for thousands of years and the slope hasn't slipped
@@anthropomorphicpeanut6160 Then why is it being announced as an initiative? You can say it's always been around but there's an initiative to start building them lol. I think you're mistaking the argument as 'there's always been apartments but now we gotta make them for others.' My point is, there have always been houses, cabins, townhouses, stores, apartments and instead of making everything into an apartment let's have people decide if they want it. Otherwise you'll get what looks like China with empty apartments everywhere
@@rachaelhapeman2710 that's absolutely wild. I'm so used to a lot of city buildings having bakeries or lil convienience stores below on the ground level and then just living space above it.
Yeah it’s weird huh lol. I go to Mexico and anyone can have a corner store or business at their house. There’s even an extra room/space for these businesses. In the US it’s more of what we use for garages.
My home is on a treed street and my grocery store is a 10 min walk away on the same store, as is the pharmacy, hardware store, gym and coffee shop and pet store. I walk everywhere and make friends and bump into friends made. It’s truly an amazing thing to live in a walkable neighbourhood.
As a Norwegian, this is totally relatable.🚗🇳🇴 80% of transport in Norway is done by car. In most areas you are totally dependent on the car, even if you live in or close to a city. In so many job adverts it is stated that you must have a private car to qualify for the job, without any explanation as to why. I think one of the saddest things about it is how it affects our land use. We are demolishing and bulldozing our beautiful country to make room for roundabouts and holiday homes. Insects, birds and animals must die or flee to survive. It makes me so sad! I whish things were to change here, but it is only getting worse.
Amen! We probably leave Norway for France in 2026. All villages on Toten have become garbage, and people drive around in the cultural landscapes, from zone to zone, all day long. All cultural heritage here I live is lost to atomized suburbian bunkers. And now wind turbine farms are coming everywhere. So good bye to Norway this year, we travel France next year, and hopefully move in 2026. Norway is the most photogenic country in the world, but we destroyed it, and the culture here now is sh*t.
i live in Mumbai and the suburbs here are actually so commute friendly. our local trains are the city's lifeline tbh. ofc, there are major issues with them too and the BMC (our municipal corp) is... not very efficient. but i believe compared to US suburbia, mumbai is actually much better commute wise. we have a great auto rickshaw and bus system as well! now i sound like i love this city (i kind of do) but ofc there are many issues here too which cannot be denied! thanks for the insightful video, Cara! i look forward to more of these.
Great point. People are so one directional to think that suburbia is problematic. Reality is that they aren't and they are just the latest target of the "I want to change everything" culture.
I'm from the UK. I live in a village that somewhat resembles the suburbs in the sense that it is mainly low density housing and it is easier to get places by car, however there is a bus at least every 30 minutes throughout the daytime and there are convenience stores in the village. So it is possible to live without a car where I live, just not as convenient.
Living in France as a 25y in a city center with shops, bar, coffee place ….. For me suburbs look like a perfect place to live, it’s crazy how my perception was ignoring so many issue that you can have (transports etc) Thank you for you videos ❤❤❤❤
When I lived in Granada, Spain, I walked an average of 6 miles a day compared to my suburbian life which was 2. The recommended distance to walk a day is 5 for practical health benefits. The suburbs keep us from staying in shape and staying healthy
In Canada the 5 minute walk to everywhere basically only applies to living downtown. But the house prices downtown are insane for this reason. 😢 There’s no way to win.
Montréal is the best city in Canada just for this reason. I’m a 5 minute walk from a metro station, have grocery stores, and Walmart 15 minutes away. I work in a weird part of the city though, stuck in between highways and rail yards, so I need a car to work. But a lot of people can make do with no car here, and use STM, Bixi, and soon, REM to the West Island.
I love learning about city planning, I'd say it's my political topic that I feel the most passionate about and advocate the most for. I've been using bikes as transportation for about two years now. I'm a car person but I hate all the paperwork and bureaucracy that is involved in car ownership, and that is required in a lot of the USA, unlike European countries. I don't like lawn work and I hate that I have to maintain this patch of grass when I don't even use it. I like driving but I hate that I HAVE to drive if you catch my drift. Driving can be nice if you're going for joyrides on open roads but not when there is tons of traffic, you can't choose to do anything productive or relaxing when driving, sprawling suburbs promotes rampant consumerism and large grocery trips (which generates lots of wasted food), you don't get a lot of exercise when driving, the list goes on. I would love viable public transport, good bike lanes, and effective city planning. Is this really the "Land of the Free" when you're paywalled out of participating in society by the auto and oil industries who force you to fork over tens of thousands of dollars a year? This kind of money could be spent in so many better ways, personally and within our cities and states. I took a trip to the Netherlands last year and I had some fun random encounters with some natives and it was so cool. Car dependency cannot touch this.
Love not just bikes and city nerds channel. Recently moved to a more walkable part of town and love it! Bike rides with the kids have become more common
I've been interested in these topics since the early 90s, when I first moved to a walkable urban neighborhood after being raised in the suburbs. While I didn't learn anything new from this video, I really appreciated the good job you did summarizing important points, and it's great seeing young people pursuing these topics. I haven't seen your channel before today and I am subscribing and looking forward to checking out your other videos.
Not having anywhere but a gas station to walk to is one of the most frustrating things about my suburban neighborhood. And to add further insult, we used to have a restaurant nearby that was always busy, but it shut down and nothing's replaced it because they (the government or a corporation I'm not sure which) say they want to renovate the location first, but it's been 6 YEARS and they STILL haven't got around to fixing up the place, so the building that could host one or more businesses for our neighborhood just rots.
Yesssss! Not Just Bikes series on Strong Towns was so helpful for me understanding this more - and made me grateful we love in a city, even if it's still car-dependent I'm hopeful more walkable development can happen too as people get hip to these dynamics
I would love a good public transportation system in the US but the more we expand suburbs the less likely that will become reality, when we look at places that have great public transit they don’t have suburbs like us. I do like living in the suburbs sometimes, you can go for a walk and not be around hundreds of people and cars and noise, you can have your own garden and do what you want, but where I live they are cutting trees down left and right and it’s annoying, I want these trees to keep it cool and looking nice. You nailed it though.
Having grown up and lived in a major city (Philadelphia) I couldn’t wait to move out to the suburbs because I love the quiet and solitude the suburbs provide. I hated taking public transportation because it really wasn’t safe, not to mention having a long ass wait for the bus or train. If metropolitan cities here had pristine subway tunnels, trains and buses (and everything ran quickly) people might be more inclined to take public transportation, but if it smells like outhouse and you have to worry about getting mugged (and yes that DOES happen more often than people think) it seems like more trouble than it’s worth. If people want to be away from so many other people they should be able to have that option.
That's all fine, but you say that people who don't want to be in cities should have the option not to. Which is true. But here in the US, we've only built suburban housing. There is so little dense housing available in cities, or in streetcar suburbs, like Summerville, Massachusetts. We have way too many suburbs and the demand just isn't there. The reason for the existence of a lot of these places is the fact that GM and Ford lobbied Congress in the '60s to basically bulldoze downtowns and build freeways, and that is the reason that we have such a massive amount of suburbs in the country. It's not really based on consumer choice
People who were born and lived in the country moved to the cities. People who were born land ived the cities moved out to the suburbs. People who were born and live in the suburbs now want to live in cities again. IMO this phenomenon is just based on 'the grass is greener' stuff.
Actually this is wrong. It's a cycle. No matter where you live you will always want to end up going to suburbia. Especially when you grow up and get a family.
Agreed. As someone who grew up in one of the largest cities in the world, I just hate living in big cities. People from suburbs talk about city planning with a glorified filter, or they only look at the best possibly designed city in the entire world and compare them to any arbitrary suburbs. I have personal preference but I don't think either of them have major problems. Sure they both have problems but it all boils down to pros and cons for personal choices rather than saying one is better than the other.
@@pyros4333 Suburbia is only preferred because we've collectively lost the experience of being in a small town. I grew up in small town 15 minutes out of the nearest city, and I'd prefer raising a family there far more than in a suburb. Suburbs have the most basic of basic necessities, meanwhile, small towns have managed to maintain local shops, cafes, and bars. The older towns tend to still be walkable. They aren't filled with McMansions. People are actually outside of their vehicles.
Honestly the suburbs seem the only option between a dense concrete expensive city where you live on top of each other vs rural and there is nothing for miles. I understand the flaws of suburbs but not many locations offer you a stand alone home with a yard. Really despise the close together cookie cutter ones though.
I lived in New York City. Public transportation was great but unclean, unsafe and unfriendly. Apartments were too expensive. It wasn’t always that way. But as the middle class got tired of being “taxed to death,” they relocated.
Yes it can be incredibly expensive to have a good life in the city. I think walkability and access to good public transportation can increase the quality of life in the 'burbs.
@@realityblooms San Fran is higher scoring than NYC. Jersey and Boston both rank just under. The reality is that all popular cities will become bloated and prices will rise to ridiculous heights. Especially because popular locations by default have lots of purchasers. It's expensive because people want to be there. The more "walkable" you make it the more expensive the cost. You can't have your cake and eat it.
The reason NYC is so expensive is BECAUSE it's so rare to find walkable lifestyles in North America. Look at all the most expensive real estate in this country, its almost entirely older walkable neighborhoods that are in such high demand that because its walkability has become a luxury for the rich. no one is saying everyone needs to like in a major city like NYC. What we're saying is that suburbs and smaller cities need to become better at accommodating humans instead of cars.
Before watching this video, I just thought I have never lived on suburbs I don't understand why there is a problem with it. Those are beautiful and expensive houses. You get to be around other people and you have plenty space to park your car. When is Christmas or Halloween the people in the suburbs decorate their houses, when is Christmas my family and me go to the suburbs just to see the decorations. In my perspective, if you have ever lived on a house in the suburbs you are very lucky and you are living a happy life.
I wish my city was more walkable and bikeable. Any time our city tries there's so much push back. For instance a loss of on street parking in front of the houses in streets. Even though they do have driveways .
What I hate the most about car centric construction is how badly it affects small (and I mean SMALL) towns. Like, population 1k. My home town (or village lmao) and the towns around it are so car centric you literally can't get around if you dont have a car. You are FUCKED. There's barely any sidewalks so if you want to walk, you're basically walking in ditches. Everything is so spread out for no reason. It's so frustrating because they are so small and if they hadn't been bulldozed for cars, it would have been an amazing cute place you could easily walk around in. It would have made them livelier too. But no, it's so frustrating
You're putting the cart before the horse. You need cars to get to isolated areas. If everyone needs to get there they will all have cars. If you now build up the town, it'll need to accommodate cars. The answer is extremely clear, you need cars. Towns wouldn't exist without it. You're preaching for a system that we aren't able to achieve, ground up, unless you have this town go through years and years of growth to build it into a 15 minute city concept. And Even then you NEED the cars because towns are often isolated.
I moved to the UK from the US at 18 for college and prior to that experienced 6 months all over Europe. When I had to move back to the US I was so severely depressed from being back in a place that was so car dependent. I moved to a college town in my home state and that was slightly better but I was still extremely unhappy because it wasn’t very walkable outside of few blocks of campus & downtown. So I convinced my bf to move to Chicago with me last year and I can confidently say that I am no longer depressed & am happier than I’ve ever been! I was paying $800 per month between my car payments, gas, and insurance in Kentucky. Now, I pay $75 per month for an unlimited transit pass. I now live in a neighborhood that’s a 5 minute walk from my train stop, a beach, a grocery store, and sooo many shops and food places. I absolutely love it here and I honestly don’t think I could live anywhere else in the US except NYC, Boston, or DC. The rent up here in Chicago is insanely affordable too! This was a great video & I love your content 🤠
I’m glad Chicago helped you mentally! It really is a great city. We still have our car problems (looking at Lightfoot’s “Chicago is a car city”), but overall it’s significantly better than most areas in the U.S.. You can thrive with a bike and/or transit pass here. Plus, car enthusiasts can still own a car without negatively impacting non-car owners. Dense, walkable neighborhoods are plentiful.
Thank you for speaking on this. I was born and partly raised here on Long Island in the same county as Levittown. Not having a reliable car to myself has consistently been a humiliating experience, even with trains and buses available around me. I've commuted to work, school, appointment you name it with public transit here over many years but it has opened my eyes to how things are designed around here. Currently, it takes me so much longer to get to work using buses/trains, compared to my coworkers who all drive. I'm probably getting a car soon, but it has felt more like an imminent obligation than an achievement. I've even tried working in NYC while living here, but the commute was too much. If I don't somehow find a way to live and work in NYC (or any city) soon, I'm going to have to buy a car soon and get myself further in debt. It honestly feels like a life sentence towards living in the suburbs forever, and I know from experience that I don't want that for myself so I usually feel stuck.
Great video! It really is amazing the difference: I grew up in a very rural neighborhood, and didn’t realize what difference it made until I spent several years living in Toronto for university-I missed the rural peace, but back there, EVERYTHING was at least a 30 minute walk one-way (just for essentials, mind you; entertainment or social spaces would be hours spent walking, just for one-way). Whereas in Toronto, yeah, the crowds and the noise got to me, but a day spent walking around the city could be an incredible social and community adventure. My current little community is on the right track (suburbs, but at least with several restaurants, shops, and community parks and garden within decent walking distance for just about everyone), but so much can be done with more deliberate goals and planning 👏 well done, and love the longer format!
I lived in a major city, then an adjoining suburb of that city, and now I live in an old single family home neighborhood on large lots or small acreage properties between two small towns an hour from the city. Not fully rural, but out past the suburbs. And this is where I like living the most. I didn't hate living in the city or the suburbs, but we were being quickly priced out of the housing market and I was dealing with serious respiratory problems caused by poor air quality. We moved out here specifically for cleaner air and affordability. And it has been really nice having healthier lungs and less financial stress. A lot of people are leaving cities because they simply can't afford housing, or their health is suffering.
Having grown up in the burbs, I figured out why boys were always in trouble. There was nothing to do and no where to go. If you were lucky you had a friend with a furnished basement where everyone coukd hang out and get stoned. Maybe there was a girl you could make out with. We were all depressed that’s for sure
I get so frustrated when people are so against mix-use zoning, claiming that only gas stations, check cashing and bail bond businesses will occupy them and therefore decrease their property values, yet all the pre-war neighborhoods with mix-use are the most desirable areas in town. Why wouldn't you want commercial business near your home. I just don't understand the steadfast position to live in a residential desert (that likely has restrictive HOA cc&r's)
Hey now, it's not only those businesses -- you also get a wide array of CBD/vape stores and marijuana dispensaries as well! But seriously, part of the problem in the US is the staggering inequality and the dominance of mega-corporations. Most people don't have the money to start small/local businesses, and those that do risk getting mowed down by the bigger fish. Basically, zoning for and building mixed-use developments doesn't manifest small businesses into existence. The other problem with mixed-zoning commerce is that suburbanites don't want the noise/clutter/odors that businesses might bring, but above all, they don't want outsiders coming into or through their neighborhoods, and a corner store might give Those People a legitimate reason to be in the area. So like many things in the US urban planning sphere, it boils down to racism.
I enjoyed your video and this is a subject I enjoy discussing as well. I believe you hit the high points well and your discussion of zoning and subsidies is spot-on. I also agree that the suburbs are not going to die, or deserve to die, but what will most likely happen is that an easing of zoning laws to allow mixed use development along with creating transit and biking options is a must. The transit possibilities are more complex than an urban core, but there are options out there. I am increasingly curious about autonomous trackless trams as a option as it typically doesn't require as much investment in additional infrastructure as traditional rail or subway systems. Another useful reform would be to reduce required parking minimums for new construction sites. This would help eliminate those "concrete prairies" around big box stores, malls and shopping centers. Thanks again for a great video!
I really enjoyed this longer format!! I love that you put so much research and effort into all of your videos and I hope you won't leave out information just for the goal of making the video shorter. I'm in New Zealand and although our suburbs aren't nearly as big as the US, they have the same problems.
I'm so glad urbanist content is popping up around TH-cam! Super fascinating topic. I'd also recommend CityNerd, CityBeautiful, and the incredibly underrated RadicalPlanning.
As someone that lives in the "hood", I'd embrace all the cons of suburbia without hesitation if it meant not having to worry about catching a stray bullet everytime I go outside. Oh and when it comes to spontaneous encounters with other people, you don't want those around here.
As an Australian one of the main things that always shocks me with seeing American suburbs is scale .. there HUGE.. houses, spaces between them etc. In Australia the government has been changing how they build suburbs. Everything is getting more compacted and smaller. It makes suburban living easier
I am European and I live in suburbs. But these are European suburbs, namely Polish. Here every home is different, regularity is almost not existent, it looks more like a luxury quarter of a city than a suburbia. Of course, this type of suburbia is much more expensive to maintain, but it does not make people feeling that they live in a white room (suburbia are not as "white" like in white room torture, but regularity and similarity of each home is just boring and ultimately frustrating. It is extremely practical, but does not fit to human psychology. If I return home at night I do not have to count passed blocks to know which street is "mine" - I just see the landscape, that is unique and irregular, so it is much less tiring and much more reflexive to navigate in it. Not mentioning the EXCELLENT public transport.
I live in an area of north London, with mostly 100-150yo terraced (row) houses that are typical of British cities. It’s a great compromise between the city and the suburbs. I have the whole house, with my own front door and garden. My street is quiet, and safe, but not isolated. I can park on the street and drive if I want to but the medium density supports a wealth of convenience stores, supermarkets, pubs, restaurants and services all within a 10min walk. I don’t need a car, I can get all I need walking but I can also hop onto a bus or train to get elsewhere in the city super easily. I think row houses are best of both worlds, and a good solution in the US since apartments seem anathema to many Americans.
Stroads. I didn’t hear you say Stroads!! Now you have to make more videos on this topic and talk about Stroads. Maybe a collaboration with “not just bikes”??
A great show that dispalys the issues of living in suburbia is Desperate Housewives, which deep dives into how expensive and back breaking it is plus the pressure to keep an image
I live in Sydney, Australia in an older suburb 1 hour from the city and don't drive. There are lots of local shops and amenities, and a bus into town at least every 30 mins. Despite the distance, it was clearly built with access in mind. However, the newer Sydney suburbs being developed, are more like the islands of life mentioned in the video. Its America 2.0.
The problem is not suburbs. Its car dependent suburbs. Suburbs that don't have multiple housing options, are far away from services and designed only around cars and no other transit.
Burbs are for people who want space and privacy. City for people who want communty and accessibility. Choose what you'd like, but don't try to force people to use what you'd like.
@thefinancialfreedomgirl Idk about your municipality, but 30k a year in property taxes is enough. I mean, I don't pay that much, but there are people I work with who do.
We need to discuss more about how continued support of the suburbs and NIMBYism is still often based on exaggerated fears of crime and lowered property values, and ultimately racism and classism. So much suburban development has been created to be intentionally exclusionary (very literally with housing covenants and overt discrimination in the past) and inaccessible in order to be exclusive. It’s a feature, not a bug. Improvements to mass transit, walkability, and mixed use in some people’s minds means more “others” around and that is not what they want. There has to be more work down to deconstruct these tropes and change societal culture in order to see that shift in development that many of us want (and which will actually improve societal ills so many are fearful of).
I've of the mindset that people who constantly fear others can and should live in the suburbs...but their property taxes should reflect the extra cost of suburban infrastructure. Currently, the suburbs are heavily subsidized and property taxes come nowhere near paying for suburban infrastructure. And so, along with their vehicles, suburbanites live a life of nearly perfect wealth destruction even as they don't feel the full effects of it. Rosa Parks of the Montgomery Alabama bus boycott did force public transportation equality in a city that was almost entirely dependent on public transportation and walkable neighborhoods, but the response there was that in a few short years (around 4) all trams and most public bus lines were dismantled and eliminated. And Montgomery has among the very highest income, property, and sales tax rates in the country while its suburbs have some of the lowest...it's no coincidence that occurred during white flight.
As someone who has only lived in Chicago and its suburbs, there is no exaggeration of crime. Besides that point, I would guess most people in the burbs prefer to live out here because of contrast of life compared to the city (politics, congestion, corruption). The list goes on and on, but probably ends before you get to being a racist… at least for most people. And for the classism point? Some of the wealthiest high class people in the area live in the city. There’s more to the city than just the hood, and not every person who prefers the burbs is some boujee racist
@@steveo5999 It's not the suburban people that's the financial and environmental problem; it's the extremely high cost of car usage and infrastructure costs that comes from urban sprawl. In my opinion, a lot of these can be easily solved by turning highways into toll roads, and implementing congestion pricing to discourage suburban drivers from ever entering cities.
@@steveo5999 Of course there is exaggeration of crime. Data has shown crime has actually declined over the past few years, but based on some reporting and social media histrionics the minute you step foot in Chicago, NYC, LA, Atlanta, etc. you are going to get shanked, mugged, r*aped, and car jacked. Many people both live in, visit, and enjoy cities. Yes, there is more crime than in suburbs but the way cities are being painted as waste lands of desolation and crime is just silly. Also, many suburbs have issues themselves. Even in a place like Chicago crime is concentrated in certain areas. Yes, racism and classism has much to do with it. The problems that exist are a direct result of disinvestment, red lining, predatory lending, bad zoning laws, the war on drugs (versus taking a public health approach to addiction), job and education discrimination, and lack of will to not make upward mobility accessible to many. In regards to classism, most people aren’t “afraid” of cities because of all of the rich people. The fear is the poor, black, brown, and marginalized. You can take your gaslighting elsewhere. ➡️
I think you perfectly put into words how I feel living in the US sometimes, granted, I live in a town that has decent public transportation, but having to drive everywhere when you can’t is really annoying. I’ve lived in Taiwan for quite some time, and maybe it’s because I’m used to the convenience of everything, but everything in the US is so far away from one another.
Suburbs are amazing. I used to live in the city and it was nasty. So many unpleasant people, funny smells, dirty streets, loud noises, pollution) no thanks. As I’ve gotten older, love the tranquility of the burbs. We have amazing trails and it comes alive in the late summer afternoons where we all enjoy the outdoors, kids playing, swimming, bbq and other fun outdoor activities. So good for the soul.
Cool. Sounds like you're glad you had the ability to make the choice to live in the suburbs. I think she's advocating for more people to be able to make the choice to live in urban communities.
What city did you leave? Yours is not the typical experience of a suburbanite. If most suburbs were like yours, there wouldn't be so much talk rightfully complaining about suburbs.
I went to Florida like 10 years ago and everything you said was the first thing I noticed when I got there. I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and here the concept of suburb as the american simply does not exist. Everyplace we have supermarkets, drugstores, even if its a small shop, in a walking distance. In my case I live near downtown so I take public transportation everyday, I dont even know how to drive 😂 but when I was in Florida any of this "way of living" existed and it felt so off. It was strange as fuck to have to take a car to eat, to shop, to socialize. I would went crazy if I had to live there permanantly
I actually loved your into about pessimism. I am a pessimist but I’m also a fixer. I will wallow in my pessimism if I don’t brainstorm alternatives and fixes to the problem. I have friends who love living in the suburbs. Why would I take that away?!? I love my friends! Let’s come up with a better way.
The problem is actually if there is a problem in the first place. Tldr; there's no problem. She makes a few points that overall don't actually correlate well. 1) she indicates loneliness as a problem but social media is probably the top cause of loneliness in today's society (you can easily debunk this why looking up the studies on where people feel the loneliest; hint it's cities) 2) she makes the argument that it's economically not as viable but this is misleading. The goal shouldn't be able how much money a town/city can bring in. It should be how much can be done to maintain self sufficiency. If a town earns slightly above it's net costs but the people in the town love living there then why do you need to change the whole system to 'get more money?' the reality is is that it's a bad argument. If the need is there then absolutely, go to denser housing. But towns and cities should aspire to provide what their citizens want, not go for the gusto and fill their own pockets. 3) she indicates that carbon emissions are a problem. But it's a disingenuous statistic. Of course PER CAPITA there's more emissions from a person in suburbia. There's less people there. The real measure to balance it out against is; how much does cities contribute vs how much does suburbia contribute (regardless of people).
@@pyros4333have you ever been to an American city? Most of them have been bulldozed for cars, and getting places to meet friends is downright impossible sometimes, especially at night.
@@sokyu7723 of course. But that's where the communities form. In the malls and other districts. Schools as well. Eventually you'll grow old enough to get a car or move out then you can do whatever
Dane here! Strøget is pronounced more like stroehyed, but it's a hard language, so don't worry about it❤ Also, I've recently moved to Copenhagen from my suburban neighborhood (we also have them, on the outskirts mostly), and it's crazy how connected I feel to the city now! I can bike to the center in less than 20 minutes. The whole center is my oyster. I never realized how nice our bikelanes within Copenhagen are because I always took public transport. Biking costs nothing, is healthy, and is often faster than going by car or public transport due to some exclusive bike/walk roads! Even now, I technically live on the outskirts of Copenhagen, but it does not feel like that at all! Hope your zoning laws get better❤
Great topic. I live in South Africa where we are very car-centric, mostly because of crime. I drive to the grocery store that is less than 2km away. But the majority of the population can’t afford cars and so are faced with all the associated risks. I would love for crime to be brought under control and for useful public transportation. Public transport and walkable cities are my favourite things about travelling. Also, on video length, I loved that this was bursting with info, but I’d personally prefer videos under 30mins, or even better, videos around the 20 min mark. I find myself missing out on creators I love because I save to watch later because I don’t have the 50min block of time, and then end up forgetting to watch entirely. I’m also less interested in the video if I have to watch in two sessions, again, I end up watching half and forgetting about it. Just my preference.
@RIPmichael22 Wow! Clever! Yes it IS a me problem. Hence I said twice that it's my preference...in response to Cara asking us to say what we preferred.
Thank you so much for making this video! You do a great job breaking down issues into bite-sized pieces while providing optimistic advice to fix it. It is my hope that we awake to car dependence as a nation. Keep fighting the good fight!
I gave up and moved to one of America’s few cities that’s both walkable and affordable. It’s WONDERFUL; each day is a treat. If only single-family zoning hadn’t made density illegal to build in most land near our urban cores, then more people could enjoy walkable areas in their daily life.
@@jmsl_910 Yes. For additional ideas, CityNerd has a top 10 list video “Affordable Cities: 10 US Metro Areas With Underrated Livability, Walkability and Transit”.
Getting Ogden mentioned threw me for a loop 😭 but yes!!! That plus the college campus right there (with a good bus connecting them these days) makes it super easy to navigate, nowadays it can be faster to walk and bus into town than drive
Fantastic video Cara! I feel like you hit a lot of great and diverse points regarding this seriously undervalued issue. I would love more content from you on this topic. This is something that needs so much more exposure and I'm grateful to all the channels and people who push these ideas forward!
"Denser living spaces with mixed use..." Most people don't want that for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the more dense an area is with regard to population, the more difficult it is to provide effective emergency services and maintain utility infrastructure. Without zoning, you have strip clubs and bars just a stone's throw from schools, daycares, and churches, schools right next to the freeway, noisy hospital ERs right next to townhomes and apartments, the list of combinations goes on. Just look at cities like Houston where we don't have zoning. It is a nightmare for businesses and residential property owners alike. The city has had to cobble together so many ordinances to try to satisfy everyone with something that resembles zoning but often causes more problems. After you have had and raised a family, revisit this and see how much you still agree with it. Keep in mind that "walkability" and "bike-ability" have become more and more of a key amenity in modern suburbs over the past 30 years. Maybe this video would have been more fitting in the '90s.
Highly recommend 'The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community' by Ray Oldenburg - he was touching on this topic exactly
I don’t understand why people hate the suburbs. I’m 36, grew up in the suburbs and not now live the suburbs. Whenever I visit a city, particularly New York, I feel claustrophobic and I hate the smell. If you don’t wanna live in the burns then don’t.
I am trying to escape the big city - shallow and self-absorbed people, crime, garbage, expensive rent, dirty air, overcrowded and traffic. I dream of a home 20 minutes drive from the city . I dream of a garden, bigger living room, peace, two dogs and privacy and no annoying neighbours. I dont live in the US so the suburbs here in Europe are somewhat different.
WTH did I just watch? Leave people alone. If you like living away from the city on a clean area, good. If you like living on top of each other, good. Why was this recommended?
Last suburban area I lived in was so ridiculous that there was a 3 call chain of command before somebody could just tell me my car was leaking a little bit of oil and demands to know when that was being taken care of. That is the sort of thing outside of the 10 min trip to leave the complex I didn't care for. 8 years later I live in a more urban area closer to downtown and the car was stolen towed for scrap because ppl noticed it was not running and they wanted the spot...I don't mind not driving all the time because this apt is near a bus stop but I also can't get another car until I can afford to leave it...problem is I can't afford both a better area AND incredible driving expenses
Seeing how things are now, I'm very grateful I was born in '89. I can see now that it was such a great time to grow up & get to be a kid. The world seemed to have so many creative outlets & forms of expression. Ways for kids, teens and adults could interact with our surroundings. We had an environment that had places to go, things to do, places with unique style & very creative design. I really miss the Vibe of that Era. Looking back with hindsight it really did feel like things treated us all like it respected our intelligence, our time & what kind of experience we were going to have. While also providing outlets in our society that helped us feel like a kid inside no matter what age we were. It felt like things acknowledged you. You are a customer, a fan, a person. In a hyper capitalistic society, the least they can do is use basic decency to try and make us feel like they care if we have a good time because without us they can't succeed. The creativity that came from that era really put effort into it's ingenuity. It's almost like every everything took pride in who could find the most creative and unique ways to do things, design things, come up with ways people could enjoy engaging with their company. For things to go from that 90's-Y2K era, to then shift to this bland, soulless, minimalistic approach feels very Dystopian. I really hope we find a way to reconnect with these core things that we clearly saw positive benefits having it apart of our society. The world really needs this right now. Look how soulless so much has become nowadays? Look at the horrible aesthetics, poor quality & poor creative design in modern cities. Even our shows, movies, & video games need a revolution. Things have become so bland, bleek, and minimalistic to the point that it doesn't even make since. Most Old house's/building's/únique shop's are gone. Interesting oddities like drive in movie theaters, indoor fun zones, arcade's, magazines that included a demo disc so you can try out game's. You could go to blockbuster/Hollywood video, McDonald's had N64's & crazy fun zones & covered in wacky art all over. We could preview music before buying it, they had an amazing selection of well made kid's toy's, Roller Rink's, Garbage pale kid's card's. You get the point. Bring back Retro-Futurism. Bring back Y2K Vibes. ANYTHING compared to this current Dystopian toxic positivity. Our society feels more lost now then it ever has. Basic living has never been so unaffordable. Society is solely focused on unhealthy capitalistic agendas. Where anything that isn't constantly increasing profits or gaining investors, is a failure and has no value to society.. Our Quality of Life should be better than this. Basic living shouldn't be this unaffordable. People should be able to have fun, dork around, have things that engage them. The list goes on. Bring me back to the 90's.
My two cents that nobody asked for is that that way of making suburbs it’s almost (i said almost) the problem of United States and Canada. I live in Europe and I live in what you would consider suburbs and I have 5 minute walking two big supermarkets, shops, parks, all walkable. It actually would be weird to pick up the car. Bus stops that take you wherever you want to go. Downtown of the metropolis is 30 minutes away by bus or 15 minutes by train. What I mean with all this is that it’s doable.
I grew up in Connecticut, the suburbs of New York City. I spent my adult life and career in the San Francisco East Bay which is the suburbs of SF. I then moved to central Bangkok, Thailand. What a revelation!😮 I had never lived in a big city before. Great public transportation! Everything accessible by foot or public transit. Parks, groceries, markets, restaurants, hospitals, malls, movie theaters. I didn’t own a car for 5 years. I loved it. I eventually moved to the rural countryside, also new to me. I am back to driving but that is OK. It’s appropriate for the countryside. I do have fond memories of suburban living. The older neighborhoods I lived in were peaceful and interesting. There are plenty of housing developments that are sterile environments.
I live in Germany, so almost everything is walkable by default. It's great. Busses and trams are prioritised over everything else, so it's pretty fast. Sure, there are those days where you just want to fall in bed with 16k steps, but I don't need a car. I'm a young single adult and disabled without a drivers licence and I don't need one. My ticket is 30 € for a month of country-wide travel flatrate. That's under 35 USD. I had 7 cab rides in my entire life so far and they almost all occurred when I was too ill or weak to take public transport..
I'm so glad you're talking about this subject. It's such an important one. My suburban community in metro Detroit just updated our zoning policies for all the reasons you described. And our city is taking action to improve the design and infrastructure of the city. It is possible to strike a balance and getting involved with your local government in the most important thing you can do!
A walkable village is something so many people would love to have, but so so many don’t. And it is very true that poor people are basically forced out of living in suburbs because of the simple factor of needing a car
Your point at 17:29 is half true. Capitalism isn't the direct problem. In our case in the USA, it is the combination of capitalism and shareholder value, but capitalism is still the root of the matter. Capitalism in the USA is still meeting consumer demand through creation and innovation as you said. The problem is the consumers are the shareholders rather than the people, which originated after the Friedman Doctrine was popularized. A lot of people tend to think of innovation as a good thing, but a new scam is still innovative. Every economic system, like capitalism and socialism, will produce innovation, but capitalism has the highest likelihood of producing the worse innovations, both morally and ethically. This is why people blame capitalism. Things like the Friedman Doctrine would have been thrown in the garbage in any other economic system.
7:40 it's a great metaphor, thank you for making it. I live in another country were we have normal public transport and the city is walkable, so it was an interesting to know how you see and feel in your cities.
I absolutely love living in the suburbs and have zero desire to live in the city. In fact that sounds awful to me. I do understand the concerns critics point out about the suburbs, but I still love living there!
Thank you for talking about this, this is something I am also very passionate about. Thank you for being vocal against car dependency and for changing out cities
Nice video. It’s a complex topic and there are gonna be people who hate and love the suburbs. One thing I learned about, that seems really random but is actually very important to this subject, was with the development of nuclear weapons the US military got concerned about too many people being concentrated in a few big cities. So it is rarely talked about but it actually is a national security issue and our government wanted to protect more of its citizens from dying in a nuclear attack. This was before global warming and CO2 was raised as an issue with car culture.
As to NIMBY, you would have no opposition to a gun store next to your house? How about a methadone clinic? A safe injection site? A sex and adult video store? A brothel? A cigar lounge? If you oppose NIMBY, you would be in favor of removing nearly all these restrictions?
Quit wasting your time arguing I promise you nobody is trying to get rid of all zoning laws Nobody is in favor of getting rid of all zoning laws like nobody is trying to do that I don't get why you're trying to argue about this
@@Cheeseoogus_ What's wrong with a methadone clinic? Are you suggesting that opiod drug abuse is only an inner city problem? A safe injection site? As homelessness increases even in the suburbs don't you think that addicts should have a safe clean place to shoot up where their needle waste is disposed of properly? A sex and adult video store? A brothel? If sex work is real work and sex workers deserve to be viewed as regular workers should the product of their labor be available similar to other items? Why don't sex workers deserve to a workplace close to where they live? Are they not entitled to 15 minute cities?
@@JChang0114 The fault I'm gonna start to soft by saying most people don't want zoning that allows people to live near places like that those places should be near the outskirts of the city Not around high density housing but either way we live in a housing crisis and we need to build more houses whether it's ugly or not it's necessary and people are going broke and not being ignored for any houses because they rent prices are crazy there's too much demand not enough apartments so in reality we literally just need more apartments
@@JChang0114 Also the rent prices will go down so much in those areas because people obviously don't want to live near those places but it will also provide affordable housing for people who are in survival mode and it won't affect you in fact more people won't move near your You're ahead if people are living closer to places like that
Yay, one more voice in Urbanist TH-cam! I was thankfully able to break away from car dependence and have been car-free for 7 years now, enabling me to graduate from uni debt-free accruing a total cost of $89k.
I think the move to remote work, while not helping community, can really help with the barriers for finding homes in the suburbs. But that family-home zoning is real! Most ppl are single or smaller families now as we now see marriage at later ages. Thanks for tackling the issue!
They should have suburbs a distance from the city, and then have a special tram system that travels ONLY to those suburbs and then straight into the city. Just back and forth. I think that this would completely change how suburbs are because then it’s like “okay, I don’t wanna live in the city and I want to live in a smaller community with more privacy, but all the suburb communities have a way to travel quickly directly into the city.”
I live in a suburban village. We thankfully have walking paths and bike paths as well as gardens and a community center with a gym and basketball courts. I love where I live and won't change it for anything else.
this is why i wanna live in a metropolitan big city. i’ve lived in the burbs my whole life (nice and not so nice cities) but i’d rather be in a big city where everything is more convenient.
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Dear Cara, stop justifying yourself for how interesting you find the things you talk about in these videos. I clicked on them because I share the same interest! Kisses from Italy, where suburbs are way different
She does that every video. A big apology tour before getting to her thesis. Youth I guess. 🙄🤷♀️
Where suburbs are functional and convenient.
Suburbs were created to get ppl away from the crime of the cities. Im pretty sure the ppl that busted their asses to be to afford to live there feel the same way. This is why many suburbs dont even have sidewalks.
@@kensiblonde4203 it's more a strategy to mitigate nasty commenters (and it works for the most part!)
@@thefinancialfreedomgirl Don't worry about nasty commenters. Worry about the people who like you and want to hear what you have to say. We don't want to hear all the big apologies and caveats before you get to your point. If you believe in what you are saying, then stand by it. Good luck :)
YES! Living in a city and a 5 minute walk from the metro, my cost of getting to work/bars/etc is so much cheaper and better than having to own a car and pay for insurance,gas,etc. It seriously changes your brain chemistry.
Love seeing your urbanist arc, Cara
I love cars, I'm a car guy; but I hate all the paperwork that goes with owning a car. I'd love to not have to own one and just look at fun ones I see on the road or seeing them online. Owning and fixing a bike is way better and easier than owning a car
@@ambiarock590 dude that’s exactly me. I’m currently looking for a project car to wrench on, and to hopefully take to track days. But just because I think cars are cool, doesn’t mean I think our cities/towns should be designed around them.
Anyone with a family is not going to be able to live in a city without a very nice income. They are cost prohibitive for a lot of people. I would much rather a nice town or outskirts of a town than a city or suburbs. Towns such you can find on the northeast/mid Atlantic US.
Sorry i like being able come and leave as fast as possible. Im down for freeways.
@@Turshin I lived in Los Angeles for two years and drove everywhere. I get around so much faster on the metro
Just look at the old east coast small towns. I grew up where a lot of kids parents had just one car - everything wasn’t sooooooo frickin spread out and parents could share a car. One would drop one off at work and then go to their job. It wasn’t super common but it was extremely doable and helped tremendously with money. Cars are so expensive and all these new suburbs every single person in the house needs a car just to live. I don’t know how people afford it
Amen. I grew up outside of Philly and while it was the 80s, we didn’t have a car - none of the adults in my family did as far as I recall except my grandpa with the Lincoln towncar 😂
He would pick us up to take us wherever we needed to go that couldn’t be reached by trolley or bus.
We moved to CA when I was 11 and there have been 2-3 cars in my parents’ driveway/garage ever since. I live in TX now, with stints in FL, and there is absolutely no way I’d have been able to make it without one in either state, and that’s multiple cities in those states. I know this because I’ve had car trouble while living in both and having to find a way to do the most basic of things without wheels had been super frustrating. The public transportation in some major cities is absolutely atrocious if you live in a further out suburban area, as I do now in San Antonio. It’s a 2mi walk to the nearest transit station that’s only served by one express bus line that only goes to the downtown areas. Good luck finding a decent job in TX that doesn’t require that you drive 🥴
Agree!! Streetcar suburbs are the way to go; center has stores, train/bus station, city hall and other govt buildings, then small apt buildings, townhomes, smaller single family homes, then larger single family homes.
Car dependency ruined the small town
so true!!
That’s because those cities on the east coast were built decades, and in some cases centuries before the automobile existed. Businesses had to be close to home and easy to access because people couldn’t travel at high speeds to destinations of 10 to 15 miles or more away from home.
@@collegeman1988 why should they do it anywhere else? I forgot -car lobbies
When I first discovered NotJustBikes and I fell down that rabbit hole, my mind was blown and I could not stop talking to everyone about it. I think this is a super important topic to discuss and encourage others to question why things are the way they are, and not just accept things for being the way they are. So glad you made this video and hopefully some fresh eyes become aware of this destructive trend.
One thing that made me especially angry was when I realised that the government was virtually forcing me to have a car and license because affordable housing is in suburbs/estates, whilst simultaneously charging me for registration of my vehicle and license, tax on petrol, and loss of income for the time I spend unproductively commuting, when public transport would allow for greater multitasking. That's my rant. Sincerely, a rural suburbian whom's home town does not have a train station and the closest one is thirty minutes away but "it's okay you can catch the bus" which will have me at my destination in 2.5 hours when I could drive 50 minutes 🥲
Check out Climate Town too
@@tacotahlia2095This is also so true. I also realized this a few years ago and it is honestly so fucked up how much we financially exploit people in this country by forcing them to own and maintain a car. Not to mention how much this limits the youth and elderly and those with disabilities. I live in a small City that's a bit less than 200,000 people, I can walk in bike most places, and it makes a huge difference to my quality of life
The burbs are mentally exhausting. It sometimes feels like a maze trying to find someone's home and can add like 10 minutes to travel time with having to turn down 5 different roads even though they're "technically" only 2 miles away.
Don't forget the secregation of zones. You could have a supermarket, cinema, restauraunts right behind your yard, but there's no direct path to walk there by foot. Instead you need a car to drive a mile round the whole neighbourhood to the main "stroad", then turn back and drive through a sea of empty parking which is being subsidised by your taxes.
And what exactly is the difference to a big city? It also feels like a maze and driving anywhere and finding a parking space is really annoying.
@@19Lillith the difference is that you don't have to drive to get places in a good city. I just attended an event where my friend and I wanted to meet up. She drove, and I took the train. I live farther away, left a little later, and stopped at a spot off the train to get a bagel and some coffee, but I still got there sooner than she did because she got stuck in traffic and then had to deal with the massive parking garage at the event. We walked about the same amount of steps, but she paid $20 for parking and was stressed out while I paid $6 for an all day train pass and got time to enjoy breakfast.
Also, when fewer people are on the road, it means fewer traffic jams for people that are driving. Cities support way more people on a block than suburbs, so while it sucks to drive them, there's way fewer cars on the road than it would be if you moved everybody to the suburbs where you need to drive, and most people can just walk or take transit.
No it's worse trying to find a place in the city vs suburbs
@@rachaelhapeman2710lol. You don’t live in the city do you?
You want the suburbs to be over populated; lower; rat infested; stink; and infested with crime just like the cities. But hey, at least you will have plenty of buses to share with the homeless and violent crack addicts 😂
I moved from the netherlands to Canada for working holiday and I cannot drive. I walk to the stores and there are so many places where I just have to walk over the road. Back home I bike everywhere but even with a bike here, I don't feel safe enough on the road simply because it is all so car centric. During the strong winter there was so much snow and obviously only the main car roads got cleaned out, so I would have been stuck if it wasn't for friends being able to drive me to the grocery store etc. It's horrible and I can't understand why everything has to be this way. There is so much room to make people more healthy/active and to just make the towns nicer.
I’m so sorry you had to go to Canada. I would much rather be in the Netherlands (sounds a little bit more nicer).
@@VANILLAMILKISGUD haha I have lived in Netherlands all my life so now I have something to compare it to I guess! But yes roads/infrastructure are way better back home. But at least gas and electricity are more affordable here in Canada etc...Trade offs 😅😅
Canada is a large country and your country is tiny. Of course it will be more car- centric. There’s not enough people in that country to provide taxes, in order to build massive infrastructures for public transit system, in enormous mass of land. Do you have any idea how costly it would be?
Having cars is more efficient - costs less and more reliable for timely travel unlike public transit.
@@myranaam8562 hi from Russia . We have public transport . Our cities are wAlkable . And we don’t have much money 🎉😂😂😂 you Can invent other excuses why your towns are unlivable
@@myranaam8562 I didn't even mention public transit once but there are already roads, why not have a functioning bus system at least. My issue that its build with cars only in mind from the ground up. While they very much could have at least have a functioning cycling path or even walking paths etc. Everyone is always driving everywhere despite it not being so far away. Literally like Cara said everything is an "island" you drive to. Heck there are entire places in the US that used to be walkable that have been destroyed in favor of cars, it's a shame.
"Having cars is more efficient - costs less and more reliable for timely travel unlike public transit." Truly spoken like someone who has never experienced anything else. What about young people who are not allowed to drive, someone who cannot afford a car etc, the environment? How do you explain larger countries like japan that have a functioning public transit system?There are so many factors and reasons to improve things. Even if it costs a lot, that doesn't take away that it's shit and we can have an issue with it. Did you even watch the video?
THANK YOU!!! I have ranted SO many times about how we romanticize collage in our culture when in reality it is simply the last time we live in a walkable area, designed at a human scale, with community centers where we can meet new people! As it turns out, we can just PLAN CITIES LIKE COLLEGE CAMPUSES!
For some it is the first, last, and only time.
I think its that way because everyone there shared a culture of learning. It was the main reason you were there. This culture doesn't translate to the real world outside of a college campus because ppl have different goals that definitely dont involve learning. Some positive some negative.
@@Turshin No, its the walkability.
Nope. Just nope . Even campuses are car centered .
@todddammit4628 I don't want ppl walking around my home. SMH you just don't get it.
Growing up I would visit Mexico during summer vacation and even as a kid I realized how great it was that in Mexico I could walk to get groceries, school supplies, meat shop, small corner shops and even restaurants! I came back to my suburban town and couldn’t stop bragging to everyone how much I loved Mexico because people walked everywhere! How my grandmother would send me to buy tortillas as she made dinner! We had fresh food available across the street. No need to drive 15 min to a grocery store. Wish I had that lifestyle here. 😊
I appreciate the fact you read a book before making a video on the topic. It is fairly rare seeing youtube doing a proper prep.
You need to start watching better quality videos. The ones I watch are top tier, some with weeks or months of data before videos.
The 15 minute city conspiracy is so weird to me. I live in an accidental 15 minute city, like most cities in Europe. I can access all my needs (excluding higher education) in 15 minutes or less. I still could travel daily to the other end of the country if I felt like it lmao
Yeah, in my British suburban home it's a 10 min walk to the supermarket or a 2 min drive. We've driven up north several times for family members who all live up there. It really is just another thing in a long string of completely harmless things that people pretend is bad so they have something to get worked up over.
I live in a mountain community that all my needs can be met within 2-4 miles. Most just down the street
You are conflating the concept of 15 minute cities imposed vs ones that aren't.
There's a large push of people that think they know better vs people that don't want these changes, especially since they lead to slippery slopes.
In the short term you'll get your convenience, until in the long term, there is a possibility you can't go anywhere anymore.
Why not just let people decide what they want in their cities by voting?
@@pyros4333 literally nobody wants to impose that lmao "the slippery slope" Europe has been like that for thousands of years and the slope hasn't slipped
@@anthropomorphicpeanut6160
Then why is it being announced as an initiative?
You can say it's always been around but there's an initiative to start building them lol.
I think you're mistaking the argument as 'there's always been apartments but now we gotta make them for others.' My point is, there have always been houses, cabins, townhouses, stores, apartments and instead of making everything into an apartment let's have people decide if they want it. Otherwise you'll get what looks like China with empty apartments everywhere
I didn't realize mixed zoning is.... not normal outside of Europe apparently 😭
In some places it's actually illegal. Lots of the USA prohibits it.
@@rachaelhapeman2710 that's absolutely wild. I'm so used to a lot of city buildings having bakeries or lil convienience stores below on the ground level and then just living space above it.
@@rachaelhapeman2710 Correction. In MOST places is actually illegal in the USA.
Yeah it’s weird huh lol. I go to Mexico and anyone can have a corner store or business at their house. There’s even an extra room/space for these businesses. In the US it’s more of what we use for garages.
It is normal in most of the world. Go to third world countries and you’ll see
My home is on a treed street and my grocery store is a 10 min walk away on the same store, as is the pharmacy, hardware store, gym and coffee shop and pet store. I walk everywhere and make friends and bump into friends made. It’s truly an amazing thing to live in a walkable neighbourhood.
As a Norwegian, this is totally relatable.🚗🇳🇴 80% of transport in Norway is done by car. In most areas you are totally dependent on the car, even if you live in or close to a city. In so many job adverts it is stated that you must have a private car to qualify for the job, without any explanation as to why.
I think one of the saddest things about it is how it affects our land use. We are demolishing and bulldozing our beautiful country to make room for roundabouts and holiday homes. Insects, birds and animals must die or flee to survive. It makes me so sad!
I whish things were to change here, but it is only getting worse.
Amen! We probably leave Norway for France in 2026. All villages on Toten have become garbage, and people drive around in the cultural landscapes, from zone to zone, all day long. All cultural heritage here I live is lost to atomized suburbian bunkers. And now wind turbine farms are coming everywhere. So good bye to Norway this year, we travel France next year, and hopefully move in 2026. Norway is the most photogenic country in the world, but we destroyed it, and the culture here now is sh*t.
i live in Mumbai and the suburbs here are actually so commute friendly. our local trains are the city's lifeline tbh. ofc, there are major issues with them too and the BMC (our municipal corp) is... not very efficient. but i believe compared to US suburbia, mumbai is actually much better commute wise. we have a great auto rickshaw and bus system as well! now i sound like i love this city (i kind of do) but ofc there are many issues here too which cannot be denied!
thanks for the insightful video, Cara! i look forward to more of these.
There are no suburbs in any of Indian metro in the same sense as US
Great point. People are so one directional to think that suburbia is problematic.
Reality is that they aren't and they are just the latest target of the "I want to change everything" culture.
I'm from the UK. I live in a village that somewhat resembles the suburbs in the sense that it is mainly low density housing and it is easier to get places by car, however there is a bus at least every 30 minutes throughout the daytime and there are convenience stores in the village. So it is possible to live without a car where I live, just not as convenient.
Milton Keynes looks like an American suburb
Living in New York, I take for granted how subpar the public transport options are in the US. Great video.
"If you want the option of suburbia, you should be paying for it." Amen to that!
Living in France as a 25y in a city center with shops, bar, coffee place …..
For me suburbs look like a perfect place to live, it’s crazy how my perception was ignoring so many issue that you can have (transports etc)
Thank you for you videos ❤❤❤❤
When I lived in Granada, Spain, I walked an average of 6 miles a day compared to my suburbian life which was 2. The recommended distance to walk a day is 5 for practical health benefits. The suburbs keep us from staying in shape and staying healthy
In Canada the 5 minute walk to everywhere basically only applies to living downtown. But the house prices downtown are insane for this reason. 😢 There’s no way to win.
Winnipeg isn’t bad but people don’t want to live here.
Montréal is the best city in Canada just for this reason. I’m a 5 minute walk from a metro station, have grocery stores, and Walmart 15 minutes away. I work in a weird part of the city though, stuck in between highways and rail yards, so I need a car to work. But a lot of people can make do with no car here, and use STM, Bixi, and soon, REM to the West Island.
I love learning about city planning, I'd say it's my political topic that I feel the most passionate about and advocate the most for. I've been using bikes as transportation for about two years now. I'm a car person but I hate all the paperwork and bureaucracy that is involved in car ownership, and that is required in a lot of the USA, unlike European countries. I don't like lawn work and I hate that I have to maintain this patch of grass when I don't even use it. I like driving but I hate that I HAVE to drive if you catch my drift. Driving can be nice if you're going for joyrides on open roads but not when there is tons of traffic, you can't choose to do anything productive or relaxing when driving, sprawling suburbs promotes rampant consumerism and large grocery trips (which generates lots of wasted food), you don't get a lot of exercise when driving, the list goes on. I would love viable public transport, good bike lanes, and effective city planning. Is this really the "Land of the Free" when you're paywalled out of participating in society by the auto and oil industries who force you to fork over tens of thousands of dollars a year? This kind of money could be spent in so many better ways, personally and within our cities and states. I took a trip to the Netherlands last year and I had some fun random encounters with some natives and it was so cool. Car dependency cannot touch this.
Love not just bikes and city nerds channel. Recently moved to a more walkable part of town and love it! Bike rides with the kids have become more common
I've been interested in these topics since the early 90s, when I first moved to a walkable urban neighborhood after being raised in the suburbs. While I didn't learn anything new from this video, I really appreciated the good job you did summarizing important points, and it's great seeing young people pursuing these topics. I haven't seen your channel before today and I am subscribing and looking forward to checking out your other videos.
thanks so much for your kind words! glad you liked the video :)
I aspire to living in the suburbs, and honestly hate dense urban housing. Being stuck in a packed city is hellish
Not having anywhere but a gas station to walk to is one of the most frustrating things about my suburban neighborhood. And to add further insult, we used to have a restaurant nearby that was always busy, but it shut down and nothing's replaced it because they (the government or a corporation I'm not sure which) say they want to renovate the location first, but it's been 6 YEARS and they STILL haven't got around to fixing up the place, so the building that could host one or more businesses for our neighborhood just rots.
as someone who walks 2 miles to school that takes me around an hour this is so relatable, everywhere we want to go is just so spread out
You sound young. Once you grow up you'll want to move back. But go to a city for now
@@pyros4333 yeaaah. Shall we talk about elderly people and problems with driving at the old age 😢😢😢😢😢😢
Yesssss! Not Just Bikes series on Strong Towns was so helpful for me understanding this more - and made me grateful we love in a city, even if it's still car-dependent I'm hopeful more walkable development can happen too as people get hip to these dynamics
I would love a good public transportation system in the US but the more we expand suburbs the less likely that will become reality, when we look at places that have great public transit they don’t have suburbs like us. I do like living in the suburbs sometimes, you can go for a walk and not be around hundreds of people and cars and noise, you can have your own garden and do what you want, but where I live they are cutting trees down left and right and it’s annoying, I want these trees to keep it cool and looking nice. You nailed it though.
Having grown up and lived in a major city (Philadelphia) I couldn’t wait to move out to the suburbs because I love the quiet and solitude the suburbs provide. I hated taking public transportation because it really wasn’t safe, not to mention having a long ass wait for the bus or train. If metropolitan cities here had pristine subway tunnels, trains and buses (and everything ran quickly) people might be more inclined to take public transportation, but if it smells like outhouse and you have to worry about getting mugged (and yes that DOES happen more often than people think) it seems like more trouble than it’s worth. If people want to be away from so many other people they should be able to have that option.
I never lived in an inner city 🏙️ before in my life and lived in the suburbs of Pittsburgh and Raleigh Durham and Washington DC in my life.
That's all fine, but you say that people who don't want to be in cities should have the option not to. Which is true. But here in the US, we've only built suburban housing. There is so little dense housing available in cities, or in streetcar suburbs, like Summerville, Massachusetts. We have way too many suburbs and the demand just isn't there. The reason for the existence of a lot of these places is the fact that GM and Ford lobbied Congress in the '60s to basically bulldoze downtowns and build freeways, and that is the reason that we have such a massive amount of suburbs in the country. It's not really based on consumer choice
People who were born and lived in the country moved to the cities.
People who were born land ived the cities moved out to the suburbs.
People who were born and live in the suburbs now want to live in cities again.
IMO this phenomenon is just based on 'the grass is greener' stuff.
No way. There are major qualitative differences in the building patterns.
Actually this is wrong.
It's a cycle. No matter where you live you will always want to end up going to suburbia. Especially when you grow up and get a family.
Agreed. As someone who grew up in one of the largest cities in the world, I just hate living in big cities. People from suburbs talk about city planning with a glorified filter, or they only look at the best possibly designed city in the entire world and compare them to any arbitrary suburbs. I have personal preference but I don't think either of them have major problems. Sure they both have problems but it all boils down to pros and cons for personal choices rather than saying one is better than the other.
Nope. This is a lazy take, and wrong.
@@pyros4333 Suburbia is only preferred because we've collectively lost the experience of being in a small town. I grew up in small town 15 minutes out of the nearest city, and I'd prefer raising a family there far more than in a suburb. Suburbs have the most basic of basic necessities, meanwhile, small towns have managed to maintain local shops, cafes, and bars. The older towns tend to still be walkable. They aren't filled with McMansions. People are actually outside of their vehicles.
Honestly the suburbs seem the only option between a dense concrete expensive city where you live on top of each other vs rural and there is nothing for miles.
I understand the flaws of suburbs but not many locations offer you a stand alone home with a yard.
Really despise the close together cookie cutter ones though.
I moved to the suburbs from NYC and I absolutely loved it
Are those Streetcar Suburbs? Those are how suburbs are supposed to be.
The McSuburbs being spammed all over Texas are an abomination of city planning.
I lived in New York City. Public transportation was great but unclean, unsafe and unfriendly. Apartments were too expensive. It wasn’t always that way. But as the middle class got tired of being “taxed to death,” they relocated.
Yes it can be incredibly expensive to have a good life in the city. I think walkability and access to good public transportation can increase the quality of life in the 'burbs.
And this is exactly what all people preaching 15 minute cities end up doing. They grow up and then realize they need to live in suburbia 😂
Unfortunately it’s expensive because there’s no other walkable cities in America to compete with NYC. So NYC can demand insane prices
@@realityblooms San Fran is higher scoring than NYC. Jersey and Boston both rank just under.
The reality is that all popular cities will become bloated and prices will rise to ridiculous heights. Especially because popular locations by default have lots of purchasers. It's expensive because people want to be there.
The more "walkable" you make it the more expensive the cost. You can't have your cake and eat it.
The reason NYC is so expensive is BECAUSE it's so rare to find walkable lifestyles in North America. Look at all the most expensive real estate in this country, its almost entirely older walkable neighborhoods that are in such high demand that because its walkability has become a luxury for the rich. no one is saying everyone needs to like in a major city like NYC. What we're saying is that suburbs and smaller cities need to become better at accommodating humans instead of cars.
Before watching this video, I just thought I have never lived on suburbs I don't understand why there is a problem with it.
Those are beautiful and expensive houses. You get to be around other people and you have plenty space to park your car.
When is Christmas or Halloween the people in the suburbs decorate their houses, when is Christmas my family and me go to the suburbs just to see the decorations.
In my perspective, if you have ever lived on a house in the suburbs you are very lucky and you are living a happy life.
I wish my city was more walkable and bikeable. Any time our city tries there's so much push back. For instance a loss of on street parking in front of the houses in streets. Even though they do have driveways .
What I hate the most about car centric construction is how badly it affects small (and I mean SMALL) towns. Like, population 1k. My home town (or village lmao) and the towns around it are so car centric you literally can't get around if you dont have a car. You are FUCKED. There's barely any sidewalks so if you want to walk, you're basically walking in ditches. Everything is so spread out for no reason. It's so frustrating because they are so small and if they hadn't been bulldozed for cars, it would have been an amazing cute place you could easily walk around in. It would have made them livelier too. But no, it's so frustrating
You're putting the cart before the horse.
You need cars to get to isolated areas. If everyone needs to get there they will all have cars. If you now build up the town, it'll need to accommodate cars.
The answer is extremely clear, you need cars. Towns wouldn't exist without it.
You're preaching for a system that we aren't able to achieve, ground up, unless you have this town go through years and years of growth to build it into a 15 minute city concept. And Even then you NEED the cars because towns are often isolated.
@@pyros4333how did towns exist before the invention of the car?
@@hallucinatrix9341 horse and carriage, and you are absolutely right, towns were made to support horses and cater to wagons during then too
@@pyros4333have you ever heard of trains and public transport ?
@@pyros4333not every person had a horse back then .) 😂😂😂 I will tell you they existed - in 15 minute villages
I grew up in the suburbs and loved it. I had a lot of friends in the neighborhood. With plenty of things to do.
I moved to the UK from the US at 18 for college and prior to that experienced 6 months all over Europe. When I had to move back to the US I was so severely depressed from being back in a place that was so car dependent. I moved to a college town in my home state and that was slightly better but I was still extremely unhappy because it wasn’t very walkable outside of few blocks of campus & downtown. So I convinced my bf to move to Chicago with me last year and I can confidently say that I am no longer depressed & am happier than I’ve ever been! I was paying $800 per month between my car payments, gas, and insurance in Kentucky. Now, I pay $75 per month for an unlimited transit pass. I now live in a neighborhood that’s a 5 minute walk from my train stop, a beach, a grocery store, and sooo many shops and food places. I absolutely love it here and I honestly don’t think I could live anywhere else in the US except NYC, Boston, or DC. The rent up here in Chicago is insanely affordable too!
This was a great video & I love your content 🤠
I’m glad Chicago helped you mentally! It really is a great city.
We still have our car problems (looking at Lightfoot’s “Chicago is a car city”), but overall it’s significantly better than most areas in the U.S.. You can thrive with a bike and/or transit pass here.
Plus, car enthusiasts can still own a car without negatively impacting non-car owners. Dense, walkable neighborhoods are plentiful.
Thank you for speaking on this. I was born and partly raised here on Long Island in the same county as Levittown. Not having a reliable car to myself has consistently been a humiliating experience, even with trains and buses available around me. I've commuted to work, school, appointment you name it with public transit here over many years but it has opened my eyes to how things are designed around here. Currently, it takes me so much longer to get to work using buses/trains, compared to my coworkers who all drive. I'm probably getting a car soon, but it has felt more like an imminent obligation than an achievement. I've even tried working in NYC while living here, but the commute was too much. If I don't somehow find a way to live and work in NYC (or any city) soon, I'm going to have to buy a car soon and get myself further in debt. It honestly feels like a life sentence towards living in the suburbs forever, and I know from experience that I don't want that for myself so I usually feel stuck.
Great video! It really is amazing the difference: I grew up in a very rural neighborhood, and didn’t realize what difference it made until I spent several years living in Toronto for university-I missed the rural peace, but back there, EVERYTHING was at least a 30 minute walk one-way (just for essentials, mind you; entertainment or social spaces would be hours spent walking, just for one-way). Whereas in Toronto, yeah, the crowds and the noise got to me, but a day spent walking around the city could be an incredible social and community adventure. My current little community is on the right track (suburbs, but at least with several restaurants, shops, and community parks and garden within decent walking distance for just about everyone), but so much can be done with more deliberate goals and planning 👏 well done, and love the longer format!
I want a real community, a real human habitat, not a sanitized, and atomized cookie-cutter box.
I'm planning to build some cool new walkable self sustaining towns soon.
I lived in a major city, then an adjoining suburb of that city, and now I live in an old single family home neighborhood on large lots or small acreage properties between two small towns an hour from the city. Not fully rural, but out past the suburbs. And this is where I like living the most.
I didn't hate living in the city or the suburbs, but we were being quickly priced out of the housing market and I was dealing with serious respiratory problems caused by poor air quality.
We moved out here specifically for cleaner air and affordability. And it has been really nice having healthier lungs and less financial stress. A lot of people are leaving cities because they simply can't afford housing, or their health is suffering.
Having grown up in the burbs, I figured out why boys were always in trouble. There was nothing to do and no where to go. If you were lucky you had a friend with a furnished basement where everyone coukd hang out and get stoned. Maybe there was a girl you could make out with. We were all depressed that’s for sure
I get so frustrated when people are so against mix-use zoning, claiming that only gas stations, check cashing and bail bond businesses will occupy them and therefore decrease their property values, yet all the pre-war neighborhoods with mix-use are the most desirable areas in town. Why wouldn't you want commercial business near your home. I just don't understand the steadfast position to live in a residential desert (that likely has restrictive HOA cc&r's)
Me neither . I literally live in
Another country in a suburb and we have everything we need naturally thanks to capitalism .
Hey now, it's not only those businesses -- you also get a wide array of CBD/vape stores and marijuana dispensaries as well! But seriously, part of the problem in the US is the staggering inequality and the dominance of mega-corporations. Most people don't have the money to start small/local businesses, and those that do risk getting mowed down by the bigger fish. Basically, zoning for and building mixed-use developments doesn't manifest small businesses into existence.
The other problem with mixed-zoning commerce is that suburbanites don't want the noise/clutter/odors that businesses might bring, but above all, they don't want outsiders coming into or through their neighborhoods, and a corner store might give Those People a legitimate reason to be in the area. So like many things in the US urban planning sphere, it boils down to racism.
I enjoyed your video and this is a subject I enjoy discussing as well. I believe you hit the high points well and your discussion of zoning and subsidies is spot-on. I also agree that the suburbs are not going to die, or deserve to die, but what will most likely happen is that an easing of zoning laws to allow mixed use development along with creating transit and biking options is a must. The transit possibilities are more complex than an urban core, but there are options out there. I am increasingly curious about autonomous trackless trams as a option as it typically doesn't require as much investment in additional infrastructure as traditional rail or subway systems. Another useful reform would be to reduce required parking minimums for new construction sites. This would help eliminate those "concrete prairies" around big box stores, malls and shopping centers. Thanks again for a great video!
I really enjoyed this longer format!! I love that you put so much research and effort into all of your videos and I hope you won't leave out information just for the goal of making the video shorter. I'm in New Zealand and although our suburbs aren't nearly as big as the US, they have the same problems.
Nailed it. Every American needs to watch this
I'm so glad urbanist content is popping up around TH-cam! Super fascinating topic. I'd also recommend CityNerd, CityBeautiful, and the incredibly underrated RadicalPlanning.
As someone that lives in the "hood", I'd embrace all the cons of suburbia without hesitation if it meant not having to worry about catching a stray bullet everytime I go outside.
Oh and when it comes to spontaneous encounters with other people, you don't want those around here.
As an Australian one of the main things that always shocks me with seeing American suburbs is scale .. there HUGE.. houses, spaces between them etc. In Australia the government has been changing how they build suburbs. Everything is getting more compacted and smaller. It makes suburban living easier
I am European and I live in suburbs. But these are European suburbs, namely Polish. Here every home is different, regularity is almost not existent, it looks more like a luxury quarter of a city than a suburbia. Of course, this type of suburbia is much more expensive to maintain, but it does not make people feeling that they live in a white room (suburbia are not as "white" like in white room torture, but regularity and similarity of each home is just boring and ultimately frustrating. It is extremely practical, but does not fit to human psychology.
If I return home at night I do not have to count passed blocks to know which street is "mine" - I just see the landscape, that is unique and irregular, so it is much less tiring and much more reflexive to navigate in it.
Not mentioning the EXCELLENT public transport.
The European suburbs are better than the American suburbs.
@@lavonnealexander6936The European suburbs have nothing in common with American ones
I live in an area of north London, with mostly 100-150yo terraced (row) houses that are typical of British cities. It’s a great compromise between the city and the suburbs. I have the whole house, with my own front door and garden. My street is quiet, and safe, but not isolated. I can park on the street and drive if I want to but the medium density supports a wealth of convenience stores, supermarkets, pubs, restaurants and services all within a 10min walk. I don’t need a car, I can get all I need walking but I can also hop onto a bus or train to get elsewhere in the city super easily. I think row houses are best of both worlds, and a good solution in the US since apartments seem anathema to many Americans.
Stroads. I didn’t hear you say Stroads!! Now you have to make more videos on this topic and talk about Stroads. Maybe a collaboration with “not just bikes”??
A great show that dispalys the issues of living in suburbia is Desperate Housewives, which deep dives into how expensive and back breaking it is plus the pressure to keep an image
I live in Sydney, Australia in an older suburb 1 hour from the city and don't drive. There are lots of local shops and amenities, and a bus into town at least every 30 mins. Despite the distance, it was clearly built with access in mind.
However, the newer Sydney suburbs being developed, are more like the islands of life mentioned in the video. Its America 2.0.
As an American who lived in Sydney for several years, please don't let the beautiful country of AU become USA 2.0
Moved out of Boston to a small town 15 years ago never been happier best decision I ever made
I am from Boston but plan on moving further away. I can't wait!
The problem is not suburbs. Its car dependent suburbs. Suburbs that don't have multiple housing options, are far away from services and designed only around cars and no other transit.
I grew up in the burbs, and I now live in DC. My quality of life has increased drastically now that I live in a city.
Love dc. Lived there for 4 years before moving to nyc. I think about returning! It’s so beautiful and rock creek park is the best urban park imho.
You'll want to move back once you get a family lol
You're living in a cycle
@@pyros4333move where? Back to the burbs? You’re kidding, that’s no place to raise a family.
@@realityblooms where would you want to raise a family? In the city? How old are you even? 20?
To be fair, DC is closest thing on this continent to a proper European city.
Burbs are for people who want space and privacy. City for people who want communty and accessibility. Choose what you'd like, but don't try to force people to use what you'd like.
just gotta make sure those in suburbs are paying the true cost for it, which isn’t currently happening (said as someone who lives in the suburbs)
@thefinancialfreedomgirl Idk about your municipality, but 30k a year in property taxes is enough. I mean, I don't pay that much, but there are people I work with who do.
We need to discuss more about how continued support of the suburbs and NIMBYism is still often based on exaggerated fears of crime and lowered property values, and ultimately racism and classism. So much suburban development has been created to be intentionally exclusionary (very literally with housing covenants and overt discrimination in the past) and inaccessible in order to be exclusive. It’s a feature, not a bug. Improvements to mass transit, walkability, and mixed use in some people’s minds means more “others” around and that is not what they want. There has to be more work down to deconstruct these tropes and change societal culture in order to see that shift in development that many of us want (and which will actually improve societal ills so many are fearful of).
I've of the mindset that people who constantly fear others can and should live in the suburbs...but their property taxes should reflect the extra cost of suburban infrastructure. Currently, the suburbs are heavily subsidized and property taxes come nowhere near paying for suburban infrastructure. And so, along with their vehicles, suburbanites live a life of nearly perfect wealth destruction even as they don't feel the full effects of it.
Rosa Parks of the Montgomery Alabama bus boycott did force public transportation equality in a city that was almost entirely dependent on public transportation and walkable neighborhoods, but the response there was that in a few short years (around 4) all trams and most public bus lines were dismantled and eliminated. And Montgomery has among the very highest income, property, and sales tax rates in the country while its suburbs have some of the lowest...it's no coincidence that occurred during white flight.
Exactly
As someone who has only lived in Chicago and its suburbs, there is no exaggeration of crime. Besides that point, I would guess most people in the burbs prefer to live out here because of contrast of life compared to the city (politics, congestion, corruption). The list goes on and on, but probably ends before you get to being a racist… at least for most people. And for the classism point? Some of the wealthiest high class people in the area live in the city. There’s more to the city than just the hood, and not every person who prefers the burbs is some boujee racist
@@steveo5999 It's not the suburban people that's the financial and environmental problem; it's the extremely high cost of car usage and infrastructure costs that comes from urban sprawl. In my opinion, a lot of these can be easily solved by turning highways into toll roads, and implementing congestion pricing to discourage suburban drivers from ever entering cities.
@@steveo5999 Of course there is exaggeration of crime. Data has shown crime has actually declined over the past few years, but based on some reporting and social media histrionics the minute you step foot in Chicago, NYC, LA, Atlanta, etc. you are going to get shanked, mugged, r*aped, and car jacked. Many people both live in, visit, and enjoy cities. Yes, there is more crime than in suburbs but the way cities are being painted as waste lands of desolation and crime is just silly. Also, many suburbs have issues themselves. Even in a place like Chicago crime is concentrated in certain areas. Yes, racism and classism has much to do with it. The problems that exist are a direct result of disinvestment, red lining, predatory lending, bad zoning laws, the war on drugs (versus taking a public health approach to addiction), job and education discrimination, and lack of will to not make upward mobility accessible to many. In regards to classism, most people aren’t “afraid” of cities because of all of the rich people. The fear is the poor, black, brown, and marginalized. You can take your gaslighting elsewhere. ➡️
I think you perfectly put into words how I feel living in the US sometimes, granted, I live in a town that has decent public transportation, but having to drive everywhere when you can’t is really annoying. I’ve lived in Taiwan for quite some time, and maybe it’s because I’m used to the convenience of everything, but everything in the US is so far away from one another.
Suburbs are amazing. I used to live in the city and it was nasty. So many unpleasant people, funny smells, dirty streets, loud noises, pollution) no thanks. As I’ve gotten older, love the tranquility of the burbs. We have amazing trails and it comes alive in the late summer afternoons where we all enjoy the outdoors, kids playing, swimming, bbq and other fun outdoor activities. So good for the soul.
Cool. Sounds like you're glad you had the ability to make the choice to live in the suburbs. I think she's advocating for more people to be able to make the choice to live in urban communities.
I had all of that in my somewhat suburb growing up but you could still walk places.
What city did you leave? Yours is not the typical experience of a suburbanite. If most suburbs were like yours, there wouldn't be so much talk rightfully complaining about suburbs.
@@JamilLynchwell if most cities are like what were described by pro-urbanism youtuber then everybody would be wishing to live in one
We need to build more charming, walkable towns - in harmony with nature.
Bring back the street car suburbs we see on TV. To hell with these sprawling McSuburbs
I went to Florida like 10 years ago and everything you said was the first thing I noticed when I got there. I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and here the concept of suburb as the american simply does not exist. Everyplace we have supermarkets, drugstores, even if its a small shop, in a walking distance. In my case I live near downtown so I take public transportation everyday, I dont even know how to drive 😂 but when I was in Florida any of this "way of living" existed and it felt so off. It was strange as fuck to have to take a car to eat, to shop, to socialize. I would went crazy if I had to live there permanantly
If you enjoy studying about planned cities, check It out Brasilia, Brazil's capital. The streets makes an airplane shape to the city
I actually loved your into about pessimism. I am a pessimist but I’m also a fixer. I will wallow in my pessimism if I don’t brainstorm alternatives and fixes to the problem. I have friends who love living in the suburbs. Why would I take that away?!? I love my friends! Let’s come up with a better way.
love this mindset!!
The problem is actually if there is a problem in the first place.
Tldr; there's no problem.
She makes a few points that overall don't actually correlate well.
1) she indicates loneliness as a problem but social media is probably the top cause of loneliness in today's society (you can easily debunk this why looking up the studies on where people feel the loneliest; hint it's cities)
2) she makes the argument that it's economically not as viable but this is misleading. The goal shouldn't be able how much money a town/city can bring in. It should be how much can be done to maintain self sufficiency. If a town earns slightly above it's net costs but the people in the town love living there then why do you need to change the whole system to 'get more money?' the reality is is that it's a bad argument. If the need is there then absolutely, go to denser housing. But towns and cities should aspire to provide what their citizens want, not go for the gusto and fill their own pockets.
3) she indicates that carbon emissions are a problem. But it's a disingenuous statistic. Of course PER CAPITA there's more emissions from a person in suburbia. There's less people there. The real measure to balance it out against is; how much does cities contribute vs how much does suburbia contribute (regardless of people).
@@pyros4333have you ever been to an American city? Most of them have been bulldozed for cars, and getting places to meet friends is downright impossible sometimes, especially at night.
@@sokyu7723 of course. But that's where the communities form. In the malls and other districts. Schools as well.
Eventually you'll grow old enough to get a car or move out then you can do whatever
@@pyros4333 people still need to make friends when they’re not of age to have cars? The world shouldn’t be paywalled behind “get a car”
Dane here! Strøget is pronounced more like stroehyed, but it's a hard language, so don't worry about it❤
Also, I've recently moved to Copenhagen from my suburban neighborhood (we also have them, on the outskirts mostly), and it's crazy how connected I feel to the city now!
I can bike to the center in less than 20 minutes. The whole center is my oyster. I never realized how nice our bikelanes within Copenhagen are because I always took public transport.
Biking costs nothing, is healthy, and is often faster than going by car or public transport due to some exclusive bike/walk roads!
Even now, I technically live on the outskirts of Copenhagen, but it does not feel like that at all!
Hope your zoning laws get better❤
Great video; I wouldn’t have expected this from your channel! As a geographer/cartographer I love it!
yay I’m so glad, thank you!
comparing cars to Lion Turtles just makes them seem cooler
Great topic and very relatable to me, I live in egypt
Great topic. I live in South Africa where we are very car-centric, mostly because of crime. I drive to the grocery store that is less than 2km away. But the majority of the population can’t afford cars and so are faced with all the associated risks. I would love for crime to be brought under control and for useful public transportation. Public transport and walkable cities are my favourite things about travelling.
Also, on video length, I loved that this was bursting with info, but I’d personally prefer videos under 30mins, or even better, videos around the 20 min mark. I find myself missing out on creators I love because I save to watch later because I don’t have the 50min block of time, and then end up forgetting to watch entirely. I’m also less interested in the video if I have to watch in two sessions, again, I end up watching half and forgetting about it. Just my preference.
Sounds like a YOU problem.
@RIPmichael22 Wow! Clever! Yes it IS a me problem. Hence I said twice that it's my preference...in response to Cara asking us to say what we preferred.
Thank you so much for making this video! You do a great job breaking down issues into bite-sized pieces while providing optimistic advice to fix it. It is my hope that we awake to car dependence as a nation.
Keep fighting the good fight!
I gave up and moved to one of America’s few cities that’s both walkable and affordable. It’s WONDERFUL; each day is a treat. If only single-family zoning hadn’t made density illegal to build in most land near our urban cores, then more people could enjoy walkable areas in their daily life.
where??? i'm guessing chicago!!
@@jmsl_910 Yes. For additional ideas, CityNerd has a top 10 list video “Affordable Cities: 10 US Metro Areas With Underrated Livability, Walkability and Transit”.
You know we are all going to ask where this special place is, ha.
Getting Ogden mentioned threw me for a loop 😭 but yes!!! That plus the college campus right there (with a good bus connecting them these days) makes it super easy to navigate, nowadays it can be faster to walk and bus into town than drive
Fantastic video Cara! I feel like you hit a lot of great and diverse points regarding this seriously undervalued issue. I would love more content from you on this topic. This is something that needs so much more exposure and I'm grateful to all the channels and people who push these ideas forward!
"Denser living spaces with mixed use..." Most people don't want that for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the more dense an area is with regard to population, the more difficult it is to provide effective emergency services and maintain utility infrastructure. Without zoning, you have strip clubs and bars just a stone's throw from schools, daycares, and churches, schools right next to the freeway, noisy hospital ERs right next to townhomes and apartments, the list of combinations goes on. Just look at cities like Houston where we don't have zoning. It is a nightmare for businesses and residential property owners alike. The city has had to cobble together so many ordinances to try to satisfy everyone with something that resembles zoning but often causes more problems.
After you have had and raised a family, revisit this and see how much you still agree with it. Keep in mind that "walkability" and "bike-ability" have become more and more of a key amenity in modern suburbs over the past 30 years. Maybe this video would have been more fitting in the '90s.
Such an important topic. I’ve always hated that I had to own a car in my city and how unwalkable it is. Thanks for this video Cara, learned a lot!
Highly recommend 'The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community' by Ray Oldenburg - he was touching on this topic exactly
I don’t understand why people hate the suburbs. I’m 36, grew up in the suburbs and not now live the suburbs. Whenever I visit a city, particularly New York, I feel claustrophobic and I hate the smell. If you don’t wanna live in the burns then don’t.
I am trying to escape the big city - shallow and self-absorbed people, crime, garbage, expensive rent, dirty air, overcrowded and traffic. I dream of a home 20 minutes drive from the city . I dream of a garden, bigger living room, peace, two dogs and privacy and no annoying neighbours. I dont live in the US so the suburbs here in Europe are somewhat different.
WTH did I just watch? Leave people alone. If you like living away from the city on a clean area, good. If you like living on top of each other, good.
Why was this recommended?
Last suburban area I lived in was so ridiculous that there was a 3 call chain of command before somebody could just tell me my car was leaking a little bit of oil and demands to know when that was being taken care of. That is the sort of thing outside of the 10 min trip to leave the complex I didn't care for. 8 years later I live in a more urban area closer to downtown and the car was stolen towed for scrap because ppl noticed it was not running and they wanted the spot...I don't mind not driving all the time because this apt is near a bus stop but I also can't get another car until I can afford to leave it...problem is I can't afford both a better area AND incredible driving expenses
Seeing how things are now, I'm very grateful I was born in '89. I can see now that it was such a great time to grow up & get to be a kid. The world seemed to have so many creative outlets & forms of expression. Ways for kids, teens and adults could interact with our surroundings. We had an environment that had places to go, things to do, places with unique style & very creative design. I really miss the Vibe of that Era. Looking back with hindsight it really did feel like things treated us all like it respected our intelligence, our time & what kind of experience we were going to have. While also providing outlets in our society that helped us feel like a kid inside no matter what age we were. It felt like things acknowledged you. You are a customer, a fan, a person. In a hyper capitalistic society, the least they can do is use basic decency to try and make us feel like they care if we have a good time because without us they can't succeed. The creativity that came from that era really put effort into it's ingenuity. It's almost like every everything took pride in who could find the most creative and unique ways to do things, design things, come up with ways people could enjoy engaging with their company.
For things to go from that 90's-Y2K era, to then shift to this bland, soulless, minimalistic approach feels very Dystopian. I really hope we find a way to reconnect with these core things that we clearly saw positive benefits having it apart of our society. The world really needs this right now. Look how soulless so much has become nowadays? Look at the horrible aesthetics, poor quality & poor creative design in modern cities. Even our shows, movies, & video games need a revolution. Things have become so bland, bleek, and minimalistic to the point that it doesn't even make since. Most Old house's/building's/únique shop's are gone. Interesting oddities like drive in movie theaters, indoor fun zones, arcade's, magazines that included a demo disc so you can try out game's. You could go to blockbuster/Hollywood video, McDonald's had N64's & crazy fun zones & covered in wacky art all over. We could preview music before buying it, they had an amazing selection of well made kid's toy's, Roller Rink's, Garbage pale kid's card's. You get the point. Bring back Retro-Futurism. Bring back Y2K Vibes. ANYTHING compared to this current Dystopian toxic positivity. Our society feels more lost now then it ever has. Basic living has never been so unaffordable. Society is solely focused on unhealthy capitalistic agendas. Where anything that isn't constantly increasing profits or gaining investors, is a failure and has no value to society..
Our Quality of Life should be better than this. Basic living shouldn't be this unaffordable. People should be able to have fun, dork around, have things that engage them. The list goes on. Bring me back to the 90's.
My two cents that nobody asked for is that that way of making suburbs it’s almost (i said almost) the problem of United States and Canada. I live in Europe and I live in what you would consider suburbs and I have 5 minute walking two big supermarkets, shops, parks, all walkable. It actually would be weird to pick up the car. Bus stops that take you wherever you want to go. Downtown of the metropolis is 30 minutes away by bus or 15 minutes by train. What I mean with all this is that it’s doable.
I grew up in Connecticut, the suburbs of New York City. I spent my adult life and career in the San Francisco East Bay which is the suburbs of SF. I then moved to central Bangkok, Thailand. What a revelation!😮 I had never lived in a big city before. Great public transportation! Everything accessible by foot or public transit. Parks, groceries, markets, restaurants, hospitals, malls, movie theaters. I didn’t own a car for 5 years. I loved it. I eventually moved to the rural countryside, also new to me. I am back to driving but that is OK. It’s appropriate for the countryside.
I do have fond memories of suburban living. The older neighborhoods I lived in were peaceful and interesting. There are plenty of housing developments that are sterile environments.
I live in Germany, so almost everything is walkable by default. It's great. Busses and trams are prioritised over everything else, so it's pretty fast. Sure, there are those days where you just want to fall in bed with 16k steps, but I don't need a car. I'm a young single adult and disabled without a drivers licence and I don't need one. My ticket is 30 € for a month of country-wide travel flatrate. That's under 35 USD. I had 7 cab rides in my entire life so far and they almost all occurred when I was too ill or weak to take public transport..
I'm so glad you're talking about this subject. It's such an important one. My suburban community in metro Detroit just updated our zoning policies for all the reasons you described. And our city is taking action to improve the design and infrastructure of the city. It is possible to strike a balance and getting involved with your local government in the most important thing you can do!
A walkable village is something so many people would love to have, but so so many don’t.
And it is very true that poor people are basically forced out of living in suburbs because of the simple factor of needing a car
Lots of good points....but no one is forcing anyone to live in the suburbs... it is a choice. We want choices.. and all come with consequences.
Your point at 17:29 is half true. Capitalism isn't the direct problem. In our case in the USA, it is the combination of capitalism and shareholder value, but capitalism is still the root of the matter. Capitalism in the USA is still meeting consumer demand through creation and innovation as you said. The problem is the consumers are the shareholders rather than the people, which originated after the Friedman Doctrine was popularized. A lot of people tend to think of innovation as a good thing, but a new scam is still innovative. Every economic system, like capitalism and socialism, will produce innovation, but capitalism has the highest likelihood of producing the worse innovations, both morally and ethically. This is why people blame capitalism. Things like the Friedman Doctrine would have been thrown in the garbage in any other economic system.
7:40 it's a great metaphor, thank you for making it. I live in another country were we have normal public transport and the city is walkable, so it was an interesting to know how you see and feel in your cities.
I absolutely love living in the suburbs and have zero desire to live in the city. In fact that sounds awful to me. I do understand the concerns critics point out about the suburbs, but I still love living there!
Same here and love ❤️ living in Cary, NC
This is the one of the most comprehensive videos that I have seen on this topic. Great job!
Thank you for talking about this, this is something I am also very passionate about. Thank you for being vocal against car dependency and for changing out cities
Not Just Bikes!❤❤
Nice video. It’s a complex topic and there are gonna be people who hate and love the suburbs. One thing I learned about, that seems really random but is actually very important to this subject, was with the development of nuclear weapons the US military got concerned about too many people being concentrated in a few big cities. So it is rarely talked about but it actually is a national security issue and our government wanted to protect more of its citizens from dying in a nuclear attack. This was before global warming and CO2 was raised as an issue with car culture.
Seriously ?
@@junglesuperstar9270main cities are countervalue targets, yes
As to NIMBY, you would have no opposition to a gun store next to your house? How about a methadone clinic? A safe injection site? A sex and adult video store? A brothel? A cigar lounge?
If you oppose NIMBY, you would be in favor of removing nearly all these restrictions?
Quit wasting your time arguing I promise you nobody is trying to get rid of all zoning laws Nobody is in favor of getting rid of all zoning laws like nobody is trying to do that I don't get why you're trying to argue about this
@@Cheeseoogus_
What's wrong with a methadone clinic?
Are you suggesting that opiod drug abuse is only an inner city problem?
A safe injection site?
As homelessness increases even in the suburbs don't you think that addicts should have a safe clean place to shoot up where their needle waste is disposed of properly?
A sex and adult video store? A brothel?
If sex work is real work and sex workers deserve to be viewed as regular workers should the product of their labor be available similar to other items?
Why don't sex workers deserve to a workplace close to where they live? Are they not entitled to 15 minute cities?
@@JChang0114 The fault I'm gonna start to soft by saying most people don't want zoning that allows people to live near places like that those places should be near the outskirts of the city Not around high density housing but either way we live in a housing crisis and we need to build more houses whether it's ugly or not it's necessary and people are going broke and not being ignored for any houses because they rent prices are crazy there's too much demand not enough apartments so in reality we literally just need more apartments
@@JChang0114 Also the rent prices will go down so much in those areas because people obviously don't want to live near those places but it will also provide affordable housing for people who are in survival mode and it won't affect you in fact more people won't move near your You're ahead if people are living closer to places like that
Lol, there are already a ton of cigar lounges and cbd places in suburbs of states where it’s legal.
Yay, one more voice in Urbanist TH-cam! I was thankfully able to break away from car dependence and have been car-free for 7 years now, enabling me to graduate from uni debt-free accruing a total cost of $89k.
I think the move to remote work, while not helping community, can really help with the barriers for finding homes in the suburbs. But that family-home zoning is real! Most ppl are single or smaller families now as we now see marriage at later ages. Thanks for tackling the issue!
They should have suburbs a distance from the city, and then have a special tram system that travels ONLY to those suburbs and then straight into the city. Just back and forth. I think that this would completely change how suburbs are because then it’s like “okay, I don’t wanna live in the city and I want to live in a smaller community with more privacy, but all the suburb communities have a way to travel quickly directly into the city.”
Suburbanites would oppose such a system because they don't want Inner City People to have easy access to their neighborhoods.
I live in a suburban village. We thankfully have walking paths and bike paths as well as gardens and a community center with a gym and basketball courts. I love where I live and won't change it for anything else.
this is why i wanna live in a metropolitan big city. i’ve lived in the burbs my whole life (nice and not so nice cities) but i’d rather be in a big city where everything is more convenient.