I've never been able to convince my mom that I did not grow up in a walkable neighborhood. She'll say things like "sure walkability sounds nice in theory but in practice everyone drives," citing the stripmall that was just over a mile from my childhood home. Even though she has visited me many times in various urban neighborhoods, I can't seem to convey the difference.
On the other end of the spectrum the definitional ambiguity of "suburb" caused me quite a bit of angst. I lived in urban neighborhoods in Arlington and Alexandria, VA for years. Occasionally you encounter people who live in DC and just won't believe you when you say that while Pentagon City or Old Town Alexandria are, yes, technically suburbs of DC they are not actually suburban in nature.
That’s a great point. There are many small cities, including ones that are “suburban” in relationship to a nearby larger city. But we don’t have vocabulary to distinguish between that spatial/population relationship and the pattern of the built environment.
This is a great assessment and something I’ve experienced but never considered why the interactions are like this. I too use the word “walkable” because I don’t know how else to describe it. Thank you for putting this into words for me.
Whenever I say I live in Chicago while traveling, people often comment on the 'traffic.' For a long time, I would respond 'oh yeah it can be bad but I rely mostly on the L.' At some point, I realized they were almost universally referring to the act of living in the suburbs and getting into the city (aka the traffic) when visiting family or colleagues etc in "Chicago" aka the suburbs spanning from Indiana to Wisconsin.
I have never lived in the Chicago suburbs so have not actually experienced the 'traffic' as they are describing it on any kind of regular basis. It was a funny talking past each other moment and it also highlights that my home is viewed as 7 million other people's 'entertainment district' that they visit when they have relatives in town.
My favorite way of describing what I love about city life is that I can set out from my apartment in the morning with just my two feet and backpack, like Dora the Explorer. That’s all I need for my day to unfold before me, both the planned necessary parts and the inevitable surprises and opportunities.
I recently moved to a new city where I have to drive fairly frequently, because though I live in a neighborhood where I can enjoy city life locally, it is not the norm for the majority of neighborhoods around me. Every time I have to think about parking I get sad and miss the subway desperately.
Thanks for putting into words just how I feel like some people don't "get it". I've had so many family members just ask different variations of "how do you do X without owning a car?", and it feels like they never understand my answer haha.
I also think that among a certain track of middle class --> professional career track peers, the divide can start just with the college they attend---the ones who go to colleges with great walkability and integration into the urban fabric can see the appeal of city living (even if it's not for them!), while the others just can't.
There are definitely advantages to living in the suburbs. But the amount of dispersion and the fact that you can't walk (safely) to any business, even for a candy bar, makes for an isolating and boring experience.
It is tough to identify because of the stark differences between what is considered even a town or a city for so many people. In sprawling “cities” like Orlando, Houston, Dallas, etc… Many conversations I have with people and my family, they are surprised by the complete lack of grocery stores, things to do, libraries, parks, community colleges compared to an established, much smaller “city” like the college town I live in.. Where I have access to 15 plus grocery stores, specialty cultural ones too, all within 5-10 minute drive, and many within a 15 minute walk.
I think many people are surprised to hear they live what I consider rurally, when they technically live in a large “city” .. Yet even people who are 10 minutes away from me in the country, on a dirt road, with a farm, chickens, the works, they still are only a 5-10 minutes drive to major cultural events, entertainment, food options, variety of grocery stores, and many of those living “near the city” in sprawling suburbia have a 15 minutes drive to single grocery stores and no third spaces..
Great post! Excited to keep reading. You’ve done a great job to put language towards a very hard to articulate part of American life.
I've never been able to convince my mom that I did not grow up in a walkable neighborhood. She'll say things like "sure walkability sounds nice in theory but in practice everyone drives," citing the stripmall that was just over a mile from my childhood home. Even though she has visited me many times in various urban neighborhoods, I can't seem to convey the difference.
On the other end of the spectrum the definitional ambiguity of "suburb" caused me quite a bit of angst. I lived in urban neighborhoods in Arlington and Alexandria, VA for years. Occasionally you encounter people who live in DC and just won't believe you when you say that while Pentagon City or Old Town Alexandria are, yes, technically suburbs of DC they are not actually suburban in nature.
That’s a great point. There are many small cities, including ones that are “suburban” in relationship to a nearby larger city. But we don’t have vocabulary to distinguish between that spatial/population relationship and the pattern of the built environment.
This is a great assessment and something I’ve experienced but never considered why the interactions are like this. I too use the word “walkable” because I don’t know how else to describe it. Thank you for putting this into words for me.
Whenever I say I live in Chicago while traveling, people often comment on the 'traffic.' For a long time, I would respond 'oh yeah it can be bad but I rely mostly on the L.' At some point, I realized they were almost universally referring to the act of living in the suburbs and getting into the city (aka the traffic) when visiting family or colleagues etc in "Chicago" aka the suburbs spanning from Indiana to Wisconsin.
I have never lived in the Chicago suburbs so have not actually experienced the 'traffic' as they are describing it on any kind of regular basis. It was a funny talking past each other moment and it also highlights that my home is viewed as 7 million other people's 'entertainment district' that they visit when they have relatives in town.
My favorite way of describing what I love about city life is that I can set out from my apartment in the morning with just my two feet and backpack, like Dora the Explorer. That’s all I need for my day to unfold before me, both the planned necessary parts and the inevitable surprises and opportunities.
I recently moved to a new city where I have to drive fairly frequently, because though I live in a neighborhood where I can enjoy city life locally, it is not the norm for the majority of neighborhoods around me. Every time I have to think about parking I get sad and miss the subway desperately.
Really enjoyed reading this and was even more excited at the end. Gig’em from a fellow Aggie!
Gig’em!
Thanks for putting into words just how I feel like some people don't "get it". I've had so many family members just ask different variations of "how do you do X without owning a car?", and it feels like they never understand my answer haha.
I also think that among a certain track of middle class --> professional career track peers, the divide can start just with the college they attend---the ones who go to colleges with great walkability and integration into the urban fabric can see the appeal of city living (even if it's not for them!), while the others just can't.
There are definitely advantages to living in the suburbs. But the amount of dispersion and the fact that you can't walk (safely) to any business, even for a candy bar, makes for an isolating and boring experience.
Don't forget about small towns!
Small towns are an interesting case, but yes it’s true that some small towns have very healthy “city life.” I wrote a bit about that last year: https://www.freerange.city/p/when-urbanists-say-urban
It is tough to identify because of the stark differences between what is considered even a town or a city for so many people. In sprawling “cities” like Orlando, Houston, Dallas, etc… Many conversations I have with people and my family, they are surprised by the complete lack of grocery stores, things to do, libraries, parks, community colleges compared to an established, much smaller “city” like the college town I live in.. Where I have access to 15 plus grocery stores, specialty cultural ones too, all within 5-10 minute drive, and many within a 15 minute walk.
I think many people are surprised to hear they live what I consider rurally, when they technically live in a large “city” .. Yet even people who are 10 minutes away from me in the country, on a dirt road, with a farm, chickens, the works, they still are only a 5-10 minutes drive to major cultural events, entertainment, food options, variety of grocery stores, and many of those living “near the city” in sprawling suburbia have a 15 minutes drive to single grocery stores and no third spaces..
Great post! Excited to keep reading. You’ve done a great job to put language towards a very hard to articulate part of American life.