Suburban Living versus Urban Living In the early nineteenth century, during the Industrial Revolution, Americans gradually began selling their farms and trading the common suburban life with the adventurous fast-pace urban life. Today the majority of the American population chooses to dwell in cities, towns or suburbs; however, there are still many families living the country lifestyle. What influences an individual to select one way of living over another? The area in which one's home is located has effects on their way of life. Urban living and suburban living both have advantages and disadvantages, and these characteristics are what greatly influences peoples' decisions about where they should live. There are many aspects of living in suburban areas that may influence one's decision to live there. Suburban areas consist of primarily upper-class families. The presence of the wealthy families creates an environment with less crime and nicer neighborhoods. Another appealing aspect of suburban living is the peaceful environment. Suburban areas are more secluded and there are not as many closely-knit neighborhoods. Since homes are more secluded, it allows the residence more privacy. It also allows for more freedom. For example, people are allowed to own a larger variety of animals in suburban areas. Suburban living also has a negative side. The lack of convenience access to merchants and businesses is considered by most people a drawback of living in the country. People who choose to live in secluded suburban areas must be willing to travel to urban areas to shop for necessities as well as to enjoy urban entertainment. Suburban living has its peaks as well as its downfalls. To some people the bad aspects override the good ones, and these people choose to live in urban areas. Urban living like suburban living has positive and negative characteristics. The homes found in urban areas are primarily lower class. The absence of extra money creates an environment with more crime and run-down neighborhoods. In inner cities, the homes are found feet from each other. Since people live so close together, it causes the environment to be more disruptive and creates a less peaceful atmosphere. Having neighbors so close by in dangerous neighborhoods can also be a safety feature. It is easier to get help in emergencies if your neighbors are nearby. This may influence a person's decision on living in urban areas.
full employment, a good standard of living, family- focused values and the 'suburban dream' of a
Suburban life is a paradise full of shopping, colorful gardens, and well-groomed homes. Despite all these benefits, a suburban life is an isolated life. People living in suburbs are rarely exposed to misery in society. One of these conflicts is homelessness. When living in an environment surrounded by homes, individuals often have difficulty imagining not being able to sleep in a warm bed, eat a proper meal, or even receive necessary medical attention.
In modern suburbs things like cul-de-sacs and tangle towns are more common to be designed with. This makes it virtually impossible to include a mass transit system into the suburb. Thus, more driving, more gas use, and more emissions created in the atmosphere. A common response to this from a suburban residential is that the city is jam packed with congestion and pollution from stop and go traffic. Yet with cities, they are more dense, highly populated and many of the stop and go traffic is created by workers who live in the suburbs coming into the city at rush hour. One thing that works well in a typical city is mass transit. Things like buses, subways and train systems work well with block by square block areas, but not so with winding curving neighborhoods such as in suburbs. Another reason why mass transit does not play a major roll in the life of one who lives in a suburb is that suburban commuting consists of many different directions and destinations. Where as in the city typical people are commuting into the downtown. A central destination such as a downtown keeps things more conveniently close, and since so many people are making the trip to one single common place then gas can be saved by major carpooling, or in other words mass transit.
In this means, what is suburbanization? As indicated by my exploration and studies around there of history I can without a doubt recognize that suburbanization is on an extremely fundamental level the term used to depict the physical advancement of the city at the urban-commonplace fringe, or basically the edges of the city. This in
Even though the cost of living can be very high most residents never have to worry about paying for a car. Taking a train, subway, or taxi is cheaper than paying for a place to park a car each month and the time it would take to drive through the cities traffic. In the western region of New York seeing an apartment complex isn’t very common, but living in an apartment is considered the norm for the residents that live in New York City because houses are way over priced for the average person. Living in the city compared to a small western region town can help means of transportation, future personal success, and overall make life easier but at a fast
Herbert Gans piece on the mass production of suburban styled homes like Levittown with its homes on the outskirts of the city and mixed land uses closer within the core “ analyzes the suburbs and makes it evident that they are not a utopia” no matter the societal segregation they represent (Herbert Gans). These areas have their burdens resulting in physical and social isolation, no access to transportation, the start of gender roles, and inadequate decision making. In comparison, Pleasantville was a society of segregation due to the land constraints and urban planning of the society. Its visible that there is an increase in segregation between the suburban population and inner city. The higher class living in the suburbs would remain in that area unless it was for work.
In “The End of Suburbia”, the main purpose of the documentary is to explain the oil crisis as we are nearing the oil peak, and had reach the maximum oil supply in the world. That suburbs will likely fail because of this crisis. The documentary the main point they are trying to state, is that people in America cannot continue living the way, they do in Suburbs. The cost of maintaining that life style, is extremely expensive and not energy efficient, using far too much oil to be considered maintainable.
Gentrification does not follow traditional urban growth theory, which predicts ?the decline of inner city areas as monied classes move to the metropolitan fringe.? The traditional economic model of real estate says that wealthy people can choose their housing from the total city market (Schwirian 96). Once these people decide to live in the suburbs, the lower social classes move into the old homes of the upper class, essentially handing housing down the socioeconomic ladder. Gentrification is actually a reversal of this process. For a variety of reasons, many inner city areas are becoming more attractive to the wealthy, and they are selecting their housing in those areas (Schwirian 96). The problem is that now when the wealthy take over poor homes and renovate them, the poor cannot afford the housing that the wealthy have abandoned. Many researchers have argued whether gentrification has truly created problems in cities. I will analyze the arguments for and against gentrification by exploring the subject from both sides.
There were an abundance of spatial differences in terms of ethnic, convivial and occupational status, while there were low occurrences of the functional differences in land use patterns. The concentric model postulated a spatial disunion of place of work and place of residence, which was not generalized until the twentieth century.
Covert actions always seem to bring in more attention than something that is announced. Consequently, secluded home locations will make someone more valuable or important. This stipulation relies on the value of the house, but for the most part it is true. There is something about being tough to visit that makes a secluded home the perfect selection for the wealthy. Even when asking out that girl, the one that makes her hard to get, always exalts herself above all other choices. Then there are the choices that reside amongst the multitude. In past centuries, cities were always the home of the wealthy. Although the same is true present day, the majorities who live in cities today are often of the lowest class. Small rooms stacked upon one another where the entire family lives on the same block is much easier and quicker to construct than houses that are spread apart one another. Thus, lowering the price, and standard, of living in cities. Making this the ideal choice for the poor and undecided. Right in the middle of the other two choices is suburban living. Based on the fact that they are secluded to the city, but not to each other, they do not attract the rich. The relative build-quality of these homes makes it unaffordable to the poor. Here are where much of the middle class live. These choices are valuable to the person in search of purchasing a home; this also denotes the social class of many.
If you love the environment, a rural area is for you. With less pollution comes a healthier place to live. Poor air quality increases the rate of strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and many more. More than 80 percent of people living in urban areas are now exposed to air quality levels that exceed safe limits. Along with that less smog makes it easier to breathe. Even if you want to grow a garden you can, you have more space and the better air quality too. When you are in the city you can't see the stars at night, but in small towns, you see them all the time at night. Towns are so peaceful that you can even hear the birds and crickets chirping. By or near towns there is usually non-GMO farms which are better for everyone. Now I don't think you want to live in a place that is unhealthy for you? So living in a small town would protect the environment and is a healthier way of
Imagine having to choose to reside in one place for the rest of your life. Which would you opt for? Some people would argue that the hyperactive lifestyle that a big city has to offer has more benefits than living in the country. However, others would contend that the calm and peaceful environment of the countryside is much more rewarding. Several people move from the city to a farm to get away from the hustle and bustle. Likewise, some farmers have traded in their tractors and animals to live a fast paced city life. Of course, not all large cities are the same nor are all of the places in the country identical. Realizing this, ten years ago, I decided to hang up the city life in Indiana to pursue a more laid back approach to life in rural Tennessee. Certainly, city life and life in the country have their benefits, but they also have distinguishable differences.
On the other hand the neighborhood I live in now isn’t much of a neighborhood at all, it’s just a street that has multiple apartment buildings. I feel more as though my apartment complex is an entire neighborhood in itself than my street or my town actually is. There’s also upsides to a living so close to your neighbors such as you’re able to ask them for anything you might need and you’re able to get to know them on a more personal level. In my other neighborhood we also knew each other, but people didn’t seem to see each other as often or interact as much because everybody was so distant from each
One major issue affecting many people trying to make the decision on where to live is their quality of life in either extreme. Health, education, transportation are three major concerns that many consider. In a city, pollution surrounds you wherever you step whether on the streets of a busy financial district or on the lawn of a large park. Pollution could possibly cause health problems later in life. In the country, pollution is scarce. Fresh air, rolling green hills, a few pieces of litter here and there but pretty much everything is clean, and wow! No smog, you can see the stars! In the country, childhood education, kindergarten through twelfth grade, is significantly better than in a large city; smaller class sizes and larger budgets create excellent learning environments. In cities, public schools are often plagued with very large classes packed into small spaces. Teachers with low pay, and little or no dedication are thrown into classrooms to teach, resulting in poor education. Transportation is very accessible in city environments. Public transportation, by way of subways, busses and ferries, are cheap and easy ways of getting around a metropolis, whether going out to work, school, or for a night on the town. In the country, everyone needs to have access to his or her own vehicle. A commute to work or school is about an average of forty-five minutes!
Where I live is one of the greatest neighborhoods in the city to live in; however it does have its draw backs. Importantly it has nearly everything a resident might want, beautiful picturesque scenery, proximity to shopping, and many of the cultural centers. Nevertheless the roads can be some of the most congested in town, and the streets are not safe to walk late at night.