Comments on: Where Suburbs Come From http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/2009/05/22/where-suburbs-come-from/ The source on how we live, work and play Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:10:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Adrian Mohareb http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/2009/05/22/where-suburbs-come-from/comment-page-1/#comment-12636 Adrian Mohareb Sat, 23 May 2009 11:51:01 +0000 http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/?p=11397#comment-12636 While Cox may have a correct insight, I agree with the commenters on his article - the data he provides is too empty to support his conclusion. I can't speak to most of his examples, but Stockholm's central core's population probably has more to do with the decrease in the size of average household in Sweden and a shift in building locations during that period than a flight from the centre. If building (which appears to be more centrally planned in Sweden than in North America) were to take place in the centre of the city, people would move there, mostly out of necessity - there is a serious housing shortage in Stockholm. While Cox may have a correct insight, I agree with the commenters on his article – the data he provides is too empty to support his conclusion.

I can’t speak to most of his examples, but Stockholm’s central core’s population probably has more to do with the decrease in the size of average household in Sweden and a shift in building locations during that period than a flight from the centre. If building (which appears to be more centrally planned in Sweden than in North America) were to take place in the centre of the city, people would move there, mostly out of necessity – there is a serious housing shortage in Stockholm.

]]> By: Michael Wells http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/2009/05/22/where-suburbs-come-from/comment-page-1/#comment-12631 Michael Wells Sat, 23 May 2009 04:54:40 +0000 http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/?p=11397#comment-12631 I was book browsing and saw one called something like "Why I'm Optimistic" with short pieces by several authors. Stewart Brand's article was about the growth of cities, actually urban areas including suburbs. He repeated the often cited fact that when people move to cities their number of children drops, cities act as birth control. But he also talked about the huge slums around third world megacities and their staggering poverty. He said that the slums don't create poverty and disease, they make it visible. The people moving to the cities were desperately poor and sick in the country, but spread out and invisible and hard to serve. In cities they're visible and can organize so governments and international organizations are forced to do something -- and they're more concentrated, so improving their lives is more efficient. Paul Hawkin makes somewhat the same argument in the book "How Sustainable Is Your City?" He says it takes fewer resources -- water, wood, electricity, etc. to provide a decent life in a city than in the country. I was book browsing and saw one called something like “Why I’m Optimistic” with short pieces by several authors. Stewart Brand’s article was about the growth of cities, actually urban areas including suburbs. He repeated the often cited fact that when people move to cities their number of children drops, cities act as birth control. But he also talked about the huge slums around third world megacities and their staggering poverty. He said that the slums don’t create poverty and disease, they make it visible. The people moving to the cities were desperately poor and sick in the country, but spread out and invisible and hard to serve. In cities they’re visible and can organize so governments and international organizations are forced to do something — and they’re more concentrated, so improving their lives is more efficient.

Paul Hawkin makes somewhat the same argument in the book “How Sustainable Is Your City?” He says it takes fewer resources — water, wood, electricity, etc. to provide a decent life in a city than in the country.

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