Will suburbia Die?

[restorationconsultant]

Hey costello_musicman the PBS special is called "The Return of the Cuyahoga" and I saw it on one of the local PBS digital channels , It was produced by florentine films and they have a website that I think gives you a link to air times. It realy did remind me of what seems to be going on here in Indy. I actually had to go East yesterday on business and I stopped at Washington Square. It looked like to me if you walled off target that mall would really be dead. More shop staff that people walking around shopping and the infill shops were kinda second rate. I live downtown and my new neighbors down the street moved from Fishers and they were telling me the other day about how much more time they have living downtown and how much more convenient everything is. I think if gas prices keep going up the burbs will start looking a lot less attractive. Unless they can really get a light rail and convince midwesterners to use it!

[costello_musicman]

If you want to see some interesting pics of a somewhat abandoned inner-ring suburb of Dayton, OH:

The New Suburban Gothic: Dayton after Peak Oil?

Maybe this goes along with what you're thinking.

[domergurl]

let's veer this back into Indiana ok?

[Rochellepotter]

How do you know there are gangs in Zionsville? Just wondering, I was looking to move there from California, land of gangs. Do you think I would feel very safe in Zionsville raising a family, what are your thoughts? Did you just see a tag (grafitti) or have there been shootings?

[restorationconsultant]

Rochelle there is gang activity in Indiana, and there are some real organized gangs too but its not like California,in suburbia its a lot of wanna be's, mostly bored rich high school kids with time on their hands. It is not something you need to be worried about. People here are finnaly starting to realize that they do need to lock their cars and houses at night. Something people in the rest of the United States have known for years. Indiana is about thesafest place you can be these days.

[domergurl]

Don't worry about gangs in Zionsville ... maybe gangs of drunk teenagers getting arrested at former NFL players homes, but that's about as gang banging as it gets.

[PhillyIndy]

I think this was the OP

The thought is as more families are dual career (~60% now), transportation costs and time in transport increase, and the housing market "evolves" you could see people opt for smaller (lower cost to maintain) homes closer in to work and commerical areas.

What is interesting is that when people left cities in the 50-80s, they left stone and brick homes behind. Those things are well built and can stand up with no help and were ready for rehab when folks moved back late 90s. Even the one carved into apartments were easy to turn back.

New suburban homes in general are not made as well. If left, they fall apart quicker. If rented, less care is exerted, and the fall apart. Also, they are big and will become more costly to maintain (heating 3500 sqft ain't cheap)

So goes the argument and a few stories out of the DC area in MD burbs....

So then eventually city public schools (by simple demographic change) become "good", commercial follows, etc etc etc