The Suburban Experiment Has an 80-Year Head Start
Sometimes, when we face the enormity of North America's struggles with housing, street safety and infrastructure maintenance, the sheer number of obstacles before a well-intentioned local advocate can feel overwhelming. If that's where you're at, stop and take a breath. The Suburban Experiment has an 80-year head start on us, so let’s spot ourselves a good 40 years before we become too discouraged.
This message is a necessary antidote to the frustration, weariness and despair that faces a strong citizen who starts to really grasp how widespread the damage to our communities has become.
If we were a Soviet official inspecting the impacts of the Chernobyl meltdown on affected communities, we’d rightly say that the damage of radiation exposure had impacted the muscles, skeletons and even bonds in the DNA molecules of community members.
Yes, I know that this is a really intense metaphor to employ while discussing the impacts of the Suburban Experiment. But it fits.
This continent-wide experiment is taking its toll on our places.
Our places are weaker and more fragile. Previously functional pathways that created local prosperity have been blockaded by regulations and codes that perpetuate a single growth pattern at the expense of all others. Previously robust municipal balance sheets have been raided to provide a fig leaf of prosperity that hides our looming insolvency.
Exclusion by class.
Resistance to change.
The assumption of auto-dependency.
These are the hallmarks of the Suburban Experiment, and the sickness that these standards have created in our places is going to be with us for a long time.
So spot yourself 40 years before you become too discouraged.
It’s possible to fix what ails us. But we need to do so with what we have: resolve, a recognition of our errors, and a return to the humble practice of persistent and prudent investments in the many small bets that make for great places.
I have the privilege of talking with community leaders from all over, and I can tell you that I see an equal measure of grim determination and hopeful optimism.
We know that we face a problem of our own making — an experiment in building places that has unwittingly trapped us in a cycle of decline.
“But everything is fine!” cries a few…whose number grows smaller by the year.
“But we can do so many things to correct this!” cries a growing movement of strong citizens.
Local Conversations are leading the charge in creating more prosperous and resilient places.
You have a place in this movement — you really do! And if you’re not already a member, become one today. It’ll be a small thing that will help you face the size of the head start that we’ve given the Suburban Experiment and will put you in the vanguard of a growing cohort of change-makers. The days ahead of us will bring change, and it’s our obligation to be good stewards of the places we commit to changing.
Time travelers, as fictional writers realized, are aware that even small changes will deliver lasting results in the grand scheme of things. Duane Nicol, the city manager of Selkirk, Manitoba, told me that he views his role in his city as that of a time traveler sent back in time. He’s convinced himself (and me) that his obligation is to make the small tweaks, subtle corrections and careful refinements to his place that will have an outsized impact on the future of his community.
From that perspective, an 80-year head start isn’t so insurmountable, is it?
Bolster your place in the Strong Towns movement by becoming a member today. Let’s see what we can accomplish together in the next 40 years!
Strong Towns is helping local leaders, technical professionals and involved residents across North America make their communities more prosperous and financially resilient.
This movement needs you. Become a member today.