Suburbia has a long history, extending back at least as far as the European and American
railway suburbs that arose as retreats from the polluted industrial cities for the comfortable
middle class. But suburbanization took on new form and historical significance in the 1920s
and in the years following World War 2. The initial locus was America, and the catalyzing
technology was the automobile. In Crabgrass Frontier, Kenneth T. Jackson, sometimes
called the dean of American urban histories, provides a sweeping overview of the “suburban
revolution” in the United States.
In the chapter entitled “The Drive-in Culture of Contemporary America” he lays out a
devastating critique of the mostly negative social and cultural effects that the private
automobile has had on urban society.
Jackson’s well-documented analysis of the artifacts of suburban culture - everything from
three-car garages to drive-in churches - stands as a definitive statement on how the
automobile transformed both the structure and social life of modern cities.
Jackson has been called an “urban pessimist” because of his dark view of suburbanization -
a recent work on progress on American transportation policy is entitled The Road To Hell -
but in a recent interview he noted that he now sees “a ray of hope” for cities “after a long
decline”. The reasons for his hopes include the growing realization that cities can be made
“walkable”, more bicycle-friendly, and less dependent on automobiles.
railway suburbs that arose as retreats from the polluted industrial cities for the comfortable
middle class. But suburbanization took on new form and historical significance in the 1920s
and in the years following World War 2. The initial locus was America, and the catalyzing
technology was the automobile. In Crabgrass Frontier, Kenneth T. Jackson, sometimes
called the dean of American urban histories, provides a sweeping overview of the “suburban
revolution” in the United States.
In the chapter entitled “The Drive-in Culture of Contemporary America” he lays out a
devastating critique of the mostly negative social and cultural effects that the private
automobile has had on urban society.
Jackson’s well-documented analysis of the artifacts of suburban culture - everything from
three-car garages to drive-in churches - stands as a definitive statement on how the
automobile transformed both the structure and social life of modern cities.
Jackson has been called an “urban pessimist” because of his dark view of suburbanization -
a recent work on progress on American transportation policy is entitled The Road To Hell -
but in a recent interview he noted that he now sees “a ray of hope” for cities “after a long
decline”. The reasons for his hopes include the growing realization that cities can be made
“walkable”, more bicycle-friendly, and less dependent on automobiles.
