HSOC-273: Sub-Urban

SUB-URBAN With city centers all over the U.S. enjoying a new wave of revitalization, one would think that the edges of the metropolis are losing their flair. That assumption would be false. The pattern of suburban living, which gets underway in the 1920s, is still going strong. Today most Americans live in old streetcar suburbs, post WWII automobile-centered tract-home subdivisions, later 20th century exurbs, edge cities, or in newly urbanized master-planned communities far from any city center. This mass migration from cities is one of the most fundamental social and geographical transformations in recent U.S. history. The SUB-URBAN realm is not only a distinct physical environment, it has become a major defining force in the construction of modern American life as well as the lives of others who inhabit the favelas of Sao Paulo or the new sprawling developments of Beijing. No matter what one thinks of this built form, the SUB-URBAN is ever-present and continually evolving. This course will investigate the past and present reality of suburbia in all of its varied guises.