The new American suburb: diverse, dense, and booming

An increasing number of signs show that American suburbs might be in for some substantial changes in the near future. New reports suggest factors such as walkability and density, traditionally urban considerations, will become core principles of suburban planning in the next decade.

Patrick Sisson of Curbed writes of the coming developments, arguing that the popularity and attractiveness of urban places will fundamentally change how we build the suburbs. From the article:

“American suburbs are far from a static set of cookie-cutter housing developments, the rows of infamous “ticky-tacky little boxes” popularized as soon as the postwar housing boom started. But a forthcoming new report, Demographic Strategies for Real Estate, suggests that this archetypical part of the American landscape, which has constantly been evolving, is in for some massive changes over the next decade that will reshape planning, land-use, and the real estate market.

Compiled by John Burns Real Estate Consulting for the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the report lays out a vision of suburbia at odds with the Betty Draper stereotype of the ‘50s. Powered by social and demographic shifts involving young workers, immigrants, working women, and retirees, suburbs will get denser, more diverse, and more urban.”

For the full story, continue reading at Curbed.