Reddit mentions of Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States

Thanks, glad to see people are taking the time to read it. IMO, there's a reason why city-states were the basic structure of settlement for centuries.

Here's some additional reading if you're so inclined:

Suburban Nation: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865477507/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details

The Wealth of Cities: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738201340/ref=oh_o06_s00_i00_details

Crabgrass Frontier: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195049837/ref=oh_o05_s00_i00_details

Green Metropolis (great look at the environmental aspects of sprawl from a non-traditional viewpoint. Gotta love any green stuff that rips into the sierra club) : http://www.amazon.com/Green-Metropolis-Smaller-Driving-Sustainability/dp/B002YNS422/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333550929&sr=8-1

The challenge before us is very difficult, it is not easy to lift up a group of people that has been historically disenfranchised. But consider this, we had slavery for a longer period of time than we've had our independence. We have statistics, and we have the interpretation of statistics. Information helps us, but we need to look at the root causes of those statistics.

Why are more black Americans incarcerated? Why are more of them living in poverty? Is it biological? Or was it because of what we've done?

I highly suggest any material written Ta-Nehisi Coates to better understand and take in that broad view of how American and her citizens came to be.

> People are colorless and genderless as far as laws are concerned.

Statistically this is not true. Your color and gender have an astounding affect on the unique challenges you face. And we all face our own challenges, but that does not diminish the challenges others face. I highly suggest The Warmth of Other Suns and Crabgrass Frontier to better understand how policy and government has affected us.

Racism and bigotry is very, very alive today. We're not even seventy years out from the civil rights movement. 1960 was only 57 years ago. You can talk with people that lived with segregation, lived during periods of more lynching. We have to come to terms with this and address the harm we've done.

And yes it will be difficult, I don't have all the solutions to fix the problem, but being aware of our history helps us identify the wounds we need to treat. Listen to some James Baldwin, he says so much so well.

This is a thorough book on the subject. Kind of a slog - much easier listening to the Audible version than reading the Kindle version. Worth the work, though.

I was listening to Fresh Air a couple of days ago, just in passing, and TG was interviewing a man who has written a book covering US housing policies that led to segregation in the cities and suburbs.

Chapter 14: “The Drive-in Culture of Contemporary America,” if you really want to know.

If you'd like a very good take on the subject of suburbanization and the trappings thereof (including lawns and the like,) see Kenneth Jackson's Crabgrass Frontier.

It's more-or-less required reading for US history PhD exams. Many books have used it as a springboard, but it's probably still the best overview.

Good books to read about the origins of Suburban Sprawl...

• Crabgrass Frontier
  
  
• Building Suburbia
  
  Both give a good history of the forces behind the development of the American suburb.