Are the suburbs the new cool in Columbus?
the270.com wrote
Ha ha ha, the suburbs are the new cool
By wyliemac | October 11, 2007
With all due respect to the Columbus Underground urban apologists, but you really ought to rethink your urbanery (i.e. urban snobbery). I know you don’t want to admit it. But the suburbs are cool. Need proof? Check out Detail’s “Is it time to move to the suburbs?”
So let’s think local. And for me, Dublin is local. We’ve got TehKu. We’ve got Corazón. We’ve got Old Dublin. We’ve got Giant Dancing Bunnies. And of course, we’ve got giant freakin Corn. Oh yea, we’ve got the Dublin Irish Festival.
Yea, we might not be a very walkable city. But we’ve got excellent bike paths. So please CU urban guys, stop putting the ‘burbs down. You know who you are.
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Related Tags: cool • dublin • sprawl • suburbs • the270
October 11th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Joel Kotkin makes his living off of just this kind of provocation. Seen it for years and I’m bored. He’s pretty much considered a joke anyway.
Thing is, the suburbs have already won– we urbanites are not snobs. We’re a very slim minority of folks who choose to live in a neighborhoods most normal Americans wouldn’t be caught dead in after dark. We are lovers of the old city, the pedestrian friendliness, and we are and have been on the losing side of the issue for sixty years. That post is rubbish. Of course most people like suburbs better, the proof is in the population stats, the school system stats, the purchasing power, the gated communities, the proliferation of strip malls, and the fact that most downtowns, including ours, are still waiting for their day in the sun. Urbanites are passionate, opinionated, etc. We have to be.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
“Are the suburbs are the new cool in Columbus?”
no.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
I live just inside the outerbelt, and, while I don’t hate it here enough to move, I definitely find suburban living a bit of a pain. I live where I live primarily because of my apartment’s proximity to my work place, but the pedestrian unfriendliness of the area (I live near the intersection of 161 and Sawmill) makes it pretty uncomfortable to walk to work if I get the urge to do so.
There are definitely advantages to living here– space, cost of living, some commercial convenience (and I say some because traffic can offset a lot of that convenience), but a lot of me still yearns to be closer to the real culture and heart of the city.
Especially with gas prices being what they are, I’m not sure I’ll relocate unless my job changes or I can telecommute, but I’m always open to suggestion. Do those of you living in Columbus proper think it’d be worth dealing with longer, more frustrating, and more expensive commutes to and from work?
October 11th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Having recently witnessed how much traffic and headache exists upon our roadways I would have to say that urban living has to win. I am however one of the first to jump at the chance to get away from downtown from time to time. What can I say? I grew up in the suburbs and you always like to return to your roots. Easton anyone?
October 11th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
+1
October 11th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
So I read the Details article…
Ah yes, the fabulous Segway makes an appearance! (I hate those things.) Unless he’s disabled, he ought to walk, or bike.
OK, so I guess people are leaving cities because they are too expensive, possibly a solid theory.
Oh so this guy moved out of the city because it was expensive, right? Uhm, where did he move to?
Yea, uhm…. Naperville is a very boring suburb, very homogenous, and very very expensive. Whoops!
It did bring up some other interesting points, but the Naperville example didn’t really help the case.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Funny that he references the show, “Weeds.” If I remember correctly, the opening credits to that show is a statement about the homogeneity of the burbs.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
The best part of living downtown is that your commute is ALWAYS easy. Either you walk, take the bus, or one day hopefully, a streetcar to work *woohoo* OR you drive against traffic. I drive to Polaris every morning. I like to look over on the other side and giggle as I fly past all the people sitting on the highway trying to get in to downtown. Doesn’t mean I won’t do anything I can to get me a lightrail to Polaris, but for now it’s nothing. Well, to me it’s nothing, but I’m used to an hour one-way commute to go 22 miles, so anything is easy here and I think people who complain about taffic in Columbus are spoiled cry-babies ;)
October 11th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Columbus hasn’t grown up yet even as we sit in a region of suburbs. Hell, most of the city is a suburb (Bethel, Northland, Easton, Tuttle, Polaris, etc.) Hell, most of the inner city is recovering from being suburban (with all our parking lots and empty spaces). We don’t have city things like trains and 18-hour sidewalks, and our homes are not as expensive as most in the ‘burbs (especially the property taxes). That article was very first-tier city oriented (NYC, Chicago…). We should grow up first, huh?
October 11th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Yeah, I thought that too. The whole show is basically about what looks good on the outside is rarely the case on the inside.
“And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky and they all look just the same.”
October 11th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Yeah, that’s real cool. I think I’ll move from the Short North to the little boxes. Why didn’t I realize this before! :wink:
October 11th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
I have to concur with what somertimeoh said.
I’ve lived in German Village / Brewery District for quite awhile now and I’ve worked near Easton, near Grandview and near Grove City during that time. Even though I had a commute, it really wasn’t too bad leaving the city at 8am and coming back into it at 5pm. The traffic the other way was often pretty heavy if not bumper-to-bumper, so I guess if your job has different hours, YMMV (literally).
Ultimately, I think it all boils down to how you want to spend your time on the planet. I commend you for living close to your job and minimzing your time the car. But if you’d rather spend some time walking during non-work hours and can handle that 15-20 minute drive to work, then move to where you’d be happy to live.
I’ve got plenty of friends who live in the suburbs, and they’re perfectly happy people. To each his or her own.
:wink:
October 11th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
You’re right. It’s a free country. That-cool. And the choice is clear– quiet downtown sidewalks after 5. Lovely! :lol:
October 11th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Most suburbs don’t have enough character for me to consider cool. I think of McMansions. Gated communities. Home owner associations.
It has it’s place I guess, It’s just not my cup of tea.
October 11th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
That’s a great point, Roland. One thing that that blog neglects to mention is that the McMansions, gated communities, lawns, etc. is what most people choose, or would choose if they could (the most impoverished). Others (urbanites) are considered outlandish, risk-takers, freaks, fringers, bohemians– not normal folk in the larger American culture. That’s why it’s floors me that the article says the suburbs are “cool again” and suddenly in demand when they have been since the end of WWII. Sheesh!
October 11th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
A lot of the suburbs have “downtown” areas that were the original settlements when the cities were started. Many of them remain fairly untouched and retain quite a bit of their charm (walkability, historic buildings, small businesses, etc), but at the same time they suffer from the same problem as downtown Columbus… they’re underused.
Some of them (here, here) are trying to do something to breathe new life into those areas, but it’s going to be tough. People are going to complain about a lack of parking in Olde Hilliarde and Olde Canale Winchestere to shop at a small boutique store when they can head to the newest strip mall development and park where they want.
Still, I give them props for trying.
October 11th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
When I was in High School, I lived in downtown Worthington. I could have walked anywhere in that area, and there were lots of places to go. Of course most of them were overpriced places that no teenager would frequent. It’s not as sanitized as some town centers, but yeah, not really urban enough (of course classify urban, no clubs or seedy bars or performance spaces anyway).
I wish I had the foresight to use the bus back then…
Hindsight, 20/20.
October 11th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
There is also the issue of sustainability.
Regardless of what is considered cool, or what our personal preferences are, the choice to live a largely car-centric lifestyle requires buying lots and lots of gasoline, which also means dependence upon foreign oil.
If the cost of energy continues to rise over the long-term, will the suburban way of life remain a viable option, even if it is preferred?
October 11th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Yes, I believe it will. I saw on tv last month where some talking head said that if gas rose to 10 bucks, Americans would cut almost everything out of their lives to drive. It’s a powerful force. And today, the majority (especially young people) didn’t ‘leave” the city or “flee” it. They grew up in a subdivision. It’s what they know. It’s normal. Cities are fighting against this cultural norm, and most are perpetually losing the vote of feet.
October 12th, 2007 at 12:32 am
A friend of mine wrote a piece in defense of suburbs and more specifically,
free parking. His point was essentially people for good reason leave to be far from the problems Downtown (crime, poor schools, etc.) and my comment on his post cites places like Bexley doing well enough despite their proximity to Downtown.
Other than sharing that, I too live in Dublin and it’s not nearly as wonderful (or non-creepy) as the270 made it seem. Having to drive three blocks to go to Tuttle Mall from my apartment the other day wasn’t my idea of efficient.
October 12th, 2007 at 6:32 am
Personally, I think one of the supposed “charms” of the suburbs is the friendly, safe, community thing…and I just don’t buy it. I grew up the first 18 years of my life in U.A. and my folks are in Hilliard, and I can say without a doubt they don’t have nearly the sense of community and neighborly friendship that I experience every day in German Village. And although there’s certainly less violent crime in most burbs, I doubt the property crime really is all that different (at least it wasn’t when I was growing up).
October 12th, 2007 at 7:04 am
I agree with the Details article and columbus in that a lot of first tier cities ahve gotten way too expensive in certain areas. But alot of them, new york included, still have tons of neighborhoods that are affordable (whether everyone wants to live in them is besides the point). But new york is so well laid with subway and busses that most places people would move are reasonably well connected.
When I lived in NYC, Fort Green was sort of this “eh” place to live, now it has become a really neat neighborhood to live in……..and that sort of thing spreads…..
October 12th, 2007 at 9:06 am
Battleground CU: Urban vs. Suburban
Why is is that there needs to be a polarizing civil war on what is a “better” place to live?
I live in Columbus, but it’s more suburban neighborhood. I do so cuz my “kid” is a German Shepherd who needs some stomping (read: pooping) ground. So…that is what i have to have for my family’s lifestyle.
I dig downtown Columbus and would otherwise love to live in the SN, Arena VV area.
Having said that, I never understand the “we’re better” arguments…as if there is some objective way of quantifying a residential choice. I just think that if folk can’t picture their wants, needs in a different environment they should not simply assess the alternative as inherently bad.
Coremodels, as expected, is throwing this exact tripe around by asserting unequivocally that the suburbs do not possess a sense of community….
Sorry coremodels…but your absolutism is subjective…and also laughable.
It’s no different that a suburbanite posting that downtown is just a cesspool of homeless crackhead prostitutes.
Of the many mistakes polarized folk make while assessing “the enemy” let me make one thing objectively clear: there is WAY more traffic in the burbs than downtown.
Downtown Columbus is the greatest city for getting in, eating, drinking, hockey-watching, etc etc that I have ever experienced. Ample parking, easy in-out road access. Simply fan-effin-tastic.
I cringe if I have to be in Westerville, Polaris, Powell, Dublin, etc anytime from 4-6PM as it’s nuthin but brake lights and frustration.
So when a suburbanite mentions “downtown traffic”, I cringe.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:23 am
I think ANYWHERE to live is what you make of it. Based purely on my own observations, I think a major reason why urban areas are seen as more social/friendly/higher sense of community is because you’re out and walking more - walking to get to the park, the store, the bar, etc. Since you’re out walking more, you’re more likely to run into people and therefore more likely to get to know folks.
That said, for the folks who take the time to get out & walk in their suburban neighborhoods (for exercise, air, fun, whatever), or get involved there (even with *gasp* the dreaded Homeowner’s Association), you’ll find the people you run into are JUST as friendly, and you’ll find yourself experiencing the same feeling of community. It just takes a little more effort because you’re otherwise not out walking there.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Actually, the credits and show parallel this discussion.
The credits take the position of urbanites: that the burbs are the same houses filled with the same people doing the same things the exact same way.
The show goes on to assert that while presumptions are made that all ib suburbia is “made of ticky-tacky” that those little boxes are actually inhabited by:
widowed drug dealers
brilliant, socially conscious youth
breast cancer survivors
corrupt politicians
middle-age crises
childeren of bitter divorce
materialistic jesus freaks
and most importantly:
3-toed fetish porn stars
Hardly “ticky-tacky”. Thus the point of the show and a legitimate comparison for the sake of this thread.