To celebrate the fact that the Atlantic is now letting non-subscribers read their articles, let's talk about "The Next Slum"?
The author, Christopher Leinberger, argues that homebuyers' tastes have changed. They no longer desire huge lawns on deserted cul-de-sacs. Everybody is sick of the Gap in the mall. People want the urban lifestyle. So, all the McMansions that multiplied in the 1980s are turning into slums. Those grand atriums are empty or filled with dodgy renters. Urban areas are improving their schools and offering safer streets. People are moving back to the cities.
I'm one of those who prefers an urban lifestyle. We've got a foot of snow out here right now, but we're going into the city tonight for date-night even if we have to attach a snow plow to the front of the Toyota. When the lack of affordable housing and the quality of schools forced us out to the suburbs, we chose to live in the center of an older suburban neighborhood. It has an urban flavor.
Our house has the high ceilings and fat moldings of a city apartment. Our lawn is very small. We can walk to a Starbucks and a bagel store. We immediately started yuppifying our old house.
This kind of living is also very green. My husband walks to the bus, which takes him to work. We only need one car. Our patch of grass doesn't need much water. Instead of building a new home, we're fixing up a 100 year old home. The old home was built so well that we don't need central air-conditioning.
If you look around the other homes in our downtown area and you'll see a few families like ours -- educated, professionals. But you'll also see many driveways with piles of contracting refuse. Several of the homes have been carved up into illegal sublets. One house is full of illegal Mexicans farming pepper plants on their front lawn. The roof on the porch has collapsed and the town refuses to condemn it.
Our walkable downtown is one of the real perks of living in the town, along with the easy commute into Manhattan. But our town is filled with struggling contractors and seniors who can't afford the high taxes, so they want to increase the ratables in town. They want to kick out Starbucks and put in a drive in Kentucky Fried Chicken.
I thought that we would be pioneers out here. I thought our downtown area would attract all sorts of people like us who were interested in urban-esque living.
I'm not seeing it. The bigger homes are holding their value. There aren't any big changes in our neighborhood. Instead of new urbanism, I'm seeing the same old preference patterns for driving culture and large lawns.