Suburbs

Northbrook Police's Gun Giveaway Program Under Fire

Ellen Gill | Posted 11.16.2009 | Chicago


Ellen Gill

Many residents of Northbrook and the surrounding suburbs are upset about the gun giveaway because it will put more weapons in our neighborhood.

The Philip Roth Reader: What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

Karen Stabiner | Posted 11.02.2009 | Books


Karen Stabiner

In the summer between my freshman and sophomore year in college I got a postcard from a boy in my sociology class. It read something like this: "Please, read Goodbye, Columbus right now."

Can Wal-Mart Think Smaller?

Al Norman | Posted 10.22.2009 | Business


Al Norman

Wal-Mart is hinting at smaller stores. The reality: land is not available anywhere for the classic Wal-Mart supercenter, weighing in at over 200,000 square feet.

Suburban Towns Strive To Be Environmentally Aware

nytimes.com | MIREYA NAVARRO | Posted 10.12.2009 | Green


Some of these towns are offering energy retrofits; others furnish free parking to fuel-efficient hybrid cars. Yet others are limiting or banning the u...

Waste Not Want Not: City Living is the Way to a Wealthier Nation

John Petro | Posted 11.29.2009 | Green


John Petro

To reduce the country's excessive energy consumption, we need to make our new and existing suburbs more like cities. This means embracing the principles of smart growth and transit-oriented development.

The Great Divide: Swimming Against the Tide in Suburbia

Tina Traster | Posted 09.12.2009 | Living


Tina Traster

Not playing by the rules is dicey in suburbia where children are raised in a culture of uniformity. I don't let my daughter go to birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese or eat cafeteria school food or watch television during the week. This makes her different. This makes us different.

The End of the Age of Oil: Will It Be a Soft or Hard Landing?

Anis Shivani | Posted 08.15.2009 | Business


Anis Shivani

Reading Steiner's $20 Per Gallon makes us realize how contingent our way of life is, and how uncertain its future prospects are.

Field of Dreams: Organic Gardens Planted To Lure Homebuyers

nytimes.com | ALEC APPELBAUM | Posted 08.01.2009 | Green


From Vermont to central California, developers are creating subdivisions around organic farms to attract buyers. If you plant it, these developers bel...

Curbing Our Enthusiasm for Perfect Lawns

Juli Charkes | Posted 07.25.2009 | Green


Juli Charkes

The need to create a thick mat of civilized green has come at a cost. American soil has become a de-facto dumping ground for chemicals that threaten our health.

Revive U.S. Housing by Killing Cars and 'Spurbs'

John F. Wasik | Posted 07.25.2009 | Politics


John F. Wasik

If U.S. housing is going to rebound long-term, we need to vanquish the car and stop encouraging sprawl.

Financial Crisis Spawns "Suburban Survivalists"

AP | GILLIAN FLACCUS | Posted 06.26.2009 | Living


SAN DIEGO — Six months ago, Jim Wiseman didn't even have a spare nutrition bar in his kitchen cabinet. Now, the 54-year-old businessman and fat...

So Cal Chronicles Suburban-Style

Jane Minogue | Posted 06.06.2009 | Style


Jane Minogue

At the checkout in front of me was a frail, elderly lady in a gray sweat suit. Her liver-spotted hands shook as she put 2 jugs of wine onto the counter. One red, one white. Her drugs of choice.

Is America's Love Affair With The "Exburbs" Over?

Reuters | Posted 05.10.2009 | Business


Jean Bell didn't plan to take care of her neighbor's lawn when she moved to this cluster of brick townhouses hard by the freeway. But the house next ...

The Un-Malling of America

Bob Giloth | Posted 05.01.2009 | Business


Bob Giloth

"More than 400 of the 2,000 largest malls in the U.S.have closed in the past two years...[I]n the past 12 months, retail sales have dropped an unprece...

Barack Obama and the American Dream

Lauri Lyons | Posted 03.01.2009 | Politics


Lauri Lyons

The past four decades have been a mixture of social growing pains and progress. Even with that said, most people never believed that a Black man would become the President.

Who Says You Can't Go Home?

Carey Polis | Posted 01.13.2009 | Living


Carey Polis

I know very few people who are truly happy with their post-college lives. But, as much as I want to conveniently use the term "quarterlife crisis," it's not what's going on.

GOP: Imploding, Meaningless, and Run by Crazies, But not Dead

Paul Jenkins | Posted 01.07.2009 | Politics


Paul Jenkins

Beyond its regional concentration, the Republican Party's face is from another time. Indeed, nearly half of the Republican caucus is composed of Southern white men.

Revolutionary Road's Not So Revolutionary: But Thanks to Leo and Kate, It's Worth the Watch

Michael Russnow | Posted 01.03.2009 | Entertainment


Michael Russnow

Revolutionary Road plods ever forward to the final fade out, but it still encompasses some wonderful moments and makes us look forward to the next pairing of Leo and Kate.

Poverty Spreading To The Suburbs

Reuters | Posted 12.29.2008 | Business


Poverty in the United States is spreading from rural and inner-city areas to the suburbs, according a study, a situation that can worsen as the econom...

Permaculture: Homegrown Independence

Anthony Anderson | Posted 10.11.2008 | Green


Anthony Anderson

Do we like the idea of independence, but how dependent are we on cheap oil, cheap and clean water, and food grown by strangers shipped from thousands of miles away?

City Mouse, Country Mouse: Who Spends More?

Maura Judkis | Posted 09.21.2008 | Green


Maura Judkis

If you're searching for a house, the tool could be a good way for you to find the ideal combination of affordability and convenience.

Very Smart Growth

Jared Seeger | Posted 08.09.2008 | Green


Jared Seeger

When it comes to choosing places to live, many of us don't seem to listen to our inner monologue.

"Home, Sweat Home"

Jerry Zezima | Posted 07.26.2008 | Living


Jerry Zezima

In the last 10 years, I have learned that a house is not a home unless there is something to do. And there always is.

Paint Misbehaving: Why is There Graffiti in My Suburb?!

Joel Schwartzberg | Posted 07.17.2008 | Living


Joel Schwartzberg

When I first moved to New Jersey's quaint suburbs eight years ago, one persistent phenomena seemed shockingly out of place. Amidst the pleasing bagel ...

A Historic Opportunity to Improve Our Cities

Jay Walljasper | Posted 07.09.2008 | Green


Jay Walljasper

Under the weight of gasoline prices, along with increased costs for heating and cooling suburban homes, today's affluent subdivisions might become tomorrow's slums.