Towards a spatial understanding of how suburbs adapt to change
2008
Although cities are routinely acknowledged as complex built environments,
suburbs tend to be overlooked as places with definable characteristics. This
paper critically reviews the theoretical assumptions that underpin suburban
literature and suggests some new perspectives on suburbs as distinctive
social-spatial forms. Two schools of thought are identified as having formed
approaches to suburban studies: the 'idealist' and 'realist'. The review
shows that the character of suburban built form is part of a historical
process of urban growth and change, which enables it to generate movement at
a variety of scales. The review suggests that a greater understanding of the
relation between suburban society and suburban built form would lead to a
fuller appreciation of suburbs as distinctive and multi-faceted environments
for living and working.
Based on the EPSRC funded 'Towards Successful Suburban Town Centres'
project, the paper adopts the approach that suburban adaptability over time
holds within it the best potential for diversity of use and thus, social and
economic sustainability and even, success. An important theoretical tension
that is created between planned and laissez-faire approaches need to be
navigated in a way that will allow suburbs to be successful, while not
opening the urban environment to strong destructive forces that can be
unleashed by market forces. This is a major challenge that new policies for
successful suburbs need to deal with.
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