1. The Suburban City
Post WW II rapid transformation of rural areas adjacent to cities into suburbs
New automobiles & highways as well as govt. policy, Federal Highway Program, GI Bill and Loan Guarantees for housing
Demand for larger more expensive suburban homes by the returning GIs
1970=37% suburban by % suburban & 31% inner city with 23% rural
Miami suburb
P.O. Muller wrote “The Suburban Transformation of the Globalizing American City” in 1992.
Discussed how cities are now polycentric realms with suburban edge cities and man hubs of international company headquarters, telecommunication hubs and foreign communities

3. Edge Cities - office complexes - shopping centers - hotels
Suburban downtowns, often located near key freeway intersections, often with:
- office complexes
- shopping centers
- hotels
- restaurants
- entertainment facilities
- sports complexes

4. New Urbanism
Development, urban revitalization, and suburban reforms that create walkable neighborhoods with a diversity of housing and jobs.
some are concerned over privatization of public spaces
some are concerned that they do nothing to break down the social conditions that create social ills of the cities
some believe they work against urban sprawl

5. Celebration, Florida
Disney chose Orlando because it was at the confluence of 2 important highway systems-Interstate 4 and the Florida Turnpike-part of Eisenhower’s Cold War Defense system
Disneyland’s 300 acres in Southern California is ringed by suburban blight-motels, strip malls, copy cat amusement parks
Florida’s Disney World a totally artificial creation-Celebration (1940s style small town) has a city hall, but no actual government-it is controlled by the Board of Directors of Walt Disney Corporation-time shares can’t be owned or out-right rented.

6. America’s population is decentralizing faster that at any time in history
Orlando grew 5 fold in 3 decades
Average home size grew by 63% over last 3 decades
28% of suburban dwellers are ethnic minorities
10 days a year-the average amount of time Americans spend commuting to work
Living in sprawling suburbs can add 61 lbs to your weight-due to driving & no exercise

7. Gated Communities Who are gated communities for?
How do the goals/purposes of gated communities differ across the world?
Left-Gated Housing in Beijing, China
Right-St. Louis Missouri-1971 view of Pruiett-Igoe housing project before it was demolished in 1972-built in 1951, by the 1970s the rampant crime rate was evidence of the failure of these housing project.

8. Spaces of Consumption
The transformation of the city into an entertainment district, where major corporations encourage the consumption of their goods and services. For example: Berlin, Germany & New York City
New York, New York-Left-The New Amsterdam Theater in Times Square in 1947 with advertising, arcades and a flea circus. Right Times Square cleaned up and reinvigorated by the Disney Corporation

9. The Canadian City
Less dispersed with higher pop. densities than US cities
More multi-family dwellings and less disparity in wealth
Suburbs not as large or as affluent as in the US
Central city has more middle and higher income pop. & stronger tax base
Better services & public transportation systems
Top-Toronto skyline
Bottom-Quebec City-French style buildings

10. Calgary, Alberta skyline Toronto- Canada’s largest city
Top Calgary, Alberta, Canada Skyline
Bottom-Toronto Canada’s largest city-
Toronto-
Canada’s
largest city

11. The European City
Western European cities are more compact than Canadian cities
Same size in pop. As US cities, but smaller in land area
European govt. are proactive in maintaining healthy CBDs
No-sprawl-suburbs are too far out to compete with CBD
Greenbelts preserve the central city from close suburban development
Very high fuel costs discourage suburban development
Central cities are clogged with cars, but mass transit, bikes, and walking are relied on for transportation
Zoning rules are strictly enforced and highway and beltway construction lags.
Fuel in Europe is about 3X the cost of gas in the US

12. The European City
London-6.4 m., Paris m., Rome, Berlin, Madrid and Athens are megacities by world standards
These are historic cities not impacted by the Industrial Revolution
British Midlands & German Ruhr valley cities are very different-smaller & heavily industrialized-destroyed in WWII
Paris, Athens and Lisbon are Primate cities
London-view of Parliament Building

13. The European City-Greenbelts
London’s Central city is the same size it was in 1960
Greenbelts were est. to counteract ill effects of Ind. Rev.
Open countryside over 20 miles wide has scattered towns, but no extensive suburban areas
Many urban parks maintain a green areas within the city

14. During the second half of the 20th century…
Nature of manufacturing changed and locations changed, too. Many factories have been abandoned, creating “rust belts” out of once-thriving industrial districts.
Duisburg, Germany