Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
it's not surprising.
just unfortunate.
it didn't have to be that way.
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It's indicative of a time period where people thought that segregating uses and orienting life around the car was the way of the future. The latter half of the 20th century was pretty much disastrous from an urban development perspective. We all know this-- neighborhood business districts got obliterated by malls and big box stores. Urban neighborhoods, often with impressive urban forms and architecture, were abandoned in favor of ticky tacky new suburbia. The car became king.
I'd say we have entered a bit of a new era, though. Mall culture has cratered, sprawl seems to have slowed as cities underwent a collective rebirth across the country, 'new urbanism' became a...thing. These are all signs that we have learned a little bit from the sins of our past, at least in some places.
Overall, though, I still maintain that the maligned suburban apartment complex provides a valuable role for bringing diversity to suburban communities and their schools, regardless of their urban form.