People, Places, Suburban Spaces

A couple days ago "Mad Melancholic Feminista wrote "Is It Suburban Spaces that Create the Problem?" a reflection on suburbia and community, wondering whether suburbs stifle diversity because they are designed for individualistic social isolation.

Why are suburbs more homogeneous?

It is true that in the US people live in enclaves, and the white flight from the cities made sububrs pretty homogeneous. But now that this trend is in reversal, and the wealthy are moving back into cities, moving poorer residents (usually people of color) out, will this continue to be the case?

But The Economist featured an interesting article last week, in contrast, describing Cerritos, California as a model of diversity, although it is "bland, car-oriented and suburban," precisely the sort of neighborhood where homogeneity is expected. The reason: upward social mobility, and middle class aspiration.

Is social isolation a function of geography, and physical space? Or is something else going on? Is diversity, or the lack thereof, determined by economic factors? The physical proximity of all kinds of people does not mean that you will encounter other cultures; walking through the city you pass by people from all over the world, but does this make a person more tolerant, appreciative of other cultures? Cities seem to segment themselves into enclaves as well.

In Miami, which is a car-dependent city, this kind of separation is definitely true.

Surely reliance on cars has something to do with it - get in the car, arrive at destination, spend time with friends at destination, get back in car, go home. But does walking along a busy city street have the same effect, especially a city where it's not customary to talk with strangers?

Public transportation has the same effect, curiously. It is easy to idealize shared space. Yes, the straphanger next to you in a city is more likely to be different from you, than your suburban neighbor. But is this an experience of cultural diversity? When you get off the metro car, at your stop, even if it is in a certain neighborhood where you are more likely to get off alongside veiled women, and young Middle Eastern men who wear their hair cut close - you walk away, to your destination.