Why so many suburbs look the same

So many suburbs have similar plans. Why?
Help us make more ambitious videos by joining the Vox Video Lab. It brings you closer to our work and gets you exclusive perks, like livestream Q&As with all the Vox creators, a badge that levels up over time, and video extras bringing you closer to our work! Learn more at bit.ly/video-lab
In this episode of Vox Almanac, Vox’s Phil Edwards investigates the system behind the shape of the suburbs.
If you’ve visited a suburb, you’ve probably noticed a similar look: same curving streets; same cul de sacs. It’s not an accident. In fact, this appearance of the suburbs is part of the Federal Housing Administration’s plan.
In the 1930s, the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, was the financial engine behind most home development. To ensure their investments were safe ones, they strongly recommended that builders and developers comply with the ideals they set. Those regulations aligned closely with the values of the time, including segregation and a burgeoning car culture.
These rules encouraged suburbs with winding streets and cul de sacs - aesthetically pleasing designs that led to sprawl and made a car a necessity. Even though the enforcement mechanisms have changed over time, we still live in a culture shaped by the FHA’s ideal suburban design.
If you want to learn more, there are a couple of resources:
Streets and the Shaping of Towns and Cities by Michael Southworth and Eran Ben-Joseph
www.amazon.com/Streets-Shapin...
Eran Ben-Joseph spoke to me about his book, which provides a great overview of suburban planning. It also has more crucial detail about street widths, which influenced car culture.
FHA Underwriting Manual
www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/...
If you’re curious to wade into some primary documents, this underwriting manual from 1938 is a good place to start.
Subscribe to our channel! goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out www.vox.com.
Watch our full video catalog: goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Facebook: goo.gl/U2g06o
Or Twitter: goo.gl/XFrZ5H

[@Luka-gs7us]

As a european it's so weird to see streets without a pavement/sidewalk. Where tf are you supposed to walk?

[@jjc5475]

Americans don't walk. They drive, travel 3 km? Lemme take a car.

[@Luka-gs7us]

@@jjc5475 To be fair, I would drive everywhere if the only way to walk was down the middle of the road.

[@Kluneberg]

Same. Even worse is that with this type of urban design there is nowhere to walk to, it's a neighborhood that is nothing but only (the same looking)houses - no stores, venues or any other type of building, nothing in walking distance.

[@Fume1337]

bios47 you mean gated communities

[@kamX-rz4uy]

Sidewalks are common in American suburbs but yes, many do lack them, especially on streets with less traffic.

[@catrinmelldansen]

As a European it's so odd seeing SUCH big houses! Those are practically mansions by my standards

[@xx_skullgamer_xx2754]

As a canadian anything below 1500 sq ft is a prison cell

[@Anna133199]

@@xx_skullgamer_xx2754 I googled 1500 sq ft /139 sq m sounds quite huge to me. I grew up in a 55 sq m apartment in Amsterdam city center. Definitely cozy, but nowhere near a prison cell.

[@KDH-br6hy]

@@xx_skullgamer_xx2754 🤣🤣

[@annikaruelo1383]

We looked at one of those houses before and it looked to big outside but it was so small inside. That’s how it is with the suburban houses, they focus more on the outside then on the inside and it’s really tiny in there

[@o.l4890]

As a maroccan those are castles by our standards

[@shaunaaaah]

When you're someone who can't drive suburbs are an absolute hellscape. It takes ages to walk anywhere and the few buses there are are terrible.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

But that is the intent, isn't it? Non-Drivers are "different", so it's not for them that the burb was constructed, it's to make everybody seem the same, including "class sorting" through pricing and such methods.

[@stevepellow8618]

And if you have car trouble and have to walk somewhere people tend to see someone walking without excercise gear on as unemployed, even when you're walking to work lol

[@bigredc222]

I grew up in a small town, but I dreamed of getting my license for years, you finally have freedom, you can go to friends houses from school that lived to far to walk to, you could explore the world, I can't imagine not having a drivers license.

[@drdewott9154]

@@bigredc222 I can, it's called Europe.

[@kb24072001]

@@bigredc222 I can do all that in my country by taking a bus.

[@SonSolo]

I grew up in Detroit. I love the city and the rectangular layout of the neighborhoods. It all felt like a community. You could walk to school, walk to the convenient store, walk to the barber shop, walk to the park and so on. During these walks you'd met people, saw others you already knew, and it helped you build relationships with people in your neighborhood. People lived in the front of their homes. There were always people sitting on the front porch and talking to their neighbors and people who passed by. I live in a suburb now. People live in back of their homes, on their patios and decks. People pull into the attached garage and go straight into their house. Now you have to drive to the schools, convenient stores, shops and parks. Suburbs are missing the key ingredients that make a neighborhood a community. Where the cities brought us together, the suburbs are helping to keep us apart.

[@wendygold8527]

I think that was the idea.

[@srgvette28]

Demographics are destiny. I'm sure the demographics of the Detroit your talking about are quite different than what they are now.

[@nochatter7134]

@Soloson North American’s don’t walk now, they take the car everywhere

[@violet2088]

Way to generalize hundreds of millions. I'm from New Jersey (very close to NYC) and I walk / take the train everywhere. Don't have a drivers license and won't for as long as I can muster.

[@BillDerBerg]

Rich White people are inherently anti social so they have no desire to connect with anyone

[@peripateticmind8461]

No wonder I've mistaken some neighborhoods for my own even when I'd be 50 miles away.

[@peripateticmind8461]

@@motorsphere356 hUh

[@jimmypham8853]

hUh

[@alquinn8576]

there is a classic Russian romantic comedy about this called _The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!_ -- the different neighborhoods are in Leningrad and Moscow but have identical apartment complexes

[@op3129]

doesn't help that the houses are homogenized as well

[@ttp3344]

Thought I was the only one experiencing the kafkaesque reality of America’s surbubia haha

[@itsleonkremer]

Suburbplans often look great on paper. But the community does not stop at the edges of the paper. Many suburbs are islands with little connection to the city, unless you get into a car. That is we're American and many other city's planners need te work on.

[@ChadHutsebautfilms]

Leon Kremer that really is one of the biggest problems with them. Cities here in Canada have the same issues. My suburban Neighbourhood has no real connection to the rest of the city. It’s just a pocket of housing with no shops and no reason for someone who doesn’t leave here to come in. But when you go closer to downtown you start to see Neighbourhoods with grid layouts and shops, cafes, Restaurants and Unique character. There’s actually a reason for people not living in those neighbourhoods to enter them because they’re not just an island of housing, they’re a part of the city.

[@anthonymolina7416]

Chad Hutsee same I like on Long Island and to get to NYC you need to drive or take a train

[@TheFutureEvents]

It’s called zoning they zone certain places for certain things

[@calebd.9008]

Where*

[@GershwinDecoBeck]

LITERALLY look great on paper. And hideous in reality.

[@HolybasilYT]

Being so reliant on cars for transportation sounds so dystopian to me.

[@Chrisc0Disc0]

Henning Nilsen True, but in America the car is a symbol of freedom. If you have a car, you can go from LA to Miami without question. Yeah It’s limiting for short distances, but for longer distances with varying climates and cultures it’s fairly liberating.

[@HolybasilYT]

@@Chrisc0Disc0 Of course. My country is roughly the size of California so I totally understand the need for the car.

[@ScoobyDooIsDead]

Henning Nilsen It is.

[@MintBunny9]

How is it dystopian? Our history is different than yours which is why our cities/towns/whatever is built differently. :\

[@rnurcielago]

I feel the same, that’s why I only bike and use public transportation

[@Goruko562]

So that's why it takes forever to walk anywhere in America

[@djwestbrook36]

Bel562 Not all of America, just most of the suburbs

[@skepticanadian3041]

Canada too

[@kottonkandy0962]

This reminds me of how some foreigners think that it’s an easy pop from NYC to Austin and make a trip to a Los Angeles in a week.. like haha, no honey.

[@urai9438]

my neighborhood had sidewalks and pathways everywhere. And sadly, a lot of crime as a result. You see, people from different neighborhoods would have easy access to mine, (which was like middle class) and they would steal things often since there were many walkways and escape routes. This is why we cannot have nice things.

[@dapluug]

​@@urai9438 Then go get to robbing. Adapt to ur environment my boy 😂😂😂 not that hard

[@fustilarian1]

suburbs are depressing, and there's nothing to do anywhere.

[@darc6278]

It isnt built for community but for practical logistics

[@lu-dx6oh]

@ersad Kaya suburbs are the most selfish artificial environment , but some people like living in their own little world so thats what their for. Apartments exist because land value is too high because people want to live in that particular area and a house would be too much for most people too afford.

[@AlexS-oj8qf]

The opposite for me, Cities tend to be too exciting and I rather lived in Suburbs because I prefer a more laid back lifestyle. Also cities can be depressing like you lived in an expensive shoebox often with no access to green space and 24/7 noise.

[@asarwar111]

Exactly, when my cousins came from New York City to a small town where I live, they were bored the heck out. At least there is a public pool and playground. And bike trail. Other than that it's like 10 times smaller than the 35 quarter sack neighborhood in the video.

[@acoffeewithsatan]

Not having an home is depressing.

[@Slabfish]

Did car companies pay big money for this kind of development? Especially with nothing being within walking distance of a suburb

[@earthstar393]

Cars are a big part of American culture I think. Now itr could be because the roads were made for them at the bidding of the motor companies, but it might be that the roads were made for cars because thats what most Americans focused on. I think the car was supposed to be a symbol of that classic American "freedom" that we hear so much about.

[@chrizizdaman]

Absolutely the car manufactures lobbied the government to expand the road infrastructure with the sole purpose to sell more automobiles.

[@ritwikreddy5670]

@@earthstar393 most American cities were built after cars became mainstream. Many cities around the world date back as old as 1000 years, which were mainly pedestrian

[@ellarweegadsden8483]

@Hernando Malinche Dr. G. You're right. It wasn't by accident. They sold people the suburbs with a slice of space and the 'freedom' to drive wherever you wanted to go. But, freedom didn't arrive the way it was expected. This is why urban areas needed to be segregated and marginalized to the extent possible. Then most suburbanites will feel some justification in trading in a cosmopolitan environment for a mind-numbing nothing one.

[@joshruelas8435]

Just gunna put this here, the main killer was Parking lots.

[@necromancer2367]

I wish public transport would be more integrated in neighbourhoods.

[@ChurritoFrio]

That's why Uber and Lyft exist now. To combat the public transportation problem. I'd say its pretty effective too

[@braindead6611]

It’s only work if the population is dense. Suburbs are more spread out

[@redditstop1653]

@@braindead6611 There's a box video where they show how Toronto made a efficient bus system in there suburbs. There suburbs are just like our suburbs.

[@seraphina985]

@@redditstop1653 It can be done, usually, some minor changes in the form of walking connections that feed pedestrians quickly to the suburban arterial will help. Ideally, you want the bus to be able to take a fairly direct quick route along the suburban arterial just make sure people can quickly walk over to the road and wait at a nice bus stop to get on the bus. If your bus needs to wind around low-speed suburban streets taking a 90-degree bend every few hundred meters chances are you won't attract many no matter how frequent the service. Nobody wants to spend an hour on the bus to get to a flipping grocery store use your walking network to bring people quickly and conveniently to the bus so it can do its one job of moving as many people as quickly and as directly as possible to where they need to be.

[@shafo827]

Visit Australia xd

[@lxverdant1837]

The grid street plan is WAY better than the winding suburban street plan because you can actually WALK to the places you want to go. It gets tedious having to drive everywhere.

[@altrag]

Its really not that hard to make suburbs walkable. Just put in a path every dozen or so houses that connects to whatever surrounding streets and you're done. You still have to go the long way if you're driving, but walking becomes not much different than in a grid system. Oh, and put sidewalks back obviously (I'm in Canada and while we've adopted the US love of suburbs, we still keep the sidewalks -- mostly for the sake of safety since suburbs tend to attract families with young kids.) . Of course, having somewhere to walk to is a whole other question. The biggest problem with suburbs is that they tend to be houses only. There's rarely a corner store, and you're usually a good 10-30 minutes drive from the nearest full grocery store / mall.. and frequently that's driving at highway speeds (once you get out of the suburb itself,) making it a _long_ walk. A 10-15 minute drive at 30mph would be around 2 hours for the average walker. Each way. So even if the suburb itself is foot-navigable, you're still stuck taking a vehicle several times a week just to do basic things. . That can of course be somewhat alleviated by setting up the suburbs in a way that they can have easy access to public transportation (bus routes in particular.) There's not really any excuse in 2019 for suburb planners to be intentionally making that any more difficult than the sheer distances already dictate.

[@PabloEmanuel96]

It is not that good if the ground has diferent levels

[@tofuyam7361]

@@PabloEmanuel96 like san francisco?

[@shmooveyea]

High density grid will and does lead to concentrated lower class populations stacked on top of each other, don't see how thats better.

[@ezequielrenovato6608]

It really depends on where the neighborhood is located. I live in a grid street planned hood and the only places in walkable distance are corner stores at maybe a 10 minute walk. There's a park that's maybe 30-40 min walk but you might as well use a car.

[@danielevans142]

Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes all the same

[@fjellyo3261]

Well, do you sell me some weed now or what?

[@danielevans142]

@@fjellyo3261 There's a pink one and a green one. And a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky tacky And they all look just the same.

[@agentsmidt3209]

I forgot about this.

[@ifonlycainwereabel2110]

APUSH test vibe

[@imnotusingmyrealname4566]

Looks like housing under communism if everybody had a house for themselves.

[@georgehowarth2388]

City Beautiful and Vox both made a video on this in the same day

[@Quadrophiniac]

yeah, I literally watched the video on city beautiful and then this one came next lol

[@justinemccloud7755]

covers so much of the same information too. weird

[@bigboy6191]

Copied each other

[@mr.b3168]

Copy cats

[@thisisbecker]

+

[@PaulFerzoco]

Wow! Kinda honored that my comments from that previous story have been cited. I meant to spark thought and it worked. Am happy!

[@zabrak999]

100% The internet provides a legitimate blessing in getting our thoughts out

[@keiffactory]

I truly hate the suburbs and American city layouts in general (with the exception of New York City). I hate the "drive everywhere mentality" and big box supermarkets, because they isolate people from everyone else. I admire the European and Asian city layouts, where the dense neighbourhoods allow the residents to communicate with one another, and most importantly, give the city its culture.

[@neilworms2]

There are other good American cities Chicago for one...

[@keiffactory]

@@neilworms2 I've spent some time in Chicago, and all I've got to say to you is that during my time there, I thought of Chicago as beautiful architectually, but terribly dull culturally. While the grid layout works in NYC, I feel like in Chicago's case, it made the city feel boring. However, I think San Francisco is another example of an American grid planning done right

[@neilworms2]

@@keiffactory You probably are from NYC aren't you :/

[@alexanderg1935]

Why do I think that your impression of European cities is derived from a period romcom? Densely packed cities are a dystopian nightmare. This very channel covered the horror of living in most of Hong Kong. And London and Paris are some of the most alienating cities on earth. You guys have a lot going for you. Believe me.

[@joshruelas8435]

I think you forget not everyone wants to live near each other, essentially a culture battle royale.

[@dragonskunkstudio7582]

You took your car to the mall to walk. All urban planning was car centric in the post war era.

[@Kejsaren]

I am having trouble imagining a random house in between a McDonalds and a grocery store and thinking that's a good fit.

[@BrickworksDK]

@@Kejsaren I'd look at it the other way around. You need the random store / restaurant / whatever sprinkled in among the houses.

[@dragonskunkstudio7582]

@@Kejsaren There are tons of places where restaurants and shops are on the ground floor and housing above, even in those sleepy one traffic light towns have those.

[@freshaswater1493]

Allan Johansen where I live in Florida it has those random stores,restaurant ,malls and sidewalks that you could walk to them but no one really uses the sidewalks anymore everyone drives but surprisingly the traffic runs smoothly

[@noellewithane6111]

Dragon Skunk Studio and central run underground utilities for SEWER!

[@2_kevinarikrayhan187]

imagine living with the exact same house design with your neighbors

[@Primalxbeast]

Kevin Arik Rayhan Each housing development in central Florida usually only has a few model homes to choose from, so the houses are mostly the same. They're refered to as cookie cutter homes.

[@greeksinger6399]

It would be easier to escape when the husband comes home. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@Jack-rk7jc]

@@Primalxbeast Central Florida? You're not talking about Orlando are you? Because Orlando has some of the most diverse architecture and building design in any big city I've been to.

[@kayleigheckhardt1465]

My dad’s neighborhood has a street with literally the same two houses all the way down the street

[@Primalxbeast]

Jack M I'm talking about the suburbs of the greater Orlando area. Most of the developments are pre-planned with cookie cutter homes. It's been like that for quite awhile. I moved here in the mid 80s and that was already how they were being built.

[@ongoinglife]

High Walkability and Local Stores make a City and Suburb (economically) VIBRANT. Amerca was too dependent on cars over the past 6 decades.

[@mintheman7]

They also make a city more sustainable financially since they generate for revenue for the city.

[@HipsterShiningArmor]

“You ever feel like your just going in circles” Why are you attacking me like this Vox guy.

[@thecinematicmind]

The frustration of bad design and lack of architecture variety.

[@salter1630]

@Bugler55 >city blocks this is a video about the suburbs, chief. My neighborhood has a total of 3 house designs, where there is a 1 story design with some optional upgrades like weird bricks on pillars and a total of 2, 2 story designs.

[@dickiller2199]

did you ever see Russian microdistricts?

[@thecinematicmind]

@Bugler55 Wrong video but yes in London. Surreal isn’t it?

[@zacharymohammadi]

Because they were designed by Cities Skylines players

[@brendancarlton7326]

Yeah but you can tell when you're in an unmodded neighborhood.

[@Dragonite_Tom]

When you hired New Mayor to design these suburbans

[@enrique-casillas]

Time to use the move it mod

[@aturchomicz821]

@@brendancarlton7326 Yeah blueberry tree short and big version for the win!

[@vf2929]

Haha nice one

[@vnl2780]

Sprawl is one of the biggest villains in urban planning today. Unfortunately, that's very deeply rooted in the heads of the Americans.

[@lvseka]

It's starting to happen in Africa too, but stopping a middle class that's bought into an idea of wealth is hard

[@vnl2780]

@Hernando Malinche South Africa

[@shrek7957]

Everyone has a car and you can start driving at 15. So not really a problem

[@bigfungus5023]

@@shrek7957 The cars are the problem, too many cars on the road

[@simmerke1111]

@@shrek7957 What about kids? They're just stuck at home until they turn 15-16? All the cars going to work in the morning causing congestion? All the roads need maintenance that the taxes of these suburbs can't pay for? There's so many issues that "everyone has a car" doesn't even begin a discussion.

[@planetdesign4681]

American suburbs seem so alien to me, as an Australian that has lived mostly in suburbs, I’m much more familiar with being able to walk basically everywhere with small little shops and milk bars (the Australian version of those little stores that sell candy/lollies and drinks) in the nooks and crannies of the suburbs. When you go for a walk and you want to go on a bit of an adventure it is always so easy to get lost in the sprawling streets, sidewalks going between houses into different streets and like the hundreds of little nature walkways that can go on for a long time, it’s like a spiders web of streets, walkways and discovering small monuments and little-known stores tucked away in the crevices of the city.

[@eyesofthecervino3366]

TIL Australia is more walkable than the US. That does sound absolutely lovely, though.

[@moonontheman1103]

Vox here dishing out questions I never though of answered!

[@Half_Finis]

just like "how many Muslims can we fit in western countries? all of them!"

[@ezequielrenovato6608]

Do you mean giving answers to questions you never thought to ask?

[@ghghjkkk2382]

@@Half_Finiswhat? What does that have to do with anything?

[@FabDino]

me: boy, can’t wait to watch some youtube youtube: here’s a video on suburbs.

[@felipealmeida7338]

Lovin the suburb videos

[@FabDino]

Felipe Almeida yea actual there legendary

[@nosquidsid4680]

that story made me cry

[@kenet7877]

A good video on suburbs

[@kwave5426]

classic waxko maybe try reading a book sometime....you don’t have to be online 24/7

[@Jack-bh1mt]

GTA San Andreas flashbacks Man Grove street is my childhood

[@costcoadventures6256]

BoggoDoggo throwback

[@tommyboyz6291]

I'm searching around looking for this comment

[@flarelol]

i feel pretty honored that my neighborhood was just featured in a vox video...

[@topman8565]

Lucky that your rich

[@olaf9957]

@@topman8565 Or deep into depts, working non-stop to afford poorly built (way to big for any family) McMansion and the lifestyle that goes with it (a car for each individual over 16 living in the house). All of that for the dull, conformist, consumerist, depressing and superficial life of the suburban hellhole...

[@MySerpentine]

It probably wasn't, and if it was you could never tell :D

[@iangreen180]

LOL! I think it was a joke. He thinks it's his neighbourhood, because they all look the same.

[@johnjacob688]

@@olaf9957 You sound salty.

[@sherrysicle4341]

_i love these roads where the houses don’t change_ - lorde, 400 lux

[@davidlime]

I literally played that today. 💅🏻💅🏻

[@mho...]

lorde? you mean Randy Marsh, riiight?!

[@sherrysicle4341]

HenryManson get out

[@samriwelkeish7981]

HenryManson 💀

[@racewiththefalcons1]

6:06 - that is an absolute nightmare.

[@oliverlesher8321]

As a resident of Midlothian, VA, I can promise you that the majority of neighborhoods around here look exactly like Hallsley, and many new builders gravitate towards the area to build new expensive neighborhoods due to the highly awarded schools, but there’s a big catch, now that so many neighborhoods are here, all the high schools are facing overcrowding (Namely, Cosby / Midlo High. / Clover Hill). And overall, the smaller streets and roads can’t keep up with the influx. So while these families pursue beautiful neighborhoods and nice schools they’re destroying both.

[@kevincastro1927]

Lived on a metro area all my life, when I came to the US I moved with my father in the suburbs and we both agree, we hate this place and can't wait to move out closer to the city Suburbs are a architecture mess

[@pieal7368]

I hate suburbs, I live on the Main Street in my subdivision so it’s noisy and Anti-pedestrian. Worst of both designs.

[@Qiyunwu]

Same for me Give us this day our daily Anxiety Attacks

[@s_ame1135]

Moral of the story: Don't buy houses on main arterial roads.

[@danarrib]

So... Why don't you move?

[@pieal7368]

@@danarrib cuz I’m 17

[@dogluver2398]

America's car-centrism really infuriates me, more so since returning from studying abroad in Chile, where public transportation and walking got me pretty much anywhere I wanted to go. Here at home in the U.S., the nearest grocery store is a forty-minute walk away from my house - that time gets cut to ten or fifteen minutes if you're on a bike, but then there's the issue of returning and having to go uphill the whole way back. To get beyond the residential sprawl and into the next zoning type, you have to drive a minimum of twenty minutes. For my thesis I'm thinking of investigating what it would take to make suburbs more adaptable and resilient, as I took a class on Architecture and the Environment and the idea of mixed-use and pedestrian-focused developments just made so much sense to me. I'll look into more videos like this one!

[@evanhughes1510]

Just move to a city if you want closer walking distances. Problem solved

[@bleepvbloop]

i currently live in the suburbs and i just found out that my neighbor moved out like 6 years ago

[@sk8rgrlteen]

I’ve been loving the urban planning and design videos Vox has been publishing lately. I’m going to school for this right now and it’s been great to share these

[@leahrenee04]

I live in Virginia and go to Midlo a lot. It's a very ritzy area and am not surprised it got that award tbh. But when you said midlo I was like what.

[@parthschannel]

I'm from west end henrico, was also surprised they came to midlo haha!

[@bagel9097]

Same!

[@samevans6428]

I live in Richmond

[@ChurritoFrio]

@@ross441 there's a Midlothian in Texas as well

[@CuriosityCulture]

Now that’s the best looking suburb I’ve ever seen...

[@CatholicWeeb]

But also the farthest away from Literally Anything

[@Harry777]

@@CatholicWeeb Guess you've never been to Midlothian.

[@asdsdjfasdjxajiosdqw8791]

It looks awul. Every house is built of cheap wood and drywall. Not to mention the public infrastructure.

[@fridericusrex9812]

asdsdjf asdjxajiosdqw Fact

[@simona6600]

Irish Eggs midlothian is less than 10 minutes away from Richmond, VA, which is a great city and most jobs are located there. Also if you like cold weather and hot weather, central Virginia is perfect.

[@jesusdavis2941]

I live in a Latin American city that has a mix of both layouts: the eastern older part of town follow grid pattern; now to the west and mainly inside neighborhoods it adjusts to topography, still the areas are relatively small, dense and walkable (but no one likes to walk unless they're forced to) and you can reach a main avenue within 1 km

[@Scorpio_Moonshine]

Actually studied a semester of this in University in one of my Sociology classes. It has a lot to do with social class & economic growth as stated in the video. (3:19) Highlighted section, "The social class of the parents..." Along with the statement at (3:32).

[@peripateticmind8461]

Alright! I can say that I've really enjoyed your videos on the design of communities and stuff! More interesting and enlightening than I thought they'd be. It's cool to compare planned communities versus the unplanned ones near me 🤷‍♂️

[@leonhardpauli5815]

I live in Austria in Graz and I think uniqueness is also great for navigation, because I think it is easier to remember unique patterns of the streets.

[@topeverything4213]

Id love to live in a neighbourhood with 1:16 layout. Most of our communities centralize around cars instead of pedestrian.

[@harmony453]

I grew up in the Southern Suburbs of Chicago, and I can agree, our streets go 🔄↖️⬆️⬇️↘️➡️↩️

[@salokin3087]

In Sydney we have a similar problem, it just sprawls out paving over creeks and billabongs instead of affordable apartments, makes me so sad

[@smam741]

At least there are a lot of older houses which have variety

[@MyNameIsAyoub]

The same people who live in those places say soviet suburbs look depressing

[@nataliekhanyola5669]

Yup!!

[@user-ob5dk3wb7p]

Vox takes shower thoughts to a whole new level

[@citation51power]

They also completely forgot about orientation of sections to allow the longest side to face north or south if you are in the us, to allow the largest side of any built home to collect the winter sun and reduce to much heating in summer. So not only are we dependent on car's to get around but air-conditioning and heating are must haves to.

[@boythefather9868]

Completely right, in the Philippines, we have to much sunlight for us in any of the directions.

[@ilsevanderbij7179]

Now I see why public transport is so difficult to regulate in the US.... and that's why I prefer living in europe even more ;)

[@mundotaku_org]

Well, there is currently a movement of affluent people moving to urban areas. What you are seeing is a suburban plan which is more common on cities that were developed between the 1940's up until the 1990's.

[@Saadlolwhy]

@@mundotaku_org Now urban neighborhoods are being gentrified and pushing poorer people out farther from the city.

[@CatholicWeeb]

Europe is the most developed first world continent for public transportation

[@jayfawn8478]

@@CatholicWeeb thanks to its geography. US is so large public transportation simply not efficient.

[@MephistoDerPudel]

@@Saadlolwhy Into the suburbs, that are getting less attractive?

[@johnnguyen6159]

In some areas, suburbs destroyed once vibrant cities.

[@kevincastro1927]

@I HATE TOUCANS this are the people that have gun violence in school and instead of solving the social political issues they turn the schools into a prison like architecture

[@Kevin-it4fh]

@I HATE TOUCANS lol, what else do you expect us to do? It's the corrupt politicians that either create or does nothing about problems.

[@zhelyazkogrudov6476]

Your videos are always a joy to watch. Thank you

[@mikieswart]

“if a neighborhood is to retain stability, it is necessary that properties shall continue to be occupied by the same social and racial classes” 😳 jeeesus lol welcome to the “good ol’ days” of the 1950’s!

[@tigerburn81]

Is that untrue? Isn't this the underlying, unstated, argument _against_ "gentrification", when middle class white people move into poorer, (usually) black city neighborhoods?

[@ez45]

@@tigerburn81 actually, mixed neighborhoods with wealthier and poorer people are healthy communities. Gentrification is just rich people swarming neighborhoods until the locals are driven out.

[@IloveTide1997]

Time has shown us that this is true

[@MySerpentine]

This is when they think America was great

[@Texbullnettle]

@tigerburn81 "retain stability" and retain costability are totally different.

[@hky1045]

While suburbs have their advantages, they kind of have the same level of sterile conformity of things like school uniforms.

[@kayh9477]

vox’s videos are always so well made, this is no exception!

[@azih8626]

its a shame that a lot of their videos contain political biases, cause their graphics and production video value are unmatched on youtube. their content can range from informative videos like this, to saying cameras are racist to black people and tourist visiting brazil should visit the crime ridden favelas as 'theyre not that bad'

[@bkb8436]

OMGGGG I recommended this topic a few months ago. Yayyy!!! Thanks Vox!!!

[@celticbarbarian6680]

Imagine living in a place where you can hear your neighbors through the walls and breathe in smog with every breath

[@Atlastheyote222]

We started getting suburbs like this in some places in Australia and they're generally just for first home-owners who aren't expected to live there for longer than a few years, so they're built as quickly and cheaply as possible, they're not terribly popular, they're just a cheap option.

[@_Amor_Fati]

Laying under a tree outside my "golf course culde-sac" home right now. Sounds lovely till u have to deal with an Association. I was fined for my "rustic grass" planted in my landscaping... Complaints they "looked like weeds"

[@narcolonarcolo]

The thing about the suburbs, at least here in the US, is that on paper they seem like pleasant places to live but once you live there they are actually depressing and lifeless.

[@OMGitshimitis]

Check out city beautiful's video on this too.

[@fuckoff6431]

Why

[@shionwagoner]

Great minds think alike

[@Bodybypt]

This is too coincidental!

[@notsure6187]

Body By PT not really. I mean city beautiful is a city planning channel and so is vox almanac

[@eliasboesersson8774]

Released within a day of each other. Too weird.

[@albear972]

5:17 That McMansion needs more gables and dormers!

[@stevenl5049]

I live half of the time in downtown Toronto and half of the time into the suburbs. I can very clearly see the advantages and disadvantages of both and the clear objectives between the two distinct styles of city layouts. One is very loud, straight, but navigable. And the other is quiet, curvey and car-oriented with navigability not a priority.

[@atinygoldendeer2045]

I've been getting interested in 3D modeling and city design and this is really interesting. I initially started making a grid design but I'm totally applying this to the most far away zones :O It's also super choking to see SO MANY houses. I only see houses in towns (cheaper ones are either old (like the family has always lived there) or very small) and the outside of the cities, and these are usually very expensive

[@limagalang]

Can't believe I'm watching a video 20 seconds after it was posted

[@KanchalYT]

Lima Funla yeah

[@vicepresidentmikepence889]

Don't expect a medal for your accomplishment

[@PeppieK]

It must be so boring to live in a suburb... No creativity at all

[@AlexS-oj8qf]

Depends on your lifestyle. I personally enjoyed Suburb.

[@solarmoth4628]

Not really only if your town doesn’t have a developed downtown and a train station. But my suburb holds arts festivals and outdoor concerts regularly during the summer.

[@wavyiann9788]

L.A suburbs are fun for the most part

[@wiilshidan6404]

@@Pierce1337good for family

[@name4601]

Trawanten Media it is, when I graduate I’m leaving the suburbs and never coming back.

[@zippys2014]

I’ve lived in Florida my whole life. I enjoy walking down the streets, it’s my favorite part of visiting other other countries. It’s really hard to walk around in America. Especially if you live in the suburbs, which I do. In my neighborhood, only the main roads have sidewalks, and to catch a bus I have to walk a couple of miles. I love visiting bigger cities and walking around/ taking public transportation. I hate how the suburban sprawl makes it so hard.

[@stalinsdog679]

Then you should have live in the city problem solve 😂👏

[@AlejandroFlores-vi8tl]

I love the bradburn design allowing both pedestrians and cars to more throughout the community

[@kay.hi0]

When I was a kid, we lived on a dead end street behind a suburb, in a little mobile home. We’d call those suburbs the “rich neighborhood.” It always took so long for the water to drain so we’d ask if we could ride our bikes in the rich neighborhood.

[@bobjones7413]

Vox surprises me every time.

[@Ergogeorge]

a big influence on these ideas - especially radburn - was Ebenezer Howard's theory of the garden city in the 1800s. fascinating to look in to if you get the chance

[@wolfphoebe20]

These interest me a lot! You guys should make a video about greenbelt communities! (I live in Greendale, WI and I love your videos)

[@Atombender]

"If it's good for GM, it's good for America!"

[@intoscr]

i like these kinds of episodes on urban planning

[@Richardriddickricard]

I'm loving this series.

[@katieweiher]

I need to find more information on this! It's fascinating!

[@jacknuckols6029]

Hey, thanks for visiting Midlo!

[@uss_04]

Neat, City Beautiful also did a video on this topic. Infrastructure and civil design is endlessly fascinating.

[@callmemrbombastic1903]

Very informative. I love how you used facts!

[@shannonbenjamin1155]

One thing I've always loved about my hometown is how I can walk from one end to the other if I had to, but I don't have to. Everything you need is within walking distance - it's the perfect SimCity. I always say now that I can't imagine living somewhere where a church, bar, party store, gas station, mechanic, hair/tan/nails, laundromat, 2 fast foods, 2 good restaurants, and 2 small businesses aren't every 8 blocks. Each neighborhood is distinct, but they're all cohesive. It is easy to navigate, built on a grid design. The transit is convenient. The parks and rec are excellent and equitably dispersed. Each side of the river has their own version of their needed staples mirroring the other side's. It is urban with a suburban feel, and five minutes later, you can be rural. It is (my) perfect city.

[@moonmilkman5157]

Oh the dark secrets hidden behind the veneer of the American suburb.

[@balmainrichard1335]

You know what we do in the suburbs when there's a blackout? We lock the doors and windows

[@AlexS-oj8qf]

Really? In my place we usually sit on the porch with candles so the whole street stay "bright" and spend our time with neigbhors, having barbeque and various outdoor activities, and the males wouldn't go to sleep until the electricity is back on.

[@wavyiann9788]

Alex Shuysky kinda missed the joke there

[@Primalxbeast]

Alex Shuysky Our blackouts usually occur during hurricanes, so we don't spend a lot of time outdoors.

[@atticusbeachy3707]

* black out

[@edwinthemoose]

I live in the “suburbs” in the UK, we’re in walking distance of the school (20mins) shops (10mins) and other services, we have frequent busses into the larger town and then into the nearby city, i’m not sure where america went wrong with this one

[@mariovelardehere]

You are giving me a great business idea. make entire neighborhoods themed. I mean, each neighborhood or urbanization can have its own style of houses, they can be medieval houses, traditional houses, modern houses, minimalist houses, themed houses, rustic houses, stone houses, brick houses, houses without a garden, Christian houses, etc. etc etc

[@abigailcoleman2416]

much of the non linear suburbs in the uk are ~ 10 min walk from a main/high street with public transport going through (with pavements too)

[@oscarmejia1811]

3:08 I don’t don’t why but, the word Asbestos always makes me laugh. I’m soo sorry 😂

[@dylmwidner]

Worst part about a suburb that you aren’t familiar with is if you’re driving in the direction you think you should be going, you might be on the wrong street at the end. I do prefer main streets connecting to small streets with arms of even smaller streets over a huge grid pattern, and if you can incorporate shopping centers or mini-outlet type destinations every quarter mile or so, you can make the suburban layout much easier on the mind.

[@FedoraMiaza]

Hey Vox! Can we please have a schedule from you for the different series you upload (Ex. Darkroom every X day or Almanac every Y day). Thankyou! Btw, love your videos.

[@lourencovieira5424]

the usa looks the same anywhere

[@wavyiann9788]

Derran Lawston go to Hawaii then go to Alaska 😂

[@Calikid331]

Not true, actually.

[@derranlawston4052]

Ian Quiñones exactly, Hawaii landscapes, yards, houses, etc look wayyyy different than the houses of Alaska. There’s some houses in Hawaii that have gaps between the floor boards and walls. You’d never see that in Alaska

[@tubester4567]

@@midnightmushrooms1141 Because a lot of Africans still dont have electricity, and even if they do, they cant afford to run aircon?

[@MrEditFTW]

My friend you have a LOT to learn about the states

[@sounhournim1643]

You got the wrong neighborhood fool

[@Fume1337]

Cj

[@sasugaainssama1873]

Ey ey its me, its me chill

[@ahzhd423]

cj? OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@adidia2163]

Ah, man of culture

[@abandonedchannel281]

Ah, a cultured individual

[@reneejanssen4953]

I love Phil Edwards, his Vox videos are awesome and he is a great presenter

[@Detroit_Playa]

Nice video I love learning about stuff like this

[@Toppu]

I actually love the Suburbs. Arcade Fire are great.

[@gaem_sung2152]

Lol in south korea most of us lives in 10 to 20 storey apartments. Even if there are private owned houses, the dont have th suburbs that american houses have

[@s_ame1135]

South Korea is a tiny mass of land compared to the US. They can't adapt the US urban planning even if they wanted to.

[@poniboishelluv8982]

one thing I'll never get tired of is [History] thanks for the upload

[@laskaralam9119]

Excellent work

[@TheNessa284]

A slow death living in a suburb.

[@milohamdan8140]

This is why I love living in nyc and will never move to places like this

[@Howtowithpaulaandjohn]

Having lived in the city, and in a suburb, and now in a rural area, 12 miles from the nearest store , I can see the benefits of all of them. I love being away from the chaos and constant push to BUY things in the city. And I don't miss the city traffic. But I do miss some of the activities and things that are now over an hours drive away.

[@Michellenewberg]

I live in Radburn!! So cool to finally get some recognition.

[@fabianodedo]

Look the size of those houses, nobody need a house that big. It's an incredible waste of resources and a nightmare to maintain.

[@YourToothpaste97]

They have land, why not?

[@kamX-rz4uy]

The trend over the years was to keep building bigger and bigger houses. A lot of people are now moving into smaller houses that are more usable due to better design.

[@1L6E6VHF]

In many US states, interest paid on home mortgage loans can be deducted income on their tax return. Put another way, The owner of a McMansion who pays $3,000/mo on their housing bill can claim they earned a lot less money because they deducted $36,000 from their actual income. Renters can't deduct the cost of their rents from their tax return.